Cabin crew advice?

[ohmylordylord]

Hi

I've wanted to be an air hostess since I left school. That didn't work out. I'm now 27 with a 4yo who's about to start reception come September.

Does anyone have any experience or advice for starting out?

How was the training? How did you go about it?

Is it a doable profession with a young child?

Thanks

Do you have anyone that will look after your DC whilst you’re away / working? The hours are irregular and often include overnights. You don’t mention a DP / DH but they would have to have a flexible job.
I suggest you look at the roster patterns for the airlines you’re thinking of joining.

I’m not cabin crew, but my first thought was how would you organise childcare - you could have flights at any hour of the day, and we’ll into the night, so you’d need someone picking up your child from school - and you’d need someone who could pick her up in an emergency. To my mind, it’s all the problems of combining childcare and a career with the added complication that you could be hundreds of miles away from your home.

I'm not cabin crew, but my questions would be:

How are you going to organise childcare?
Do you have a DH or partner who is able to do the school runs, be there on INSET days, cover the holidays etc?
What happens if you get stuck abroad or at the other end of the country?
What happens if your DC is sick and you can't be with them?

There's some you tube channels of flight attendants with kids - Wonderfully Ale is one, she works for a US budget airline.

I have a lot of family members that are flight attendants and it can be very flexible. But it depends on how close you are to your base and what support you have at home. I don't know if seniority is a thing in Europe, but that can make a massive difference as well.

Airlines are hiring so now is the time is you want to try it out.

It's shit wages for shit hours by all accounts. It's not the job it used to be with Greta pay and benefits, a lot of the previous layover shifts not have you doing a return instead. You need a tight childcare arrangement too so if the other parent is working then someone who can step in at any point. Also consider the time away from home and how it will affect your child.

Question 1 - do you live near a base airport for any airlines?

I was crew for 20+ years until Covid struck. It used to be a fantastic job, less so nowadays, but you would still see some fabulous places.

You’d need fantastic support around you re childcare. There’s very little in the way of a roster pattern, your roster changes continually and you will have standby blocks where you get a couple of hours notice for a trip (which could be over a week long). Occasionally trips can go wrong and you can get stuck somewhere (during the ash cloud and 911 crews were stuck away for weeks longer than they were meant to have been). Airlines don’t care if your child is ill/sent home from school- they want you there when you’re rostered on.. I had lots of colleagues who were single parents, but they had parents or exes that were greet at picking up the reins when they were away.

It is a lot easier to get into than it was. The pay and conditions are a lot less poorer than they were. It’s not a forever career nowadays, but it’s fun and if you’re with an airline with lots of routes you see a lot of the world. It can be exhausting too.

I’m long haul cabin crew for Virgin and have been for over 20 years.
You have to start full time, and your roster will typically have you away from home for 2 nights and then home for 3 and then away again for min of 2 nights and so on.
Before covid, part time would be available to apply for once a year.
At the minute we are so short staffed they haven’t offered it yet, but they are saying by Christmas it should be back on the table.

I’m part time and tend to just do 2 flights a month, so away 2 lots of 2 nights. Swapping is easy and plentiful, so I’ve always managed to be home for the important days ( birthdays, school productions etc).
The major plus point of it all for me ( and the reason I’m still doing it!) is the staff travel concessions, my children have been all over the world with me, more often than not sat at the front in their Upper Class beds.
I’ve also taken my parents to lots of places and it’s felt wonderful to be able to give them little holidays after all the years they took us away as kids.
I know Virgin and BA are recruiting right now, you should go for it, apply now and then make some decisions later depending on what you are offered.

ticklemypickle I read your post with interest as I'm thinking of applying to Virgin. I worked for Emirates a LONG time ago (1997 to 1999) pre kids. I'm now 50 (like to think a young 50 though 😄) and am looking to get back into it now the children are older. Would you happen to know what a full time newbie roster looks like?

Hi, I have just been accepted for Virgin Atlantic cabin crew and start training in march.

I have two kids 10 & 12 and I’m so worried, will I cope,will they cope, is it the right thing! I have a good support network and have wanted to do this for 20 years. Just love to chat with people in same situation

TIA

joanne

Hi Joanne
Did you do the virgin training if so how’s it going juggling cabin crew with 2 children .
I start with an airline soon for my training .
and I have a nearly 13 year old .
My DH works for another airline ( not crew though ) and does 4 on 4 off .
mum hoping as I’m short haul only I will be ok as we get our roster a month in advance anyhow . And we can swap standbys and other flights too .
my DH airline are very flexible with him as well which does help . My husbands on a rolling shift pattern so he knows what his working ten years in advance .
I have got my training roster and my DH has amended his timetable a little too .
Had my husband been working 7 on 3 off 7 on 4 off I wouldn’t of been able to do CC .
I have also been wanting to do this for 29 years roughly . I have had my children and now it’s time for me (I’m 46 ) .
How are you getting on with juggling it all ?
Im short haul with a few long haul but more short haul on the roster if that makes sense .
Love to know how your getting on though .
😀