What You Need to Know About Flight Attendant

Flight Attendant Definition Provide personal services to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of airline passengers during flight. Greet passengers, verify tickets, explain use of safety equipment, and serve food or beverages.

Flight Attendant Responsibilities

• Sell alcoholic beverages to passengers.
• Reassure passengers when situations such as turbulence are encountered.
• Prepare reports showing places of departure and destination, passenger ticket numbers, meal and beverage inventories, the conditions of cabin equipment, and any problems encountered by passengers.
• Announce flight delays and descent preparations.
• Greet passengers boarding aircraft and direct them to assigned seats.
• Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.

What a Flight Attendant Should Know

These are the skills Flight Attendants say are the most useful in their careers:

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Related Job Titles

• Flight Attendant/Air Transportation Supervisor
• Flight Hostess
• Flight Attendant/Inflight Supervisor
• Flight Attendant/Inflight Manager
• Airplane Flight Attendant

What Kind of Flight Attendant Job Opportunities Are There?

There were about 116,600 jobs for Flight Attendant in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 10.2% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 11,900 new jobs for Flight Attendant by 2026. The BLS estimates 14,200 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Flight Attendant are Florida, Oregon, and Washington. Watch out if you plan on working in Idaho, Alaska, or Connecticut. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Do Flight Attendants Make A Lot Of Money?

The typical yearly salary for Flight Attendants is somewhere between $28,950 and $80,870.

Flight Attendants who work in Oregon, Texas, or Arizona, make the highest salaries.

How much do Flight Attendants make in different U.S. states?

State	Annual Mean Salary
Arizona	$65,680
California	$51,990
Colorado	$47,150
Florida	$62,610
Illinois	$53,220
Indiana	$60,080
Massachusetts	$61,610
Michigan	$55,310
Minnesota	$50,560
Nevada	$57,190
New York	$48,960
North Carolina	$54,190
Ohio	$52,760
Oregon	$80,410
Pennsylvania	$68,410
Texas	$58,820
Utah	$48,250
Washington	$77,450

Tools & Technologies Used by Flight Attendants

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Flight Attendants:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Windows
• SBS International Maestro Suite

Becoming a Flight Attendant

Education needed to be a Flight Attendant:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Flight Attendant?

Where do Flight Attendants Work?

Below are examples of industries where Flight Attendants work:

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol via U.S. Air Force photo

More about our data sources and methodologies.