Flight Attendant Career

Becoming a flight attendant will be more than just a career or a job, it will become your life.

Starting from the point when you get hired, the airlines basically has control of what you do and when you do it, at least for a while, until you gain some seniority. Scheduling and your airline company will have you like a puppet for 20-21 days a month while you are on reserve.

Reserve schedule for most of the airlines are 24 hours a day for all the days that you are on reserve. That may mean getting called at eleven at night, or three in the morning. You can expect to get called when you least expect it. So plan for the worst when on reserve.

Short call is not uncommon, and for some airlines it may be frequently. On short calls, depending on the airline that you are working for, you may get an hour or two to get to the airport and duty-in. Most airlines also have ready reserves who basically stay at the airport all day incase a flight attendant is needed to cover a trip at a very short notice. This is usually not too bad, its better than getting short called.

Reserve doesn't last forever, but it can last anywhere from a few months to over a year or two. You can expect to move up in seniority if your company is growing and hiring new flight attendants and if people senior to you are leaving the airlines.