I am interested in haveing a job as a Flight attendent. Pro and cons please?

Question

I am interested in getting a fliht attenedent job. Any inofmatioin on what can i expect would be helpfull

Answer 1

Pro would be travel, Con would also be travel as you would be travelling all the time. However I think that most attendants love to travel or wouldn't take the job in the first place. Another con would be dealing with unruly or rude passengers and most of the time simply having to keep smiling and just take it. Part of dealing with the public during a time when they are often very stressed out about their trip, details, etc. You see the worst side of folks at times like that. Good pay is a Pro and like I said the travel itself would be a pro as you get to visit places everywhere that your carrier flies to. Also I think most of them can fly for free on time off to locations and sometimes on other airlines as well. Not sure if that is still the case though. One Con to this that is usually never talked about is the problems with "jet lag" on your system. Many airline attendants and pilots, etc. have problems with digestive system caused by the constant changes in altitude during the day. This can cause chronic constipation or diarrhea or other problems that are usually never mentioned in talking about this job. Can be dealt with though as from what I have read most of the folks who have these jobs love them and have a fun time. The airlines themselves would be the best source of info and you might find some groups on the internet of attendants where they discuss issues about their life, etc. that could be valuable as well. Exciting job I would think.

Answer 2

Pros: (this goes for the piloting profession,too)

+Travel to exciting and not so exciting places. Where you go depends on the carrier(airline). If you work for the smaller express companies, you'll travel to mainly business locations, depending on your base and the equipment (aircraft). Not everyone flies to Hawaii, Paris,etc. Regional airlines travel all over the lower 48 states and some have routes to the Caribbean and Puerto Rico and Canada ( make sure you have a US Passport before applying)

But even certain "boring" places have their plus and minuses. It's all in what you make of it. You may only see the city from window of your hotel or the shuttle ride from the airport, but I found it was interesting to go places I wouldn't have gone had I not been a flight attendant.

+ Travel benefits. These vary from airline to airline, but basically you travel anywhere that airline goes for free or a very reduced rate. The only downside is you are on "standby", which means you aren't guaranteed a seat. Makes for very interesting travel on vacation, so be flexible.

+ Meeting people. You will meet all kinds of people from all over the world. If you are a "people-person", this is a plus.

+ Schedule. When you are new, you are usually on reserve. This means you don't have a schedule but have to be available within a two-hour time span on certain days or certain times of the day (or both) You bid a schedule from month to month, so you need to be flexible. But once you get more seniority, you'll be able to outbid for better schedules. Be aware that you may have to move for your job.

Cons:

Travel: You are usually on the road from 3-5 days at a time. Airlines are a 24/7 operation, so you will work holidays unless you are scheduled off.

People- You are dealing with the traveling public, which is a plus and a minus. Most people are very nice and understanding, but no one likes to be delayed or cancelled.

Air travel: Most people take air travel for granted, so here goes: Airplanes are very complex machines, they break. Weather can turn very quickly or persist longer than forecast. These items cause delays to the passengers and to you! Quite a few times I was supposed to finish my trip at 11am at my home airport, only to be delayed due to weather, maintenance, ATC delays,etc. until 4pm.

Working conditions: I worked on a 30 seat turboprop as the sole flight attendant. The fleet was old, noisy and beat-up. The new jets are better but you are still working in a small tube with many limitation. Lots of stooping and bending, pushing around a heavy drink cart,etc.. Turbulence will cause you to spill drinks on people, makes people ill and scares some people, even the 6'5 300 lb guy. Even if you get on with a larger carrier, these factors still come into play, but you have a bit more room and other F/A's to complain with, about and to.

Pay: Pay is not great to start with. When you start reserve, you a usually given a monthly guarantee. It's usually around 60 hours at your base flight pay rate. But to start, most airlines only pay about $15/hr. and you may get meal allowance or a per diem.

Airline industry: Quite literally has it's ups and downs. When times were really good, times were great. When things get bad ( and after 9/11, it was as bad as it got) things are UGLY. Be prepared for airlines to lay you off, close,benefits to change,etc. No different then any other job, but it seems to happen much faster.

I've only scratched the surface here and I was only a flight attendant for a year (laid-off). Since I am working a pilot career, I found the experience valuable, but not something I planned on doing forever. Try it and you may like it. It can be fun and interesting, but very demanding, especially on family and children.

Good luck

Answer 3

I would suggest that you visit this site http://www.airlinecareer.com/ they have everything you need to know about becoming a flight attendant.

I would think a great pro would be you get to travel!
Good Luck!