When someone that I meet finds out that I’m a Flight Attendant, there often follows a discussion about how much that person, their daughter, sister, neighbor has always wanted to be one, too.  And shortly after that, I get asked how they should go about getting the job.

In today’s economic times, with airlines cutting back routes and furloughing employees, it’s often hard to get excited about entering an industry that has such a tough road ahead of it.  Which all leads to today’s question —

Q.  Are any airlines hiring?

A.  Remarkably, yes.

The only major carrier that is hiring is Continental, and that’s only for individuals who are Chinese Mandarin language qualified.  Jet Blue is hiring is your Spanish speaking.

The remaining carriers that are hiring are all regional or commuter carriers.

If you want to keep track and who’s hiring and how to apply, you can check the Who’s Hiring page of the Association of Flight Attendant.  AFA is the largest union representing Flight Attendants, but the list of who’s hiring includes both union and non-union carriers.  Each entry notes the website of the carrier and a brief description of how to apply.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a Flight Attendant Friday.  Sometimes questions come in fast and furious, and other times it’s pretty sparse in between. 

The question today, though, is one that I’ve gotten asked a lot over these past few weeks. 

Q.  Are any airlines hiring Flight Attendants right now?

A.  Not that I know of.  Most of the major carriers, and many of the regional and commuter airlines has furloughed Flight Attendants.  Furlough means layoff. 

Everyone is trying to ride out what looks like a very bumpy year, and that means cutting back on routes.  When you cut back on routes, you have to cut back on people.  So it’s not a good time to be a new hire in the airline industry – whether as a Flight Attendant or at any job function.

You can check specifically with the airline that interests you by visiting their website.  Most airlines have an employment or jobs links.

If your goal is to get hired as a Flight Attendant, there are still things that you can do until the industry turns around.  Get a degree, get some job experience, get involved in compelling work.  It will all give you an edge with the job market loosens up again.

Do you have a question about being a Flight Attendant?  The job, the life, the stories?  Email your question to me.

I am frequently asked what Flight Attendant training is like, so today I’ll give you a little peek at what goes on.  There are variations among the different airlines, but this is generally what happens.

Depending on the company, training usually lasts 4-6 weeks.  It includes classroom and hands on training, and may be at a variety of odd hours of the day or night.  Classroom training usually occurs during business hours, but time spent on the plane has to be scheduled when the plane isn’t flying – and that’s often in the middle of the night.

Most training starts of with some basic company orientation.  From learning about your airline, to city codes, airplanes, route structure, to who’s who in the company — it’s your welcome to the wonderful world of aviation.

In training you will learn all about the cabin features and components of the various planes that the airline has.  This includes how and when to use which emergency exits, how to use all the safety and emergency equipment in the cabin. how to conduct emergency evacuations (land) and ditching (water), handling decompressions, and lots of other safety and emergency procedures.  You will likely have the experience of inflating an emergency slide, and sliding down it.

You will also learn about the various FAR’s that pertain to the cabin.  This is the extensive list of federal regulations that govern the industry, and Flight Attendants learn what they are responsible for.  It’s the answer to many of the “why do I have to do that” questions, and governs things like carry on bags, car seat use, lap children, exit row seating, and lots more.

There will also be first aid training as Flight Attendants are usually the first responder while in the air.  You will learn CPR and how to use the defibrillators (now found onboard most every aircraft these days), and rescue breathing.  You will also learn some of the more routine first aid applications like choking, cuts, shock, and a variety of other medical situations.

You will be briefed and trained in security matters, learning how the job of a Flight Attendant fits into the big picture.  This training is highly confidential, and should never be discussed with anyone else outside of work.

After the safety, security, emergency procedures, and first aid is finished up, Flight Attendants are then trained on a variety of customer service policies and procedures.  Again, procedures differ among the airlines, but include such things like boarding procedures, handling of duplicate seats, service flow and requirements, handling customer complaints, liquor procedures and policies, etc. 

The part of the job that passengers see is the customer service aspect, but the emphasis in the training is clearly on safety and security.  We hope that you don’t ever have to see that side of our job.  But if you do, you’ll be glad for the training that we’ve received.

With my hectic schedule the past few weeks, I’ve neglected to answer some reader emails.  And I have lots of questions waiting.

Today’s questions comes from Ariana:

Q.  How many hours do you work each day?  How many flights?

A.  The work day of a Flight Attendant is set by the contract they work under, having been negotiated by the Flight Attendants (or the union representing them) and the airline. 

It typically begins one hour prior to the scheduled departure of the first flight of the day, and ends one half hour after the aircraft arrives at the crew’s final destination for the day.  The length of that duty day can range from 10 1/2 to 14 hours, with the majority of airlines at 12 hours.  Provisions for extra crew members and onboard rest provisions occur for longer flights.

The number of flights in a work day will depend on both the contractual length of the day and the type of flying.  Transcontinental or transatlantic flying will often mean only one flight per day as the flight time is in the range of 5-10 hours.  More flights can be scheduled into a day when they are shorter.

On Flight Attendant Fridays I try to answer questions about the job of a Flight Attendant, my personal experiences, and the airline industry and travel industry in general.  If you have a question, please email it to me and I’ll answer it on a future Friday.

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It is not really like this at work:

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Q.  What do you do when you have a delay and are stuck at an airport?

A.  What a great question!

No one likes a delay, least of all your flight crew, but they are rarely within our control.  So, we’re pretty much in the same boat as everyone else.

What I do depends on when the delay occurs.

If we’re already boarded and ready to go, we hang out along with you guys.  Generally speaking, in this situation the delay is what we call a “creeping delay.”  This means that every ten minutes or so we’re supposed to get an update.  It doesn’t always happen that way, and the flight crew is often the last to get an update.  And believe me, although the delay is expected to be short, a creeping delay can quickly add up into a whopper of a delay.

If these situations, there’s really not much that you can do.  It’s not fun, and we hate it too.  Ringing your call button and asking how long it’s going to be, won’t speed the process up any.  Complaining about how uncomfortable you are, when you’ve turned down an opportunity to get off, will not garner you any sympathy.  If you are given the opportunity to deplane, take it.  We would if we could. 

If the delay occurs before boarding, Flight Attendants are likely to get off the aircraft.  We’ll go searching for food, coffee, a magazine, use rest rooms in the airport, find a place with good reception to make a phone call, or even find a wi-fi spot.  It will all depend on the length of the delay.

It always amazes me how after a delay of some duration, the first thing people start talking about is needing to use the lavatory or wanting something to drink.  Didn’t you do that while you were in the terminal?

What do you do during a delay?  Tell us in the comments.

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Q.  I know that Flight Attendants hate it when passengers ring the call button.  But is there a time when it’s okay to use it?  It’s there, after all.

A.  Yeah, the ringing call button can really be an annoyance to us, and it’s for a couple of reasons.

Most important of all, however, is that if you have an emergency, use it.  Do not hesitate!

That said, there are differing opinions about what constitutes an emergency.

During certain phases of flight, specifically the take off and landing sequence, emergency should be interpreted very strictly.  This is a time when we are buckled into our jump seats, for our own safety, and getting up to answer a call button can be dangerous.

At any time, if you are ill, see someone around you who may need first aid assistance, see someone being harmed or threatened with harm, overhear threats or intimidation, see something that could threaten the safety of the flight, or have an emergency situation – reach up or over and push the call button.  We want you to use it, even if the situation plays out to not be the crisis you may have believed it was.  Better safe than sorry.

For less dire circumstances, use the call button when you need something, but be mindful of what else is going on around you. 

Keep reading, and see how you’d answer the following questions:

Read more

There’s a lot of humor in our jobs as Flight Attendants, and most of us enjoy a good comedy routine about what it’s like working in the skies.

One entertainer who has captured the humor of our job is Pam Ann, a character created by Australian comedian Caroline Reid.  Pam Ann, a twist on the name of former airline Pan Am, is part drag routine and part campy humor with a bit of glamour thrown in for good measure.  Her routines play on the stereotypes of airlines, Flight Attendants, and some of the quirkiness of various airline cultures. 

Although much of the humor can be on the risque side, here’s a safe-for-work clip of what it’s like to work the beverage cart:

Pam Ann frequently tours in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia.  She has a released a couple DVD’s, and I hear that one more is in the works.

People often think that Flight Attendants are offended at humor like this.  Quite the contrary is true!  This is funny stuff, and we appreciate it as much as anyone!

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Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines, a new documentary film by Tristan Loraine, a former British Airways captain, attempts to shed light on serious health and safety concerns from being exposed to unfiltered cabin air.

And who’s to blame?

According to the filmmaker – the airlines – who failed to inform travelers of these problems, despite repeated incidents of passenger and crew exposure to toxic fumes.  In other words, they knew about it and did nothing.

Captain Loraine interviews pilots, Flight Attendants, and passengers, who all share their experiences and incapacitation from toxic exposures.  That’s followed by doctors and scientists who attempt to explain how these affects can last for years, if not a lifetime.

Interviews, information, and lots of data were collected into the book, Toxic Airlines,  and from that research and writing came this documentary.  You can buy Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines for £17.99.  The book is available for £17.99 (hardback) and £9.99 (paperback).

Image credit:  DFT Enterprises

Today’s question is from Jon at The DC Traveler.  I had it slated to answer in a few weeks, but since this very situation just happened to me on my last trip, it seemed like a good time to answer it.

Q.  What do Flight Attendants do if their uniform gets really dirty on a trip or if, for example, someone spills a glass of tomato juice on you on day one of a multi-day trip?

A.  As I said this just happened to me.  Only it was coffee all over the front of a white shirt.  And if was on day two of a three day trip.

So what did I do?  I changed into a fresh shirt at the earliest opportunity. 

On multiple day trips, most Flight Attendants pack a change of uniform items, so it’s a matter of determining when to make a change.  That may be a matter of digging into your luggage during the flight and changing in the airplane lavatory, or it may mean toughing it out for the flight, and wearing a fresh shirt the next day.

Most core uniform pieces are a dark color (navy, black, etc.), so stains don’t show up as easily. 

If you don’t have a change of clothes, then, it’s just a matter of blotting and cleaning as best as possible (maybe doing a little hand washing in your hotel sink) and getting by until you can get it cleaned.

Hmm, now that I think about it, that’s the same thing that a passenger does if a spill happens.

If you have a question that you’d like me to answer in a future Flight Attendant Friday, just email me.

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