More than 3,000 women - including 2,000 mothers - applied to become flight attendants for Spring Airlines, China's only budget carrier, as the airline raised its age limit for new hires to 45.

"We would like to recruit married women with children because they are more mature, reliable and serve passengers more carefully compared with younger ones," said Zhang Wu'an, spokesman for the Shanghai-based carrier. The previous age cap for new flight attendants was 35.

Most applicants were aged 25 to 40 and about 10 percent were above 40, Zhang said, adding that all had a college diploma, 38 held a master's degree and two even had a PhD.

After three rounds of tough tests, 34 candidates survived and were hired as flight attendants for the low-cost carrier, with the oldest one aged 37, Zhang said.

After a background check and other pre-employment procedures, these candidates will start training at the end of October and are expected to take to the skies at the beginning of 2014, Zhang said.

A Weibo survey by the airline in May found that 72 percent of Internet users prefer to be served by experienced flight attendants.

At Spring Airlines, a flight attendant can be promoted to chief attendant in two to three years with a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan ($1,634) to 15,000 yuan, according to Zhang.

Among those who sought a job with the airline was 35-year-old Zhang Dongmei, who has worked in marketing and training.

"I applied for the job partly because I want to fulfill a childhood dream of wearing a beautiful uniform and flying in the sky," said the mother of a kindergarten-age daughter.

Spring Airlines has recruited "flight aunties" three times, and it now has 68 of these women among its more than 600-strong flight attendant workforce.

Early this year, China Eastern Airlines raised the age limit for new "flight aunties" to 32. For most other airlines, the upper limit age is 25.

The change, though slight, indicates that women are more recognized for their professional experience rather than age or sheer physical attraction, said Wang Ruihong, a sociology professor with East China University of Science and Technology.

"As passengers, we care more about service than a pretty face," he said.