Life after Cabin Crew

[redroseflyer]

Feel like the flying lifestyle is no longer right for me and craving a change. Currently at 7 years service. I commute long distance to my airport base- 210 miles each way. Luckily I do mostly long haul so only make this journey circa once a week. But commuting costs, time away from home and wanting a slower and less full on lifestyle is making me want to break free.

I love people and a variety of shift patterns and enjoy being in the hospitality/customer service sector. Have never enjoyed office work previously. Any ex cabin crew who have spread their wings and left flying could give me some ideas of what to look at? Would need to bring home around £2k/month though for bills. So don’t think cafe-esque work would cut it.

Would like children in the next few years so want to start a new role with my feet firmly on the ground. Thanks for any advice x

I thought the requirements of cabin crew was that you had to live within 60-90 mins of your base?
Have you been doing that commute for 7 years?

Cabin Crew is a good role if you’re young and single and don’t have family commitments or if you’re older and approaching retirement and want a part time job.

The schedules can be demanding and there’s no way you can have a worklife balance doing that forever especially if you’re wanting a family.

Retail Store Manager / Assistant Manager could be the path for you perhaps - Look at the companies, you could earn more than the £2k.

Yes it’s in the contract, but at my airline it’s very normal to commute long distance. In fact lots of crew commute from around Europe and fly into work. The airline don’t enforce the rule as they know so many commute. We absorb the costs of staying around base for standby for example ourselves. The money is decent and it’s more than doable. It’s just become a lot and I think I’m burning out after 7 years. I am slightly PT on a reduced contract but doesn’t always make a difference. Thank you for the suggestion!

I appreciate it doesn’t solve all your problems, but surely you can make that commute significantly shorter. There must be 10+ airports that are closer

It’s a good suggestion, but most regional airports only offer seasonal or fixed term contracts. You’d have to work maybe 3-4 consecutive summers before they’d offer you a full time permanent role. I’ve got a mortgage and commitments.

If you have a degree, have you considered teaching? People skills, crowd control, communication skills, an open mind - all very transferable.

I've known two teachers who had previously been cabin crew. One was a student on placement. She was incredibly competent managing the classroom, despite her lack of classroom experience. The other was a teacher in my dcs' secondary school, universally appreciated and respected by my dc and their friends.

A lot depends on your company and where you can actually be based, i.e where your blocks of work start and finish.

For example if you want to fly for BA and enjoy 🙄their T&Cs you will be London based even though BA goes in and out of dozens of airports....and OTOH quite a few regional airports have no crews based there, or you don't want the T&Cs of those that are..

@redroseflyer - is there anyway you could cope with an even more part time contract with your current operator than the one you are on ATM? I know that's how a lot of the long distance commuters managed to keep going when I had some involvement in this sort of thing?

My friend is cabin crew , she re-trained as a therapist and now works for BA as a crew counsellor and flies once or twice a month x it’s a good balance

If you can get a part time contract that allows a couple of reports a month and then top up earnings elsewhere it's not a bad option.

I know of one long range commuter who ran some form of life coaching in their off time, another who ran art (painting) courses..

Railway offers the people and the shifts without the long commute if you live anywhere close to a mainline ‘base’ station

My mum retrained as a teacher after cabin crew (when she had me).
Two very satisfying but different careers

I would pay you a freelance fee if you could cure my fear of turbulence. 😂 I am only partially joking…

i used to work with a lot of ex cabin crew on the railways, if you aim for one of the long distance operators (avanti, lner etc) in on board catering the money is decent and while it’s not the standards of service it was 20 years ago, it’s an interesting job with a lot of similarities to cabin crew but you get to go home every night

What about working on the trains if you have a national service near where you are based.

Something like this …

www.lnerjobs.co.uk/jobs/vacancy/customer-experience-host--london-kings-cross-3311-london-kings-cross-station/3329/description/

Something in hospitality management like guest services at a boutique hotel.
Or (hear me out) work at a funeral director. A family member did this and loads of the skills you have are transferable to it - calm, empathetic, organised, good customer service, problem solving, good at presenting yourself.

We have an ex pilot on the tills in Waitrose, he started doing it in COVID and loved it so he stayed

Primary teaching assistant?
The hours will work in brilliantly with kids
If you love it and want to take it to the next level school might put you through a teacher training scheme?

TA pay is terrible.

I know a couple of (very) blue chip City firms that hire ex cabin crew to be front of house staff. I bet it pays quite well. I assume there’s an agency they all go through, but I’m afraid I don’t have any details!