The Starting Salary for American Airlines Customer Service
American Airlines is a major air carrier based in Dallas, Texas. One of the nation's largest airlines, American employs thousands of individuals, including managers, pilots, flight attendants and customer service agents, sometimes called gate or ramp agents. Customer service specialists for American Airlines provide passenger boarding aid, book flights, answer questions and resolve complaints.
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Starting Salary
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American Airlines, like all major U.S. air carriers, pays customer service agents on a seniority scale. This means the airline pays individuals based on the amount of time they have been with the company, with new employees earning lower salaries than experienced agents. American Airlines customer service agents typically start at an hourly wage of $9 to $22, as of March 2011. Because of the transient, multilocation model of major airlines, American pays new customer service agents different starting salaries based on their locations and specific job duties.
Financial and Job-Related Benefits
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In addition to hourly wages, American Airlines customer service agents receive health insurance and flight benefits, which allow them to fly domestically for free and receive discounts on international flights and travel specialties such as rental cars, hotel rooms and vacation packages. Additionally, the airline provides a paid training program for new customer service agents. Also, American Airlines pays the costs associated with Transportation Security Administration-mandated security badging checks and procedures, which are required to work in airports' secure areas.
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Qualifications
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In the airline industry, customer service agent is considered an entry-level position. Anyone with a high-school diploma or GED, English speaking and reading skills and basic mathematical skills is eligible to apply. However, American Airlines, like all major U.S. air carriers, prefers to hire individuals with past customer service or airline operations experience. Although American doesn't require customer service agents to have college education, an associate's or bachelor's degree in aviation, business or a related field may help a person's chances of getting hired.
Considerations
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American Airlines' customer service agents' starting salary is on par with other major airlines, and significantly above the pay for equivalent positions at smaller regional and commuter carriers. Individuals wanting to begin long-term careers with American should consider starting as a customer service agent, as the airline offers existing employees the chance to move into higher-level positions after periods of responsibility and successful job performance.
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