How to Apply to Be a Flight Attendant

You'll either love it or hate it; there's no in-between when you're flying the friendly skies. I'll guide you through the steps of the flight attendant application process for most major airlines.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• navy or black suit
• sensible shoes
• conservative hairstyle and makeup
• current and accurate resume
• a ready smile
• current passport/pending passport application

1. First of all, figure out what kind of flight attendant you want to be before applying to airlines. Do you want to stay closer to home or stay within a certain geographical area in the US? Then the regional airlines are for you. All the major airlines have an "Express" regional airline that services the smaller airports and generally stick to one section of the US.
   
   Do you want to travel internationally? Then check out the major airlines. Do you speak another language? Look at the routes of the different airlines for the ones that travel to places you want to go more often.
   
   Looking for a more casual environment than the majors? The budget airlines usually have a more "fun" feel to them, fly nationwide and have a more casual, sometimes hipper, uniform.
   
   Looking for Mr. Right (and Rich)? Try working for a charter airline. These planes are smaller but these are private companies or individuals who want to go where they want, when they want. Expect to stay at your layover for anywhere from a day to weeks.

2. Next, go directly to the airline's website. Usually, employment information is under "Jobs," "Careers" or in the "About Us" section. The online application is the easiest way to apply these days. Keywords are "flight attendant," "in-flight crew" and "cabin crew." Be honest on your application. Most airlines will run a 10 year FBI background check when they invite you to come to training.
   
   Make sure to highlight any customer service experience and skills that you bring to the table. Also, it helps greatly if you are a people person, love to travel and are very flexible.
   
   As a new flight attendant, you will most likely be on "Reserve." There are two categories of flight attendants, "Reserve" and "Lineholders." Lineholders have a set schedule every month. They can trade, drop or pick up trips and have some semblance of a real life.
   
   Reserves are who Crew Scheduling calls when a lineholder cannot make a trip. You have set days where you are on-call and days when you are free from duty. Beyond that, it's a crap shoot. Depending on the airline, you can be going to Boise, Paris, Los Angeles, Antigua, Jackson Hole and Newark all in the same month. Some airlines will let you pick up trips and trade your days on and off as a reserve.

3. Now, sit back, relax and wait for the airline to call or email you to schedule an interview. Some will do a phone interview. Most will have you come to a face-to-face interview. Many of the major airlines will arrange your travel for a face-to-face. Some will not. All hotel accommodations for interviewing are at your expense.

4. Come early to your interview and dress the part. Looking polished is a must for all airlines. The recruiter wants to see what the customer would see when you come to work. Make sure your hair and makeup is neat. A dark suit, sensible shoes and minimal jewelry will show the recruiter how you will look in their uniform.

5. During the interview, be sure to stress your customer service skills, your flexibility and adaptability and be yourself. The airlines recruit many different personalities so you don't have to try to be someone you aren't. There may be a group interview or exercise. Have fun with it and be sure to participate.

6. Chances are, you'll be invited to come to training at the end of the interview process or you'll be notified at a later date. Don't stress if you don't get invited immediately. Sometimes the company is still firming up the hiring needs for the year or various locations.
   
   If you get invited to training, do pick the earliest training date you can. Seniority is king in the airline biz.
   
   If you don't get invited to training, apply again in six months or a year or to other airlines. The hiring process can be finicky and sometimes you have to apply a few times to get in.

Tips & Warnings

• Be willing to live with uncertainty. You won't know where you are going and when until a few hours prior to departure sometimes.
• Have fun during your interview. It helps pass the time and helps the interviewer see that you'll have fun on the plane.
• When looking at the hourly rate of pay, remember that flight attendants get paid by flight hour which means you are only paid from when the airline door is closed to the time it reopens. Your duty day may be 12 hours and your flight time may be 7.
• You will work weekends, holidays and odd hours.
• Be truthful in your application. The airlines will run an FBI background check so they'll find out anyway.
• You will submit to a physical exam which will include drug testing, eye and ear exams among other things.
• Expect to do a lot of sitting around and waiting during the interview process.

[CBPope]

on 11/16/2008 Good tips. I wanted to be a flight attendant when I was younger.