Emirates is currently in full recruitment mode across all 6 continents where it flies, looking to hire 4,000 cabin crew in the 2011-12 financial year, the Dubai-headquartered airline said.

For the first time, the number of Emirates' cabin crew has risen to over 12,000 as the airline positions itself for continuing steady growth, the airline said.

As reported by emirates 24/7 last week, Emirates has now become the world's 3rd largest passenger carrier. At this week's ITB in Berlin, which runs from March 9-13, Emirates will continue its recruitment push as it seeks German-speaking cabin crew to join the growing Emirates' team.

"With our recruitment presence at ITB, we will be looking to attract more cabin crew to be part of the Emirates' success story and to support our growing fleet of modern aircraft, including, of course, our flagship A380," said Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline.

The airline's cabin crew is comprised of 131 nationalities, speaking more than 80 different languages. Currently, the airline has 152 aircraft in its fleet, including 15 A380s. A further 200 planes are on order, 75 of which are the superjumbos.

Since being introduced into the Emirates' fleet in July 2008, more than 4 million passengers have experienced the super-quiet double-decker. The airline's 15 A380 aircraft are supported by nearly 300 pilots and more than 2,000 cabin crew.

Carrying approximately 85,000 passengers each day throughout the 2010-11 financial year, Emirates now flies to 111 destinations in 66 countries. Three new passenger destinations have been announced so far this year: Basra in Iraq, which launched 2nd February, Geneva, starting 1st June and Copenhagen, beginning 1st August.