Calling all cabin crew!! Is cabin crew part time an option?!

[Honeypot14]

Hi guys,

Just wondering for the larger companies who do long haul eg BA … Virgin … is it possible once training is completed to work part time as opposed to full?

Trying to work this out before I know whether to apply as will be quite the juggling act. I have heard they are a lot more flexible than they used to be and it really is something I would love to do but full time and being away from home so much unfortunately wouldn’t be an option. However 2/3 days a week would be perfect.

Thanks so much in advance!

Sometimes a day trip can turn into an overnight or more.

Yes it is possible. Long haul wouldn’t involve a day trip … but like you say 2/3 days a week.

I knew someone who did it part-time. She'd been there almost 30 years though, so it may have been a historical agreement. She did 2 or 3 days a week usually short haul.

I'm not cabin crew but my son's partner has worked for Virgin as cabin crew for 9 years full time, except for lockdown.
She is changing to part time at the end of this month, still as cabin crew.

I watched a tiktok with a flight attendant recently explaining how this worked, Virgin I think. She said that you wouldn't get part time as a new recruit but it is possible with length of service and depends on your base, for example more chance of it at Heathrow than a smaller regional airport.

She said it works as 50%, 75% or full time contracts. They work on a 21 day roat so on 50% contract you'll work a 21 day rota and then have the next rotation off completely. 75% would be that you work 14 days out of the usual 21 day rotation.

Yes cabin crew can be on shorter or longer hours contracts but be aware that flexibility is a requirement, you can't just work Mondays and Tuesdays for instance and with long haul it means overnights usually.

The person I know does the LA route mostly, there and back once a week and it's 24 hours per week basically, she'll leave home at midday when she's flying then gets back two days later at the same time giving her 24 hours in La each week.

Short (or medium) haul means less nights away though and with many airlines they start you on short haul.

Thanks so much for all of your replies. I’ve been told all different things. In an ideal world I would work full time but I have small children! However I think I would get to spend more time with them doing this part time which I’ve always dreamed of doing as right now I have 8 days off a month and work late into the evenings most nights.

I Kind of parked this dream job of mine when I had children but realising that it can be done part time whilst they are young is a potential game changer for my situation.

Please keep responding people as the more info I can get on this the better!

Thank you! X

A friend of mine does long haul for Air France, she does 3-4 days a week on average but it is irregular days with about a month's planning notice and this year for example she did Christmas and New Year.

She basically has childcare which works whether she's there or not or it's impossible.

You would be better going for short haul. My sister works for easyjet and is part time 50%.
She works set days, every Thursday and Friday and every second Saturday. You can also preference what flights & times you want to work.

There's also the option of 2 weeks working and 2 weeks off pcm for 50%. You can do a 75% contract but I have no idea how that works.

I'm not sure if you qualify for flexible working straight away for you need to complete a certain length of service first, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along soon.

@Honeypot14

Agree with those who said if you really only want 2 or 3 day blocks of work you're best thinking in terms of a short haul only contract.

The way Long haul trips are usually constructed due to flight time and rest limitations means it's rare to see 2 day trips (though they do exist at some airlines).

The Air France rostering mentioned by @FestiveAuntFanny is more typical in that the usual norm for long haul trips is often 3 or 4 days away from base (sometimes even more) ....it all depends on the airline's route structure.

Also be aware you really need to prepared to be flexible, for example just sometimes you don't get back to base on the planned day...

Good Luck.

Thanks for your reply.!

See, I was thinking if it was 2-3 days short haul then long haul would just be the one flight?

To be honest, long haul is what I’m wanting to do as it’s those countries that I’m wanting to visit. I’ve been all over Europe etc and the thought of doing a plane journey and coming straight back home doesn’t appeal to me. I would rather stay in my current desk job. It’s the visiting other countries and those experiences that I wouldn’t get to do otherwise that excites me. I would have thought that long haul would be much less in demand too as I presume a lot of people want the short haul so they can go home to bed that night etc.

I’m wondering is it worth me emailing the airlines separately and putting these questions to them rather than getting my hopes up xx

You won't really get to explore. You'll see airports and hotel rooms but not much more than that!

You don’t get time to explore as such and you will need to arrange or pay for childcare for your children for seven days a week because the days you work will change all the time.

@Honeypot14

See, I was thinking if it was 2-3 days short haul then long haul would just be the one flight?

Yep, you can have a three day trip which would be two flights.

...e.g Depart UK Monday AM for somewhere like the US east coast (JFK etc), once there roughly 24 hours off, then depart US east coast late Tuesday, overnight flight, back into UK Wednesday AM...

But some companies might have a requirement for 48 hours off down route to some destinations (e.g. West Coast US, South America, South Africa, etc etc), so that puts an extra day on those trips.

Full time rosters would have several trips on a roster with a mix of lengths,

HTH

But you don’t get to explore.

I'd very very much agree with you and @Pacifybull when it comes to three day Long Haul trips.

You need longer away from base to have time to really explore.

I used to work for Qantas (their flight pattens have changed now) but I used to do a couple of 4 day trips to Asia a month. Was perfect.
They might be recruiting from lhr?

It's also very competitive

How would the overnights work, would the children be with their father when you were away?

You have to remember that flights can get delayed so it’s hard to guarantee a set time for returning home.

The situation I feel I’m in now is that I’m constantly at work and never at home. I’m in a high stress job and sometimes won’t be home till 7/8 so I will actually see the children more and get to spend more quality time with them doing this.

I’m not expecting it to be an absolute surreal experience and get to galavant off. I would just be happy going to countries I wouldn’t just be able to go to usually even if it was for an hour! I’m not expecting to be laying on beaches. I know it’s work. I just had the realisation today that if there is an option to do part time cabin crew then I could potentially do it and as somebody who has wanted to do so for the last 15+ years it would mean so much to me! X

What would you do with your children during the training? Isn’t it at least 6-8 weeks?

I spoke to a girl today whose best friend is currently completing it. It’s 4 weeks. I would just go home every night and then have the weekends off with them. Again, I would still see them more in training than I do with my current job now

Training isn’t 9-5 Monday to Friday though. When DD did it she had to start at odd times, ie 5pm sat evening, finishing at 2am etc. Presumably to get them used to the antisocial hours involved.

I know two people who are cabin crew - both had to move abroad, because this was where the airline was based, so that’s worth thinking about too.

Yes once you’re in you can apply for part time hours but it’s still a hefty workload and there and backs can often turn into a night stop due to weather/technical issues/sick passengers rendering you out of hours so you’ll need some robust child care for these eventualities!

I work for BA and you only get your roster a month out and if you’re delayed getting in or the flights cancelled your rostered flights will change!! Also days of standby mean less money as no allowances obviously not an issue for everyone! And you could end up spending Christmas in some hotel your not allowed to leave for safety reasons!!

Ive always wanted to fly but it would be a logistical nightmare with a little one but my friends who made the move post Covid are having an absolute ball but none of them have little ones!!