Anybody here been an airline flight attendant (or known someone who has)?

Xander

Wife has an interesting opportunity to do this, but...well, it's a risk. She passed the interviews and was invited to the 4-week training. Thing is, they say that 75% of those who are accepted into training for it wash out. I mean, to quit a decent paying full-time job for that kind of wash-out rate?

Is that legit? Are 3/4 of those who make it past the interviews and background screening washed out of the training? Is it because many of those who somehow get past the interviews are still not really into it? Or, is it just INSANELY hard to pass?

Anyone with any experience on this?

SWALKER

I knew lots of flight attendents...knew some that didn't make it. They can cut you for just about any reason. One person showed up chewing gum one morning...they told her to leave immediately, no questions asked. It's stuff like that. You have to study, study, study and be ready for testing EVERY DAY!!! If YOU make good money (she won't) and want the benefits of flying stand-by, then she might want to give it a try. To give up a good job for it other than the above, I'd think twice. There is a very high turnover rate also!!!

Swalker

PopeOfEruke

I never heard of such high washout rates.

Only personal experience with a girl who failed was when she tipped the complete dinner over a "passenger" during the final examination when the new "crew" have to serve a full dinner service to other employees pretending to be passengers. Needless to say the employee who got dumped on was also not too happy. I still remember her face, and also the hot gravy all down the guys shirt!

And they failed her, not just for that but she it was the icing on the cake so to speak.

Pope

Leolaia

My suggestion is for you to check out the flyertalk message board. This forum has an enormous number of people in the travel industry, and you can bet there will be lots of flight attendents there that you can ask your query to.

Xander

To give up a good job for it other than the above, I'd think twice. There is a very high turnover rate also!!!

Her perception is that she does not currently have 'a good job'. It pays well - she'll make about half as much starting out as a flight attendant - but she is a retail manager, and has come to hate the corporate lack of direction. Basically, retail companies abuse their employees pretty badly as far as hours, job requirements, work conditions, etc because they can't unionize - it's just WAY to easy to fill positions (it's essentially a 0-skill job).

Gregor

My uncle was a purser (like the head steward) with Pan American from 1948 to 1960. Flew mostly the Pacific routes in double deck Boeing Stratocruisers. Later was in the first jet service 707s to Europe. Pure luxury in those days. Finest wines and food. sleeping births. John Wayne, Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster and many more celebrities were on his flights. Japan, Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Singapore. He went through two marriages in this time and was still a Witness. His father, my G.father, told him he needed to get out of that work because the time was getting short and he needed to settle down. He married a beautiful Japanese woman he met at a KH in Japan. Brought her back to his California home and quit PanAm. He is now 86 and on his fourth wife and lives in Hawaii. Still a devout JW.

FlyingHighNow

My aunt flew for Delta from 1963 until she retired around 2001. She said that today's attendants don't get paid or get the benefits that FA's of her day did. She built up seniority and got to where she could bid for the highest paying flights. She would fly to Germany, stay over and fly back. Delta was a good thing for her, but that was then, this is now. She did have to watch her weight strictly over the years. I recall her only allowing herself to have chocolate twice a year.

Snoozy

My daughter was one for years..she went through several buyouts. She loved the life.She was only in her twenties and had the party life.

She also only had to work two weeks and got paid as much as her other job did for four weeks. ((Working for Mcdonald Douglas)

Had great benefits then..but that was back in the 80's. Family had great benefits too. I could have flown free by just paying the taxes and stupid me never have flown. I could have went anywhere!....free...

Course with the last buyout they lost all that.

She was picked right away because she knew another stewardess that recommended her. Then they all shared a condo..about four of them.

It was party central..

I remember one time we had to drive for 5 hours to Chicago because they were the only ones that issued passports the same day. She had to have one for a flight whe was on. The next day!...

She loved it but got burned out after five or six years of it.

Started calling it a "Glorified Waitress job"..

Snoozy..

Wordly Andre

My wife was a flight attendant until 4 years ago, but not in this country, she went through a lot of training, even some military training. I wish she would get back into it. I know its kind of rough, she has some horror stories, I will show her your email and ask her to give you any advise.

Wordly Andre

ok she said out of 200 only 20 people were selected to go on to training, during training 3 they dropped out. 6 months after training there is a period of time that they make you do refresher test and you have to pass with an inspector, they test you on Equipment, each type of plane you fly in, for each of those planes you have to pass a test while in flight, the inspector looks at everything you do and asks you questions and tests you on safety, and where all the stuff is on the plane, after that she said every year you have to re-pass the tests, for each plane you fly in. She remembers that 5 of the new flight attendants were let go because they didn't pass the follow up test.

she said that she thinks American flight attendants have it easy, she had a full service international flights, and had to do a lot more than American flight attendants. I think she has too much pride ha ha ha

Anybody here been an airline flight attendant (or known someone who has)?

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