What are the requirements to become a flight attendant?
Are there requirements for appearance?
Airlines don't chose their flight attendants by appearance and candidates of all ages, races, genders and body types have equal chances. However, it is essential to maintain professional look and behavior. Airlines want you to look classy.
There's a little space for creativity and extravagance, when it comes to appearance. No body piercings (except a pair of earrings) and visible tattoos are allowed. Upon hiring, airlines provide their flight attendants a booklet with strict uniform guidelines, that include allowed accessories, manicure, hairstyles, shoes,, etc.
We highly recommend following these rules at the interview. Great first impression is a key of success and unprofessional look can completely kill your chances of being hired.
How long is the hiring process?
It can take from couple of days, to couple of months. It all depends on the size of the airline and their current needs. Smaller regional airlines often do so called Open House Interviews, where you can come and get a job offer on the spot and start the training within few days. On the other hand, other airlines have longer hiring process with couple of steps to be passed and even several months can pass from submitting the application, until being hired and actually start the training. You should never quit your present job, until you have the training date set.
What are my chances of being hired?
Being a flight attendant is an extremely demanded job. There are many airlines hiring, but there are much more candidates applying. You can increase your chances by applying for several airlines. Know, that practice makes perfect and don't give up if you don't get the job right away.
It may take even couple of years to get the job. Take this time as an opportunity to work on yourself and improve the skills desired for the flight attendant. Get a job in customer service, learn foreign language, do anything, that gets you closer to your dream of being a flight attendant.
What are the benefits of being a flight attendant?
Being a flight attendant brings a whole bunch of benefits. Most of all, you get free, or almost free tickets for yourself and your friends and family. Have you heard of buddy passes? Airline employees get several of them every year to give them to their friends and fly the world together for very reasonable prices.
Flight attendant schedule is also very flexible. As a new hire you can most likely forget about weekends and holidays off, but on the other hand, you can easily fix your schedule to have several days off in a row and go for vacation without using any vacation days. And did you know, that many hotels, cruises or rental cars offer discounts to crew members?
Among other benefits, you will get health and dental insurance, 401(k) and many more, depending on the airline of your choice.
What is the training like?
The training is very intense and remember, that you don't have the job until you successfully graduate. Flight attendants are mostly safety personnels, but they are also fire fighters, doctors, psychologists, waiters, chefs and many more. You have to learn all these skills in 4 to 8 weeks.
Flight attendants have to be prepared for every possible situation and emergency. The training isn't easy and not everybody passes, but imagine, how rewarding is the feeling, when you finally earn your wings!
How long is the training?
The length of the training depends on the airline and size of their fleet. It usually lasts 4 to 8 weeks.
Is the training paid?
Some airlines will start paying you from the first day of your training, some won't. In general, the airlines with unpaid training provide free accommodation and food, while the airlines with paid training usually don't provide food and some will require you to find your own accommodation.
Considering the time between the training and getting the first pay check, it's important to have enough savings for paying the bills and other expenses while being temporary without income.
Will I have to move for the job?
Although the airlines will ask you to relocate to the assigned base, it's not really necessary and many flight attendants commute to work. Remember, you have free tickets.
But commuting can be very difficult and time consuming. The flights are often full and flight attendants fly on standby tickets. It means, they only get the seat, if there are any available, after all the paying passengers are on board. Another important factor is weather, that can cause many cancellations, especially during summer storms and winter snow falls. Not being able to get a seat on a plane to commute to work, isn't an excuse and it's a reason for termination, if it happens too often. Fortunately, most of the planes have an extra seat or two, called jumpseats, that can only be used by flight attendants. That can help them get to their destination, even if the flight is completely full.
Reserve flight attendants are required to be in the base, when they are on call. There are often situations, when they have to make it to the airport with very short notice, usually 2 hours. Living close to the airport is a big advantage then.
How much do the flight attendants make?
Your salary very much depends on the airline you get hired for. The hourly rate for the first year varies between $15 to $27. It's important to know, that flight attendants are only getting paid, when they are actually flying.
Realistic amount of paid hours is 90 per month, which will still give you approximately 15 days off. Every year flight attendants get a pay rise and after 15 years of service, they can make even over $60 per hour.
Besides that, they are paid per diem for each hour of being on duty. There are also extra payments for flying international, or being a flight leader.
You can look up the pay scale for every airline, but remember, that it shouldn't be the only factor in your decision making. You can find many reviews to find out how happy are the employees, or what are the other benefits of the particular airline.
How does the flight attendant schedule look like?
As a new hire flight attendant, you will probably have to start as a reserve flight attendant. It means, that you are on call and go to work, when the line holding flight attendant has to be replaced. Depending on airline, flight attendants might be on reserve just couple of days a month, or the full month, until they reach the seniority, when they can get a line, meaning the full schedule with no surprise trips.
Being a reserve isn't really bad. Flight attendants have fixed days off and they are guaranteed to be paid certain amount of hours, even if they flew less than that. That allows them to combine flying for example with studying, taking care of family, having another job, or just enjoying the flight attendant life and traveling around the world.
Contact us, if you have more questions and let us help you become a flight attendant.
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