6 Truths About Becoming and Being a Flight Attendant

I along with twenty-eight thousand people applied for a limited number of flight attendant positions in 2018.  Based on the number of applications each major U.S. airline receives, it’s safe to say that a flight attendant career is one of the most coveted jobs in the United States.

The lifestyle, the flexibility, the overnights all leave people lusting over a career that’s often misrepresented.

Do applicants really know what they’re applying to?  Are they prepared for a long interview process and unpaid training period?  Are they ready to work long days with short overnights?

Here are six truths about becoming and being a flight attendant.

Interview and Training

There’s a common soundbite in the aviation industry, “It’s easier to get into Harvard than it is to become a Delta flight attendant.”  Delta received thirty-five thousand applications in its first round of hiring in the first few months of 2022, receiving an estimated 100,000 applications by the end of that year.

The airline that interviewed me and eventually sent me a conditional job offer (CJO) received twenty-eight thousand applications in 2018, according to the head of the Language of Destination (LOD) program.

Even with technology helping human resources recruiters sort through applications, it’s still time consuming to sort through the resumes that make it past an airline’s hiring algorithms.  The process lasted four months for me from start to CJO, and that’s because the airline was looking to ramp up its LOD crew members; I applied for the Spanish-speaking flight attendant position.  The interview process lasted between eight-ten months for non-LOD applicants.

I interviewed with three major U.S. airlines in 2018, and all required an online assessment, a phone interview or pre-recorded interview, a live Zoom interview, and a final face-to-face at the airline’s headquarters.

Sidenote: The airlines will fly you out on a must-ride pass.  No airline will provide accommodations for your face-to-face interview.

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If you’re one of the lucky ones who make it through the long interview process to receive a CJO, you’ll have to attend training that lasts four-eight weeks depending on the airline.  It’s called a CJO, a conditional job offer, because your employment is conditional on your passing an airline’s training program.

You are not an airline employee during training.  You’re being trained to become an airline employee.  If you do not pass training, you’ll have to start the application process from scratch.

You will be flown out and provided with accommodations at a nearby hotel at the airline’s expense.  A few airlines provide their trainees with a food stipend and offer compensation upon successful completion of training.  Many airlines do not offer either benefit.

Flight Attendant School is a Scam

I was going to add this bit as a side note, but I think it’s important to address on its own.

It is a scam.  No “flight attendant school” is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide you with an airline’s training.  Airlines will train you to operate emergency exits and emergency equipment along with other safety procedures.

You will not get a leg up on someone who didn’t attend flight attendant school during the interview process, and it won’t help you during training if you’re offered a CJO.  On the contrary, it could work against you.  You’re going to have to unlearn everything you learned in “flight attendant school” because the airline wants you to do everything the way they teach you.

You will only become a certified flight attendant with the FAA when you pass an airline’s training program.

Do not pay for flight attendant school!  You’ve been warned.

Get Ready to Commute

Commuting is hard on the best of days and a complete nightmare during peak travel seasons.

Expect full flights with all the jump seats taken.

You will be denied boarding or be pulled off a flight due to weight and balance restrictions (saw that happen three times).

You will definitely find yourself running from one end of the terminal to the other end to catch your commuter flight, only to find the gate closed and the flight pushing back.  I think I cried that day.

You will be clip boarded (chosen at random for a drug and/or alcohol test), which will make you lose your flight.

If your airline has a commuter policy, learn it inside and out.  There’s no point stressing about getting to work if you’re covered by a commuter policy. It’s not much help when you’re trying to get home.

You’ll learn what trips work best with your commuter flight options and settle into a rhythm, which will ease the stress.  Prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best.

You’re Broke for the First Five Years

First year pay at the four major U.S. airlines is low, and it’s even lower for regional carriers.  You’re going to have to work a lot to make a decent paycheck.

You could work a part-time job on the side to make ends meet. I was too exhausted to work a second job when I first started. It wasn’t until I was flying for seven or eight months that I decided to ramp up my schedule.

If your airline offers overtime (OT), take it.  Holiday pay? Take it.  Double-time? Take it.  Try to take advantage of these increases in pay to offset when you can’t or don’t want to work a lot.

Reserve for Life, Baby!

Every airline has a reserve system in which a certain number of flight attendants sit reserve.  Reserve falls to the newest flight attendants since the senior mamas and papas paid their dues to get the nicer trips and the schedules they want.

It’s not impossible for you to get a nice trip, but it’s very unlikely.  You’ll have to do a lot of negotiating and trading to get the schedule you want.  It’s difficult, not impossible, to get rid of reserve blocks because no flight attendant, especially senior flight attendants, wants to sit on call for three-six days.

Reserve systems vary by airline, so do some homework on an airline’s reserve system before you commit to an airline.  And do some homework on which bases have the most movement because that will determine your seniority, which will affect the way you bid for your schedule and the trips you’re awarded.

Long Days, Short Overnights

I remember working five flights in one day and having a seven-hour overnight on a different trip.  There are provisions for minimum crew rest if you have a contract, but the days are getting longer and the overnights are getting shorter.

Unfortunately, flight attendants do not time out the way pilots do.  You can be made to work fourteen- or sixteen-hour days depending on the circumstances.  While you might technically have eight-nine hours of crew rest, it’ll really be seven-eight hours by the time you reach your hotel room (less if you find someone’s already in your room or some idiot pulls the fire alarm at 1:00 am because they’re inebriated).

You’re going to be exhausted after a 3-day trip.

Is It Worth It?

Yes, I think it’s worth it for a little while but not for life.  There’s one exception to that last part: If you have a main side gig (real estate agent, nursing, entrepreneur or small business owner, parent, etc.) that doesn’t provide you with a steady income or health insurance, then I advocate working as a flight attendant for life.  Your flight attendant career will provide you with the stability you need to keep your main side gig alive.

Otherwise, take advantage of your airline’s flight benefits and leave after five years.  There are a lot of senior flight attendants who would argue against what I’m proposing; they’ve been working in the industry for a long time and haven’t had to deal with the post-reality TV world for long. I worked with a lot senior flight attendants who saw the changes but were unwilling to leave their high-paying job (top out pay can range anywhere from $63-$75/hour).

I also worked with a lot flight attendants who only knew the flight attendant life and didn’t know how to do anything else professionally. When the pandemic hit, even though they didn’t face the threat of furlough because of their seniority, many senior flight attendants panicked. You should never feel limited in today’s professional environment.

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The beauty of the career is its flexibility, and you should take advantage of that flexibility to explore different professional paths and travel the world.

Flying is exhausting and it’s mind-numbing.  The thrill wears off eventually, and you’ll be left visiting the same cities over and over again.  One too many flight attendants have said to me, “I’m bored already.”

Every job has its pros and cons. Knowing what to expect as a flight attendant and taking advantage of what you can will help you succeed in this career.