When we imagine flight attendants, what comes to mind is a woman wearing a brightly colored uniform with a pencil skirt and heels, a garrison cap and a scarf. There is also a stereotype that they travel a lot, can stay at nice hotels and live a dream life when they are not on board a plane.
But there are a lot of things that we don’t know, just like about any other industry that we're not in ourselves. TikToker Yaima, who is a flight attendant, shares interesting information about her job and about how things work.
More info: TikTok
People have a lot of questions about being a flight attendant and this woman is here to answer them
Image credits: yaimam
Yaima is not only a flight attendant but is also in the United States Air Force, more specifically in the Air National Guard in the medical group. But even though she hasn’t uploaded much on TikTok, she mostly shares her experience as a flight attendant.
Despite having under 40 videos posted, several of them went viral and the most successful one has 7.1M views. In that video, Yaima presents a collection of various facts about her job, such as that they get to fly for free when they are not working or that they work on several flights a day.
Image credits: yaimam
In her most recent video which was posted in September, Yaima shows the place where they store food and drinks that people can order when flying on a plane. In other videos, she shares what she does when she is on standby and how she gets to work.
The most burning question that people have is how much flight attendants make and Yaima reveals how her company pays her. Turns out, there are two forms of payment, one of which is per diem and the other is flight pay.
She reveals the specifics of her job, like how many flights she has and what it's like to work with the rest of the crew
Image credits: yaimam
According to Travel Academy, per diem is an hourly meal allowance which flight attendants get paid “whenever they work outside of their base location. Per diem is paid round the clock (even when you are sleeping!).”
The flight pay, as Yaima explains, is the hourly rate that a flight attendant is getting when they are in the air and it gets raised every year, in her company, up to $70 per hour. Everything is calculated very precisely and flight attendants know what they will be making for a trip in advance.
Other airlines may have a different system and pay a base salary or a monthly salary. Flight attendants get paid more if they are on a night flight or are flying internationally. Some airlines will give extra pay for those flight attendants who speak a foreign language.
She touches on the requirements to become a flight attendant and Yaima assures people that it's not that hard
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
Yaima shared some of the things we see flight attendants do and what we may not see, but we were interested to know how they feel about their jobs so Bored Panda reached out to Ally Case who is a part-time flight attendant. She shared with us what she likes the most about her job, "Thinking about how I get paid to travel the world is something that still blows my mind every day. I've seen so many places across the world that I would have never imagined being able to see outside of this job. I'm so grateful for every experience that I've had and am so excited thinking about the many more to come! Meeting people from all walks of life each and every flight is THE coolest and the flexibility and the perks are unbeatable! Creating your own schedule is truly priceless and being able to fly anywhere in the world for free outside of work is SO valuable."
You don't need a degree, but it's always a plus, as well as experience in customer service and second language skills
Image credits: yaimam
It's really nice to hear a person be so excited and happy about their job, but every now and then even the best jobs have their own challenges. Ally revealed to us that in her job the schedule is the thing that might be tricky to adapt to, "Not one day is exactly like the next -- you really have to be ready for anything! I would say that the most challenging part can be the ever changing schedule. Sometimes you're starting work at 4am and other times you're starting at 7pm so it can be challenging to form a typical routine. As long as you show up to work with a positive attitude, you can handle anything. And as you become more senior within your company, you'll have a better grip on proffering for the times you'd prefer to be working! "
You may wonder what flight attendants’ career growth opportunities are, as there are no obvious next steps. Travel Academy reveals that there are a few ways to be promoted: “Once a flight attendant has gained a certain amount of knowledge and experience, they may qualify for other positions based on their performance, which can significantly increase their earning potential. These positions include Lead Flight Attendant, In-flight Support Coordinator, Base Supervisor, and even in the training or recruiting department!”
Ally confirms that being a flight attendant can be a long-term career, "Many flight attendants have been flying for 20, 30, and 40+ years. The longer you're with one company, the more seniority you accrue and the better trips you can hold (hello first class to Paris every week)!"
The most intriguing topic is always related to money and Yaima didn't hide any numbers
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
She gets paid per diem, which is $2.45, and when you have just started, you get paid $31 an hour while in air, with the possibility of a raise after a year
Image credits: yaimam
Executive Flyers explains what are other roles that you can take up after you worked as flight attendant for a while. Lead flight attendants, also known as pursers, the cabin managers or chief flight attendants “can fulfill the same role of a flight attendant, but also take on additional management responsibilities and tasks. Essentially, a purser is in charge of the cabin crew and plays a larger role in handling cabin safety, the experience of passengers, and completes flight paperwork.”
Their responsibilities may vary depending on the airline but can include conducting announcements, communicating important information to the captain and making sure passengers receive their meals in a timely manner.
Usually, flight attendants are promoted to a purser after a few years and receive a higher yearly salary. Most often, every international flight will have a purser and in the US it is common to have them on domestic flights as well.
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
On top of that, flight attendants get bonuses, get paid more on international flights and get extra pay for knowing other languages
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: Håkan Dahlström (not the actual photo)
Other options are to work at the airport and not on flights. For example, in-flight coordinators “Prepare trip itineraries for flight crews, while coordinating all the necessary logistics that are associated with a trip.” You could train or recruit new people so there are opportunities to move around in the company.
Yaima goes on to explain some actions and behavior of flight attendants that may not always make sense to passengers
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
You don’t need a specific degree to start as a flight attendant as most airlines require only a high school diploma or an equivalent. Of course, experience in customer service or a diploma of higher education that would serve you at the job will bring you more chances to land the job.
But you can learn everything after getting hired. Yaima mentioned that airlines train their employees and most of it has to do with handling emergencies. In the comments of another video, she revealed that every few months, they have additional training.
Ally agrees that truly anyone can apply, "On your airline of choice's website, navigate to the job board. When you see that flight attendant positions are open, apply! A positive attitude and ability to work as a team is so important to show throughout your in-person interview. You'll be hired for your personality, skills are taught later."
Like how they close the curtain to keep the inside cool and allow passengers to sleep or ask to keep your bags under the seat for quick escape during an emergency
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
The training is usually quite intense. It can last from 3 to 6 or more weeks and it looks like a normal work day where you go there for 8 hours. Indeed specifies that “This training prepares you to use airport codes, make PA announcements, perform routine job duties and handle in-flight emergencies.” Not only that, but you get to have a test flight: “You will complete around four supervised test flights as part of the program.”
At the end of your training, you will be tested and airlines are quite strict and accept people who get a grade higher than 90 percent. But that’s not all. After completing your training, “your employer will apply for your Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency from the Federal Aviation Administration. You must get a separate certificate for every type of aircraft that you're certified to work with.”
Image credits: yaimam
We can see what flight attendants do on the plane, but what about when they land and have to stay some place other than where they're based?
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
The training is so demanding because as Ally told us, it focuses on safety rather than customer service, "While we do hand out snacks and sodas in flight, we're actually there for your safety and security! 98% of our training is on safety and security, the snacks and drinks are an added bonus to help ensure a comfortable flight to and from your destination. We retrain every year on every aircraft to make sure we're always refreshed and prepared on procedure in case of an emergency (medical emergency, evacuation, etc)."
They get to stay at hotels for free and relax before their next flight while getting paid for it, which sounds pretty nice
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
Image credits: yaimam
You can watch the video with the most views on Yaima's account below
Do you feel that the process is too complicated or not rigorous enough? Would you like to try out being a flight attendant? Have you learnt something new from Yaima about this profession? Let us know in the comments.