Hoping to inject some “typical Aussie character” into its “traditional Cantonese inflight experience,” China Southern Airlines has launched a recruiting drive looking for some very Australian flight attendants.

The drive netted 400 applications in its first week and will wrap up next month in Sydney before moving on to Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth next year.

“We’re looking forward to uncovering the next generation of flight attendants who will become the Australian face of China Southern,” the airline’s general manager for Australia/New Zealand, Harry He, said in a statement.

The hiring drive comes as China Southern expands its service in Australia, this month launching thrice weekly flights between Guangzhou and Perth. Those flights brought to 32 China Southern’s weekly services to Australia as it pushes toward a goal of 110 flights by 2015.