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!

It’s an intense training course and yearly refreshers which strike fear into the most seasoned of cabin crew!!

I used to be part time at ten days a month, always in the the first two weeks of the month. But I had to have experience before they would consider it

Talking to a Jet2 steward on a flight, her contract wasn't permanent and wasn't a full year at a time.
Early January she was flying her last flight until being ‘re-employed’ in April for the season. She said it was really difficult budgeting, paying rent etc when not working.

No idea if this is typical.

I'm ex crew- gave up when I had my eldest. I used to work long haul.

Trips are worked out on flight rotation and how much minimum rest crew need. Also of the airline has multiple bases eg tui, virgin or air lingus you could be positioned to London to fly out to say Florida then return to Man. It's called a w pattern.

I've had trips which are classed as 'bullets' fly out one day sleep then fly back the next and also trips which were three weeks (China) which was rare as a charter airline. Also I've been based in Milan for four weeks even though my home base was Manchester with my days off down route. Vegas trips that were fly out Sun and fly back Weds or vice versa and a mix of all sort of others including private charters for orchestra's around Europe- away for just under a week flying them to different places. So trips aren't clear cut.

Airline training is between 4 to 6 weeks usually for new entrant. Hours aren't 9-5 as you may have to do aircraft visits in the night when the aircraft isn't in use.

Part time is offered usually to those with a decent length of service. It is likely that you'll start on a temporary contract which could then become permanent. Also you may find you have to work a few Summer seasons on a temp contract before you get a perm contract.

Temp contracts vary by airlines on what they offer and also by their requirements when you request part time working.

You will have standby duties rostered where you're expected to be st the airport within around 90 mins.

Ex Thomas Cook crew here. Just a couple of other considerations to throw into the mix - would you be prepared to not spend Xmas day with your family if you're rostered to work?

You'll need to factor in childcare for your standby shifts. When you get the call you need to be ready within 10 mins and jump straight in the car.

Also factor in recovery time after night flights. I found it really hard switching between the 3am starts and night flights. Never felt bone-crushing tiredness like it (and that was in my early 20s).

Don't mean to sound negative! These are just the things that I didn't consider before I started.

Thanks for all your replies. I feel like this is bringing me back down to earth with a bang 😂

A job where you are paid to travel has always been my dream and maybe my eyes were bigger than my belly and I thought part time could be workable. I’m very deflated 😂 but appreciate the honesty x

It’s been a very rough year and thought I could have been onto something here!

If there are any child friendly jobs that involve travel that I may not have thought of do please let me know! I’m all ears :)

@Honeypot14

A job where you are paid to travel has always been my dream and maybe my eyes were bigger than my belly and I thought part time could be workable. I’m very deflated 😂 but appreciate the honesty x

I think this all might look daunting because you've been hit with a lot of info but it's important to be aware that pretty much every airline is different when it comes to things like standby timings, bases and trip patterns.

If you could give people a clue about who you might considering applying for or where you want to be based you might get more specific answers but I do know offering up that info might be potentially outing.

It would be BA or Virgin. A girl I know worked for both and she is the one who has sold me this dream really 😂 she had a child herself and said it was the best thing she ever did and they made it logistically work. So I just thought … if she can then so can I.

Nothing was mentioned about standby flights. This girl also lives in Scotland and did when she was working for them … surely everyone who works for BA / Virgin doesn’t always live close by?

Standby of some sort is fairly common across the industry to cover for things like people going sick on the day, flights getting disrupted, people going out of hours at base and so flights having to be recrewed.

BA have plenty of people living in Scotland, and beyond (Virgin have a few as well) but for a standby block they might have to arrange accommodation at or near the airport, in a hotel or B&B, depending on the stand by time limit.

At one time BA put some long haul crew members on standby at airport hotels, so that they available at very short notice, and also had some short haul crews actually on standby in the crew report centre itself, available for an immediate report for work, but not sure how much of that still goes on.

Thanks so much for all the info.

I am going to email them directly and see what they say, can’t hurt can it?

I can’t find an email for Virgin though.

I’m one of these people that when I put my mind to something … I usually do it. I would rather think ‘I tried and it wasn’t feasible’ than ‘I wish I would have given it a shot’

I just wish there were more pros on this thread than cons 😂

thanks again to you all x

Don’t be disheartened. It’s an amazing career with amazing people. If you can make it work you’ll have a blast. The salary may also look rubbish but you will get flight pay or sector pay depending on the airline which is usually tax free and quickly add up if you don’t spend it down route. Also you get commission on inflight sales (drinks, snacks, tax free goods, tickets for theme parks etc).

I’ve stayed in some beautiful hotels and been to places I’ll likely never get chance to go back to.

if you can make it work, do it!

Just one more heads up…. You’ll need to prove where you have been for at least the last five years with no gaps. So work refs or tax office etc. It helps to start thinking in advance for names and addresses if you have a few to get so you can start asap. Also, you may need to go to London to get your visas for the states.

ps- good luck!🤞

My friend is cabin crew (US airline) and her full time job entails 3 days flying per week. For example she leaves Tuesday morning and is gone until Thursday afternoon/evening.

She loves it as she can manipulate her schedule to work for her, example, if she wants a week off, she will book 2x3 day trips the week before, so she doesn’t have to do any the following week.

For her training, she had to go away for 30 days and she did not have any “free” time. No trips home, no days off, out at 2am, 3 am, 4 am etc and if you weren’t on the crew bus on time, you were released same day and sent home. No exceptions.

My relative was full-time long haul, based out of Heathrow, for a few years, not sure which airline. When she wanted to start a family she moved to easyJet and has worked part time for them out of a Scottish airport for around 20 years now. Has worked well for them as a family. She's glad she tried long haul but says it's a young person's game.

What sort of money are cabin crew earning?

Thanks guys. It’s going to be a long, hard think!!! Wish I had done it before having children … what’s that they say about hindsight?!

A job where you are paid to travel has always been my dream

In my 20s I started a job (academia) that meant I got to travel abroad once or twice a year to conferences. I loved it - would spend 3 days at a conference and then would often stay on for a few days longer (at my own expense) to explore further. Got to see some lovely places in Europe I would never have gone otherwise. Twenty years on and with a family I now view it very differently - the novelty has well and truly worn off. Work trips are definitely not holidays. My dream would be a job that had excellent annual leave and pay to allow me to travel on holiday more!

You could come join us on the ground it’s way more flexible and then take full advantage of your staff travel (I have been lucky to visit some places I’d never have been able to afford to go) see some amazing places and then apply for cabin crew later on down the line!

My friend just started last year and her kids are in their mid 20s!! Never too late! And she LOVES it!

@JollyHostess101 my daughter is currently at an airport college biding her time till she is old enough to apply for cabin crew - what jobs on the ground would you recommend if she decides that flying isn’t for her?

@Honeypot14 apologies for the slight hijack there!! A friend of mine has just started as cabin crew with easyJet - she’s in her forties so never too late!!

Nothing to add ..just ....this thread is so interesting. ! 😅.

Thanks for starting it @Honeypot14 and good luck with whatever you decide to do 👩‍✈️✈️ !

The perks are a huge thing! A J ticket and the heavily discounted prices for family etc. I didn’t even think that applied to ground staff so thanks for sharing this :) x

I have friends who are / were flight crew, and the vast majority of them and their colleagues wanted long haul routes - they wanted to travel just like most people who become cabin crew, and said the long haul was better pay and better passengers! Their idea of hell was the milk run - MAN - LHR - MAN - LHR - MAN. They said it was like working on a bus, constantly trying to get tea and coffee served in the 3.8 minutes they were at cruising altitude. Repeat another 3 times in the day. If there were delays it would have a knock on effect, sometimes meaning they were stuck in London overnight instead of even getting home as planned because they timed out. On long haul, especially ultra long haul they got to spend time sitting and chatting or reading or sleeping and the passengers often slept too meaning generally easier going. They got extra pay abroad, and went out and had fun on the overnights.

With BA it used to be mandatory to do a certain amount of short haul before they'd put you on long haul 'paying your dues'. Not sure if that's still the case.

I remember watching a programme about two men who were married and they adopted two babies. They were both cabin crew and to manage having the two babies and caring for them they both went part time. Not sure what air line it was though.

Morning

@Emma8888

"With BA it used to be mandatory to do a certain amount of short haul before they'd put you on long haul 'paying your dues'. Not sure if that's still the case."

I'm not at BA anymore but well before I left all new joiners went to Mixed Fleet and did..wait for it...a mix of Long Haul and Short Haul flying.

I think even the remnants of the old system with it's three separate groups - a legacy Long haul only group, a legacy Short haul only group and Mixed fleet has gone now - all cabin crew fly now mixed rosters.

Of course I could well have got the wrong end of the stick so it would be interesting to hear from someone currently there.