Flight Attendant Answers 19 Most Frequently Asked Questions

Bored Panda spoke about the industry's secrets, the challenges that the flight staff face, how the pandemic has changed things, and how passengers should never behave with a flight attendant working at a major international airline. The industry insider preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of her job. Be sure to read on for her in-depth insights—they might just change your behavior the next time you fly.

The anonymous airline industry insider shared with Bored Panda that, in her opinion, the biggest advantage of working as a flight attendant is the the possibility to travel all around the world and to visit some truly amazing cities. Of course, that was pre-Covid, as now FA's spend most of their time in hotel rooms. Another plus is getting cheap tickets for themselves and their family members.

"The biggest disadvantage currently is the instability of the industry and the fear of being let go anytime," the insider said, adding that this is how things work with various Middle Eastern airlines. Meanwhile, another large con is the "adverse impact on health" that happens due to overnight flights and the constantly changing time zones.

"The message that I would love to share with all the passengers is this: call-bells are for the medical emergency only! Stop pressing it for drinks, it’s just annoying. The best approach would be to come to the galley and ask for whatever you want. Also, please don’t be smart and try to smoke in the lavatories, we don’t want to deal with the fire onboard. And the last one, be nice. Please," the exasperated flight attendant pleaded with passengers to think about the flight staff, not just themselves.

The industry insider confirmed to Bored Panda that, in her particular case, the airline only pays the flight staff once the airplane actually leaves the gate. They're paid right until the moment that the aicraft pushes back after the landing. "All the delays on ground are not really covered. So it does not only suck for you but for us, too," she said.

I was also curious to find out more about what the current situation in the airline industry regarding the Covid-19 pandemic is. The insider had this to say: "Currently, a lot of flights turned from layovers to turnarounds where possible because of different Covid policies which means that we’re doing a lot of flights which are over 10-13 hours without any rest," she revealed the impact on flight attendants.

"The most difficult part is to remind people to wear masks onboard, since they try to remove it at any time possible. Also, once we land somewhere, it takes a while to go through the airport because of the extra Covid checks, but it makes sense because of the current situation."

Meanwhile, flight attendant Ally touches pretty much on every question that you’d think of. From the financial side of things (whether or not FA’s fly for free, get free hotel rooms while working, and can even take their loved ones on holiday with them sometimes, etc.) to more practical questions—like whether they can sleep during long-haul flights. And what do flight attendants even eat while on the job?! The answer to that one, my dear Pandas, is airline food. Now, you might disagree with me on this, but this sounds like a major perk to me. I love airline food. Well, most of it. Ok, fine, some of it.

Despite the overly-romantic point of view some people, me included, have about how wonderful it would be to jet around the world and soak in all the different cultures (and try out the food, don’t forget about the non-airline food), the job isn’t without its issues.

For one, stability seems to be a major issue: if you’re constantly flying all around the place, making plans or building solid relationships becomes more difficult. What’s more, while visiting exotic destinations is exciting, a large part of the actual job involves customer service. And far from every passenger is going to be as friendly as you’d want.

Something else to consider is the pay. Ally points out that she doesn’t start to get paid until the doors are closed and, depending on the airlines, this is actually true.

Business Insider explains that some airlines do end up getting their flight attendants to work some hours for free. Most of their wage is paid for working during flight hours, aka from the moment a flight leaves the gate at the airport to the moment it arrives at its destination.

However, some airlines can define flight hours in different ways, meaning that flight attendants can end up doing work for free, essentially. Work like helping passengers board and exit the plane, cleaning the plane after flights, and checking the emergency equipment.

Though, let’s end the post on a high note: some airlines also pay their workers an hourly rate for spending time away from home. Thinking of being a flight attendant? You’d better do some in-depth research about which airlines provide the best working conditions first. You might love the idea of flying around the globe, but that alone won’t pay the bills. Remember, you still have a home to return to, even if that happens rarely.