What is an average day like for an FA while on the road?

[E6Birdman]

Hello all, I am a 47yo retired Navy Flight Engineer who loves to fly. Once my kids are out of college I will be going back to school to finish my pilot training. In the meantime I am curious about how it is to work as an FA. Things like pay, daily routine, dealing with passengers, etc... Any info you can provide will be appreciated.

 

[Stanimal]

Try a fa board

 

[E6Birdman]

Try a fa board

This is an FA board! See the top where it says Home>Forums>Career Specific>Flight Attendant

 

[JetCrew]

It all depends on the Airline. starting pay is peanuts. not a whole lot of money to be made in your first 2-4 years. some airlines have a reserve schedule for the new hires. reserve is on on call schedule... you're called to fill in for trips that need coverage due to a sick call or an unplanned absence. as seniority builds, your schedule gets better to the point where you know your sked before hand and you can plan accordingly. you can also pick up more flying or drop or swap into something more to your liking.

being an FA is more like a lifestyle than a job. work long hours and holidays. but again, it all depends on the airline you work for.... i always tell new hires at my company, go to DL...

 

[E6Birdman]

It all depends on the Airline. starting pay is peanuts. not a whole lot of money to be made in your first 2-4 years. some airlines have a reserve schedule for the new hires. reserve is on on call schedule... you're called to fill in for trips that need coverage due to a sick call or an unplanned absence. as seniority builds, your schedule gets better to the point where you know your sked before hand and you can plan accordingly. you can also pick up more flying or drop or swap into something more to your liking.

being an FA is more like a lifestyle than a job. work long hours and holidays. but again, it all depends on the airline you work for.... i always tell new hires at my company, go to DL...

Thank you JetCrew. Why DL?

 

[scramjet]

There is almost no average day. The career is quite an interesting one; you either love it or you hate it. I have seen very little in between the two. Some people just have the spark, and once it's in their blood it is very hard to leave the occupation. It really all depends on what airline you working for and in what sector of the industry. For instance, when I was a regional airline flight attendant, I sat reserve for a very short time. By six months, i could basically bid what I wanted and pick up almost unlimited hours. At one of the big three, my time was mostly sitting around in an unfamiliar city waiting for a call that usually never came. But I loved it! The trips were second-to-none when I did receive them. The biggest challenge to the flight attendant career is not to get bored. Sometimes you get very bored and you forget how good you have it as in my case when I jumped to a higher paying management role at another company. Despite being much more comfortable financially now, I hate my existence at my current non-flying job and miss every single day of flying for a major airline, even the sitting around on reserve. You also have to be very good at balancing safety and customer service. So many people I have flown with have not achieved that balance.

 

[scramjet]

Thank you JetCrew. Why DL?

A lot of people automatically point to Delta. Based on work rules alone, it is a fantastic place to work and fly. I would take a job if I was offered it there. However, I I have a higher comfort level working at an airline that is a union shop only because I have been and currently am in Inflight management and have seen the sausage being made, so to speak... With a union shop, you have higher job security especially if you are wrongfully terminated or the airline's fortunes take a dramatic downturn. While Delta's work rules for flight attendants are quite good, the company can change those work rules at any time without a CBA. Again, that's my opinion. All else being equal, I would happily fly for them because they do have very decent work rules and my perspective is somewhat unique having been in management.
The biggest advantage that Delta does offer its flight attendants is that they do not do Straight Reserve. All crew members get a line of flying with only a few availability days as opposed to having straight weeks of Reserve. This gives you a lot of flexibility on picking open time up, dropping or swapping, commuting, and other areas. Also generally speaking, Delta flight attendants have been the most professional that I have encountered while flying as a passenger.

 

[E6Birdman]

There is almost no average day. The career is quite an interesting one; you either love it or you hate it. I have seen very little in between the two. Some people just have the spark, and once it's in their blood it is very hard to leave the occupation. It really all depends on what airline you working for and in what sector of the industry. For instance, when I was a regional airline flight attendant, I sat reserve for a very short time. By six months, i could basically bid what I wanted and pick up almost unlimited hours. At one of the big three, my time was mostly sitting around in an unfamiliar city waiting for a call that usually never came. But I loved it! The trips were second-to-none when I did receive them. The biggest challenge to the flight attendant career is not to get bored. Sometimes you get very bored and you forget how good you have it as in my case when I jumped to a higher paying management role at another company. Despite being much more comfortable financially now, I hate my existence at my current non-flying job and miss every single day of flying for a major airline, even the sitting around on reserve. You also have to be very good at balancing safety and customer service. So many people I have flown with have not achieved that balance.

Thanks scramjet.