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Childhood Dream: Being a Flight Attendant

 

When I was little I had made a list of all the things I wanted to do by the time I was a certain age and what I wanted to be when I grew up. On the top of my list was to visit places like France, England, Greece, Germany, and Italy. I thought that being a flight attendant and seeing the world had to be the best job ever! They got to see everything I wanted to see and get paid to do it. Little did I know that most flight attendants don’t ever see much more than the airport and the hotel where they get shuttled off for a few hours’ sleep.

Italy 9

It didn’t seem quite as glamorous as I have pictured it. Through the years I also found out a few other negatives about being a flight attendant.  If the plane door is open the flight attendant is not getting paid. They don’t actually get paid until the aircraft pulls away from the gate. Thus they are not getting paid while people are boarding and deplaning.

Greece

Flight attendants also have to be within a certain height. They have to be tall enough to grab equipment from the overhead bins, but not so tall that they hit their head on the ceiling. Today, that typically means between 5-foot-3 and 6-foot-1, depending on the aircraft. I am really short so that killed my dream right there

I still wanted to see the world, but I knew I couldn't do it as a flight attendant.  I also found out that they can be fired for some bizarre reasons. First of all, they are placed on a strict six-month probation period. I read a story about a flight attendant who got fired for wearing her uniform sweater around her waist.  Crazy huh?

Flying

With that said, I have a couple of friends who work in the airline industry and they love it. Here are some of the benefits of being a flight attendant. Obviously, the first one has to be the flight benefits. When you have time off you can fly almost anywhere for free and see the places that you have only stayed in overnight. The airline's benefits for their employees and their family can be pretty sweet. Although often it can be a “stand by” travel, you learn when you can and can’t do it easily.

London

Besides seeing the world, I thought it would be cool to meet so many people from all over the world.  I would love to talk to them in between flight services. Learn what they love about the country and city where they live. I think that would be a great perk of the job.

Germany

Flight attendants make friends very easily. With passengers yes, but mostly with each other. There is something about the lifestyle that makes it so easy to just open yourself up and become friends with every other crew member. I love to talk to people and I could easily see myself becoming friends by the end of a flight with the other crew members, lol

Spain

As I am too short to ever be a flight attendant I still love traveling and seeing the world. It would be nice to be able to use flight benefits and fly for free, but I also have the ability to decide where and when I want to go. I don't have to fly stand by and hope to get a seat. There are pros and cons to being on both sides. I guess I could have been a gate agent, huh?

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  • Flight-attendants
  • Italy 9
  • Greece
  • Flying
  • London
  • Germany
  • Spain

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