Flight Attendants and Their Salaries?

Question

Would a new hire flight attendant be able to survive with the salary that they get if he/she wasn't married.?

Answer 1

My mom is a flight attendant for 21 years now and she gets paid maybe 700 dollars every 3 weeks.  It all depends on the airline. You could do it though my mom's friend does. But my mother's friend of the same airlines does and she has a beautiful apartment and goes to Ireland a lot so I suppose you could if you work a lot.  

Answer 2

I know the salary is quite low the first year.  You definitely have to have a strict budget.  However if the flight attendant is not married, they can earn some extra money by flying on routes that people do not want to.  For example, my friend is a pilot for UPS.  He said that there are always flights that you can sign up for if you want to work extra hours.  I am sure the same thing applies to flight attendants.

I wouldn't be surprised if during the first year you are on-call a lot or on ready-reserve.  When on ready-reserve you are at the airport and are a substitute in-case a flight attendant scheduled on a flight cannot make it.

Answer 3

It depends.  Does the FA live somewhere for free such as with a family member?  Do they live on their own?  Do they have lots of school or credit card debt?  Do they have a high car payment?  All of these things factor into the equation.

I have two friends who work for the same airline.  Although they both pick up extra flights between their scheduled fights they still don't make more than $22-27 K/year.  Not much if you have lots of expenses such as school or car loans, credit car payments, rent, utilities, etc.

While the airline picks up the tab for the hotel on layovers, FAs are responsible for all their meals and entertainment.  The airline does not provide or pay for any meals, even when working a flight (unless you're a pilot).

If you are thinking of becoming a FA you should analyze your expenses and see just how much you're spending per month.  Then shop around and see what airlines are hiring and what their starting salaries are.  It may be something you can afford to do but it may be something that you can look into once you get your expenses under control.