Question:

I would like to become a flight attendant, but I am not willing to relocate mostly because of my husband's job. Is it possible to work for an airline and fly to and from work?

Answer:

We seem to be receiving this type of question very often from our readers. Unlike most traditional jobs, flight attendant positions do not necessarily require you to relocate.

When you are first hired as a flight attendant, you will be assigned to the airline as a "reserve." In this capacity, you will be on call and depending upon the specific airline flight attendant contract, you will be required to be available in base for emergencies such as replacing a sick flight attendant or a flight attendant who is out of position and unable to make his or her trip. In most cases, a reserve is required to be available within 1 or 2 hours (driving time) from the airport, although some are required to be available as "quick calls," which means getting to the airport as soon as possible because of last minute crew changes.

Most new-hire reserves will coordinate with other flight attendants (and sometimes pilots) to share the costs of a "crash pad." This is nothing more than a large house or apartment with several bedrooms, a shared living room, kitchen and bathroom that accommodates anywhere from 6 - 12 people. You may or may not have a private bedroom. Monthly fees range from $$150 - $350 per person, depending upon the type of accommodations. Since everyone's schedule is different, there sometimes can be as few as one or two people spending the night in the crash pad. Typically, these types of accommodations are centrally located very near the airport and meet the needs of the airline for "quick call" situations.

As a reserve, you will be required to be "in-base" and on call for about nineteen days per month (spread throughout the month) with duty-free days in between. Of course, on your off days you are allowed to fly or drive home. Once you gain seniority and become a lineholder, there is no longer a reserve requirement because you will have a regular schedule working 14 - 16 days per month. Even then, however, many crew members will maintain a spot in the crash pad for trips that leave too early or arrive too late to allow commuting to or from home.

If the crash pad arrangement does not appeal to you and you are more of a private person, you can opt for staying in a hotel. Most crew bases publish sheets with the lowest rates for crewmembers at various hotels near the airport. In low cost cities (e.g. Charlotte, NC), you can find hotels as low as $30/night, but if you are based in Washington, D.C., you will find rates as high as $200/night which may make hotel life cost-prohibitive especially if you need to spend more than a few nights there.

If you don't like the idea of commuting at all, you will need to restrict your job search to airlines with domiciles within driving distance of your home.

Good luck!

  

Who's Hiring Flight Attendants?
 
This is a current listing from our website of just a few of the 40 airlines now hiring flight attendants or Inflight Managers. Note: Specific Open House Interviews and Invitation Only Interview locations, dates and airline links are now published and updated on the AirlineCareer.com homepage.

The following airlines are conducting upcoming Flight Attendant Open House Interview(s) in March/April, 2014 or are accepting online applications and/or resumes for flight atflight attendant or inflight management positions.

Airlines with asterisks (*) have posted Open House Interview dates.
New listings are as of this week.
 
Want specific dates and locations? Become a member of AirlineCareer.com right now and gain access to the complete 'Who's Hiring' chart on the Members' home page. Expanded information includes dates, locations, interview addresses and reporting times along with other important information. We have recently added five international airlines to our database including those listed below. Multi-national carriers hire flight attendants from most countries.