TravelDuties

Becoming an airline flight attendant is one of the most rewarding careers you can choose from. You will be able to travel the world, while experiencing things that many people would never have the chance to experience in their lifetime. When it comes to being an airline flight attendant, there is no other job quite like it. You will have the opportunity to meet hundreds of people who are all unique, and will most likely have a story or two to share with you.

Flying as a flight attendant will definitely open your eyes up to a world you have never seen before, as you become immersed in the culture of many countries around the world. However, there are some downsides to being a flight attendant.

First of all, you may have to work on public holidays, week ends, and 24 hour shifts if you are on a trans-Atlantic flight. For many the thought of having to work on Easter and Christmas is a turn off, however, if you are willing to sacrifice your holidays, you will be rewarded generously in your career as a flight attendant. Similarly, you may have to travel for weeks spending time away from home and your family. In most cases this won’t be the case, but if you are unlucky enough (or luck enough, depending on how you look at it), you may be required to travel from the United States to places as far off as Europe and Asia. In these cases, you will be working for over 24 hours non stop.

Photo by: Ariel da Silva Parreira

If you are looking to become a flight attendant, now is the time. With a recent announcement made by United Airlines that they will be hiring over 2000 new flight attendants, the outlook for flight attendants has brightened a great deal over the last few months, and has catapulted the market to the best it has been in five years.

If you are hoping to land a job as a flight attendant, the first place you should start is with the legacy airlines. Legacy airlines are defined as any airline that has influenced the US airline industry. Due to high employment costs, skyrocketing fuel prices, competition for discount airlines, and an overall inefficiency, two of the United Sates’ largest airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines are looking to hire thousands of flight attendants.

If you are unable to find a legacy airline willing to hire you, your best bet is to move to the discount airlines. In an attempt to strengthen their image and holding in the airline market, almost every discount airline is hiring flight attendants, specifically, Southwest, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, and Mesa.

If you still haven’t found any airlines willing to hire you, a great option may be start up carriers. Two of the newest airlines, EOS Airlines and MaxJet Airways, have both recently hired, and are expected to hire again as they become more established in the industry. The one major advantage of start up airlines is that they always need new flight attendants, as compared to other airlines who only hire flight attendants when they are expanding their routes or growing faster than expected.

Photo by: Rodolfo Clix