This post was most recently updated on March 7th, 2020
This is what it’s like to be a flight attendant…I used to have a season pass to Disneyland. Occasionally, on a Friday night, friends and I would go to Disneyland just to ride one or two rides. We didn’t feel the need to cram everything into one day because we knew that we had passes and could come back the next day if we really wanted to.
In April I celebrated four years of being a flight attendant. For the past four years I have felt like I had a “season pass” to the world. I can go anywhere for barely any money. It has been a dream job.
Being a flight attendant helps me stay close to family
This amazing job has allowed me to meet each of my nieces and nephews within 24 hours of them being born.
It has allowed me to stay close to my family and see them frequently even though we don’t live in the same state.
It helps me explore new parts of the world
Being a flight attendant has allowed me to visit parts of the world that would have taken years to save up for.
Jerusalem
Roatan, Honduras
Pros and Cons of being a flight attendant
Not everything about being a flight attendant is wonderful and rosy…I have days where passengers are rude, inappropriate and drive me crazy. Because I fly standby, my travel plans always have to be flexible and there are days when I can’t seem to make any flight. But I have found that a smile and a good attitude can make the difference in so many of these situations. (So can calling one of my sisters to vent really fast.) But even though some days are bad…occasionally I will have a passenger like this man…who reminds me that people are inherently good, and I continue on.
He made me a flower out of newspaper!
Ultimately, however, I love my job! I love being able to travel. I love that my parents get flying benefits because I’m a flight attendant.
You have to love people to be a flight attendant
And I do! I love learning about people and finding out why they are traveling. We all travel for different reasons — for a honeymoon, job interview, death in the family, a family vacation, to meet a loved one, for a change, a move…countless reasons. I love finding out the reason someone is traveling and celebrating or mourning with them. I love being a flight attendant and I hope that I make a difference in the lives of the people with whom I interact.
Guest post by Jenna Hansen
I hope you have enjoyed getting to know my friend, Jenna Hansen, just a little better. I was so pleased when she was willing to share her perspective of being a flight attendant. She has a great sense of adventure and really loves her family!
That is so awesome, Jenna. What wonderful adventures your job has allowed. 🙂
I loved reading about Jenna’s exciting job. I also love your blog, Tami.
Yes, she has a great job, doesn’t she? So glad you like the blog–thanks!
What a wonderful post and what fantastic adventures Jenna is able to have! Just last week I was on a flight with the most wonderful flight attendant… a young girl was flying solo and absolutely terrified so she sat her at the front opposite her and chatted to her the whole way through take off and landing. She definitely made a difference for that girl that flight. Great post.
Wow, sounds like the perfect vocation for an avid traveller!
Which airline do you work/fly with?
Jenna works with SkyWest.
Great Post!!
Most of people just think about the glamorous part of being a flight attendant. But as Jenna said, there are good and bad moments, especially when you are dealing with people.
The article made me think how important the flight attendants are. I hope I can find a lot of “Jenna” while I´m exploring the world.
Cheers,
Nat
Gee! That’s awesome. I’m too rough around the edges to ever be part of a cabin crew, but I appreciate their ability to smile through the most annoying of passengers at any given time of the day. Takes an unparalleled amount of patience that 😛
So many experiences! And good ones! It’s a career that I wish I could to try for a couple of years.
Really interesting and heart-warming post – love the newspaper flower! 🙂
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Years ago I flew a trip as a Flight Attendant; I was qualified, even though I was a Navigator, because I did the FA Emergency Training, and that’s all the FAA’s qualifiers are interested in. We had a flight that was short of FA’s, so I was delegated to the First Class section because it was smaller and had only 8 passengers in it. One was Burl Ives. He saw the two stripes on my sleeve, and grumbled something about ‘cheap airline sends the Flight Engineer back to serve meals’.
They are the hardest-working part of the flight crew.
How interesting that must have been, but too bad Burl was in a surly mood!