When you become a Flight attendant do I have to Move to another city( base). is that mandatory?

Question

I am a mother of a 1 year old and married, I am planning to start a flight attendant carrer, but I Can not move to another city as my husband own a business in Florida, and we have a son. is there any chance I can make my own city fort laurdale, miami area as my base? how does that work? thank you

Answer 1

It all depends on where you are "based" out of training.  The airline may or may not offer you a choice of locations.  It all hinges on operational need.  Before you even apply to an airline you might do some research to see which airlines have crew domiciles or "bases" at the airport closest to you.  Don't be fooled into thinking you can live in one city and commute to work in another right off the bat, however. Many airlines do not offer flight priviliges until after you've successfully completed a probationary period.  Additionally, most airlines will put new hire flight attendants on reserve (being on call) for some length of time.  In this situation you would need to be available to the airline, sometimes at the last minute, to cover open flying.  With all the airline cutbacks flights are fuller and frequency has been reduced making it much harder to travel on a non-revenue basis.  I can't tell you that it's impossible to do but realize what kind of committment you're making before you decide to make it.  Also, have you considered how much time away from your family you'll be spending?  Depending on the airline it could be quite a while before you are able to guarantee yourself having a holiday, birthday,or even weekend off.  True, when asked in an interview whether you are willing to relocate the ONLY answer is "yes," just be sure you understand what you're getting yourself into.  What's the point of going through six (maybe more) weeks of difficult and (usually) unpaid training only to find out you've been based in Los Angeles when you are only willing to accept being based in Miami?

OK, I just reread this post and don't want to come across as pessimistic.  Flying for an airline can be a wonderful career.  Why do you think so many people stick with it for 30 or 40 years?  Just be realisitic about your expectations.  Like any job you have to pay your dues.  You don't start out on the best routes or making the maximum hourly rate.  One of the best perks for someone like you, with a new family is the (eventual) flexibility in your schedule.  When you get to the point of being able to have some control it's very common to trade trips around, pick up trips for more $$$ or drop trips for additional time off.  Have to admit having 15 days off in a row and still getting paid for a full month can be mighty nice.  Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

The only way to guarantee you'll be based in SoFla is to apply with airlines that only have bases in SoFla.  That would narrow down your choices to Gulfstream Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Miami Air.  Other airlines have bases in FLL/MIA, but there's no guarantee you'll be based there out of training.

Answer 3

As a former cabin crew, I can tell you that how you answer the question is imperative to you getting hired.

Just answer yes to everything. The airline wants to see employer loyalty and commitment. They want YOU to bend over backwards for them - not the other way round. You may live in one city and be 'based' in another. You just have to 'commute' ie by travelling on own airline to start yoru work day . ie live in MIA and you are based in say IAH. You would therefore have to fly to IAH to start your work roster. Then after your flight pattern, you may then 'go home'. You may need to be based in IAH for the first 6 months or so, till your travel benefits kick in then you'd be able to travel almost free on your own airline.

I used to know someone who was based in DFW on American Airlines and she lived in SINGAPORE! She flew to DFW once a week to fly her monthly roster 80 hour of it - all crammed into a 2 week flying spree. Then after that, she got her next 2.5 - 3 weeks free and she went back to Singapore .

If you answer yes to most of their questions properly, then you will get hired...

If they ask you if you would be willing to relocate to another city?

Answer something like: "Well, I just have a one year old child and my husband just got his own business in Florida. But I understand the perils of the job in benig a FA. I will be willing to commute if necessary to wherever my base is."

Good luck !

Answer 4

With some airlines relocation is mandatory, but most let you commute to your base. Commuting can be a pain though, so you might actually end up getting a crash pad, which is a place you share with other crewmembers while you're on days on in your base city, then when you're off you go home.