How much money is your flight attendant making?

Debbie Psihountas

There’s a lot of things people don’t know about the job of flight attendant, and given how popular travel seems to have become ever since the severe restrictions on movement and socialization resulting from Covid, I think it would be helpful to enlighten the general population, most of whom appear to be taking many trips, gauging from the absolutely full flights we’re experiencing again this summer, after having already had a couple of summers of record-breaking passenger numbers.

That often-pretty or handsome, well-mannered and well-groomed flight attendant you see before you is probably not making a lot of money. They are truly there for the other benefits the job may be providing, such as adventure, an opportunity to travel and see the world, etc.

I’d read once many years ago that 99% of what a flight attendant knows you will never see. Being inside the industry now, I can confirm that that is true. We spent hours in training learning various aircraft and how to open the doors, how to open the emergency exit windows, where the emergency equipment is and how it is operated, how to keep the cockpit safe, how to handle customer injuries and medical emergencies, how to evacuate a plane quickly and safely, minimum crews to meet FAA guidelines, numerous regulations of the FAA, and tons more that most passengers will never have need (fortunately) to see or to know about. I told my family after training that, while I’d flown many many times and places over the years and felt that air travel was in general safe, I felt even more safe flying after I completed the training, after I saw and experienced  the extent and breadth to which the crew is prepared for the job and as I learned more about FAA oversight and the aircraft in general. This training, by the way, is unpaid, though my particular airline did pay for the lodging and some of the meal expenses.

So anyways, back to the attractive, well-groomed flight attendant more than likely greeting you as you get on the airplane, and checking in to make sure your seatbelt is fastened, your bags are properly stowed under the seat in front of you, possibly doing a safety demonstration for you (depending on the aircraft type), and serving you drinks and helping you with whatever you may need during the flight.

Did you know that this individual boards the plane before you do? Of course you do - they have work to do before passengers board. Some of these tasks include checking all of our safety equipment (do we have the proper number of fire extinguishers, oxygen tanks, are the emergency flashlights operational, etc.), some of it involves making sure we have sufficient infant life vests, seat-belt extenders, toilet paper, clean water in the restrooms, sufficient catering supplies (food, beverages, snacks) for the trip ahead, and more. We check the PA system to ensure it works, make sure the plane has been cleaned (and call cleaning services if it has not been properly cleaned), check to see that the lavatory waste levels are low enough for the trip, and so much more. And guess what? We are doing all of this work FOR FREE!

Yes, you are reading correctly. Flight attendants at my airline are paid based on what is called “block time.” That means, when the plane gets to the gate and they put the block behind the wheel, so that the plane can be safely disembarked, luggage gathered, catering trucks for the next trip can connect and board, fueling and maintenance undertaken, etc. The block signals the end of the prior flight. And then once that block is removed so that the plane can be pushed back for the upcoming trip, your flight attendant’s pay begins. So even though they had a check-in time (the time they are due at the gate, in  their full uniform, with all of their  luggage, ready to start work,) unlike 99%+ of the jobs out there (and 100% of my own past jobs), where you are paid once you “clock in “ or once your start time begins, flight attendants are doing all of this without pay. And most of us show up even before our check-in time, so we are sure to never be late or to hold up boarding (there are negative points incurred when you show up late to check-in, even if it is only by a couple of minutes.) Timeliness is everything for the airlines, except of course for when it comes to paying us for our work. Then it is very fuzzy and blurry.

You might have noticed that airports and airlines use terminology such as ETA and ETD - estimated time of arrival or estimated time of departure. I point out specifically the word “estimated.” This is not mathematics, and it is not an exact science. Show me someone who has flown, and I can show you someone who has experienced a delay - either on departure, arrival, or both. It is just part of the business.

Numerous factors go into a plane departing on time. If there is bad weather, chances are arrivals and departures are all impacted. If a plane experiences a mechanical issue, there are often delays involved. If the plane is awaiting numerous passengers running late from another connection, that frequently involves the flight departing later than scheduled. If crew is held up from a flight arriving late, the plane may board on time (often a substitute flight attendant on reserve will come to the gate to help with the boarding process and that flight attendant may also end up staffing the trip, depending on how late the in-bound crew is, but recognize that at many non-hub airports, there are no substitutes or reserves available to be called to fill in, and a delay of in-bound crew means the next flight waits until they arrive and board before it can depart.) And this isn’t even close to covering all factors that can impact the departure occurring on time. Last year alone included a few days  in which FAA computers had issues, which impacted thousands of flights throughout the country, causing meltdowns worldwide (I was on a trip to Greece and we were stranded there a couple of extra days. That might sound like great fun, except that no one knew when we were leaving. So the first day the entire crew stayed at the Athens airport an extra 6 hours (yes, unpaid) after our scheduled departure time. We then had to find a new hotel for all of us (as our regular hotel wasn’t expecting us that night), and then we had to “stand by” the next day to see if we would get out. So no side trips island-hopping or doing anything fun - we didn’t know when we were going to get called back to the airport to resume operations!)

But getting back to your flight and your flight attendants. One thing you may not realize is that when the crew boards early to start the safety and other inspections prior to passenger boarding, they are also being delayed if the flight does not depart on schedule. And guess what? For every minute of that time, that is more free work on their part. Because their pay HAS NOT STARTED until that block is removed and the plane starts moving. Even if the main cabin door is closed! It is not dependent on the door (a common misperception,) but rather, when that block is removed and the plane actually moves. Like many other flight attendants, I’ve had flights where we sit for hours waiting for one situation or another to resolve itself. In some instances, we open the doors back up (assuming they are closed) and allow passengers to de-plane, depending on the circumstances involving the delay and our updated ETD’s. If we aren’t somewhat sure on time, we often warn individuals to stay relatively close to the gate so that they can hear any updated departure information as it becomes available. On one flight I had two summers ago, we boarded and deplaned the same plane twice over the space of three hours! Eventually they decided they could not fix the problem, and we were all taken to a hotel, with the plan being to return very early the next morning to operate the flight. Guess what? All those hours, and through two boardings and two de-planing procedures, serving drinks to first class while we waited (and also to economy after a certain amount of time had elapsed), and through the safety screens and all the rest - all of that was UNPAID time for your flight attendants. And remember, if you are frustrated (as you undoubtedly are,) they have been there even longer than you, and they are not sitting and relaxing. They are working. FOR FREE.

So while the purser and forward galley flight attendants serve drinks, and those of us working economy help you with your bags and make sure you are safely ready for departure and prepare the snack for delivery later in the flight and help you change seats if you’ve decided you no longer want to sit in the exit row or help you change seats if they sat you next to your sister-in-law Cindy, whom you can’t stand (but of course you are whispering this to us because you want us to make it look as though we need you to move, and not as if you are trying to avoid at all costs sitting next to Cindy for the next three hours,) and answering your questions about “how likely” you are to miss your connection in Dallas given we are looking as though we will leave 10 minutes late and while we are calming those of you who have specifically told us you hate airline travel and turbulence scares you to death and all of the rest of the things we are doing while you are boarding the plane, finding your seat, and getting comfortable, etc. - literally all of this is being done by us without us receiving a cent of pay! But we are still smiling, helpful, professional, and doing our best throughout all of this to make sure you have a great flying experience with us. That’s our job. And we do it well.

So knowing all of this now, it may not surprise you that many flight attendant unions are pushing more and more for a different definition of time by which to pay flight crew. Why the idea of a “clock in” time at our check-in and then paying us through deplaning seems to be so difficult is beyond me. Which brings me to another interesting tidbit you should be aware of.

We’ve all been on flights where we are sitting towards the back of the plane (the aft of the aircraft,) and it feels like it is taking “forever” to deplane. Sadly, this is not your imagination. This is likely one of the few ‘advantages’ of a delayed plane, if you can call it that. Passengers with tight connections arriving a few minutes late often tend to move a lot more quickly getting off of the plane, than when the plane arrives at its destination on time (or even early). So while the folks in no hurry are taking their time getting off, we are waiting, as we have further safety and other checks to do after all passengers deplane. And I mean all. Flight attendants must wait on the aircraft. So if a passenger can’t walk and is awaiting an aisle wheelchair, we are on the plane with them. Even if the airport is backed up on services and can’t get someone there at our gate and onto the plane with the aisle wheelchair for ½ hour. The pilots can exit before or with the passengers. They do not have this requirement. But the flight attendants (and I mean all of them, not just one or two of them), are required to wait until the last person deplanes. And guess what? We blocked in before the main cabin door opened and before a single person stepped off. So more UNPAID work time for all of us!

A more fair way to compensate us would be starting our “clock” at our check-in time, and stopping it when the last passenger leaves and we are allowed off the plane. Not so complicated, right? But as of the time of this writing, not one airline that I’m familiar with has adopted this far more equitable system recognizing work time and compensating it. How they (airlines) have gotten away with this for decades and decades is beyond me, but perhaps the fact that for many years the job of stewardess (what we used to be called) was one considered as part of the “pink ghetto,” largely populated only by women, there was no urgency in making sure there was fair pay for fair work. Of course, times have changed. And while not at 50%, a large portion of today’s flight attendant population is male. But the old pay habits persist (though they finally got rid of some of the truly biased and arcane policies such as weighing flight attendants and firing them for getting too fat, firing pregnant flight attendants, firing flight attendants who got married, etc.) For a truly eye-opening read on some of these policies of the past, I highly recommend The Great Stewardess Rebellion by Nell McShane Wulfhart (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Great_Stewardess_Rebellion/GSs5EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover).

As of the time of this writing, numerous flight attendant unions have attempted getting ground pay and/or boarding pay or other new categories added to the pay register for flight attendants, but with mixed results. Turns out the airlines really don’t want to pay us for all the time we actually put in on these jobs! Would be far too unprofitable for them, and cut into the double-digits in the millions of dollars of bonuses they regularly pay to their chief executives.

The best that a large airline has done thus far (and interestingly, by the only major airline where flight attendants are not represented by a union,) is to add boarding pay to the mix. But even at that, it is capped at 40 or 50 minutes of pay, depending on location and aircraft, and it is only half-pay in terms of the rate paid during boarding, even though I can assure you they aren’t checking only half of the safety equipment or only  helping half of the passengers with their questions and needs. So for the example I gave earlier of my flight involving two boarding processes, I suppose if I were with this airline, I would have received 40 or 50 minutes of pay times two (since we boarded twice) at half-pay, but no compensation for the two times disembarking and the delay time we were waiting between both of those processes.

To those of you who are so kind and complimentary to us flight attendants as you board, I want to extend a big thank you. The cards for Starbucks and Dunkin that some of you have brought and shared have been so appreciated, and really makes our day.

For those of you who have gotten angry with us, for whatever reason, I hope you now understand more clearly how little control your flight attendant has on the delay of your flight and some of the other issues, such as mechanical issues, that can really ruin your day. Believe me, our day is ruined too. Not only did we have the same delay or cancellation that you just had, but we were also working during that time that you’ve been in the gate area, boarding, and sitting on the plane waiting for takeoff, and we’ve been working for zero pay, at that.

Thanks for making time to read this and to attempt to understand a bit more about the smiling, friendly, and attractive persons you see working in uniform on your flight. We truly are here to serve you, and we are as disappointed as you are, when travel plans erupt and you don’t get to your destination on time.