Best Airline To Work as a Flight Attendant

What one individual may deem to be the ideal airline may not be for another. Continue reading as we go over the list of the top five best airline to work as a flight attendant if you want to know which ones are the greatest.

The top five airlines for flight attendant employment in the United States will be covered in this piece, along with some frequently asked questions concerning reserve.

The salary of flight attendants is a crucial component of their profession, and these top 5 airlines offer the best salaries.

If you keep in mind that you won’t be working 40 hours a week, but rather more like 20 paid hours a week, you may better appreciate what the projected starting wage as a new flight attendant is.

You are not a “on call” reserve flight attendant; rather, you are a line holder or line of flying, depending on the schedule you bid on.

A base is where you are based and from where you will take off. Where the start and end of your trips will be.

Alaska Airlines

American Airlines

American Airlines is another best airline to work as a flight attendant. Before being recruited as a flight attendant by American Airlines, you must complete 6.5 weeks of unpaid training. American hires flight attendants as early as age 20.

The days you spend in training are compensated with a $40 stipend even though the training is unpaid.

Because they are one of the biggest airlines in the nation and have fantastic domestic and international destinations, American Airlines is among the finest airlines for flight attendant employment.

The remuneration for flight attendants at American Airlines is quite competitive, and they receive a respectable salary. The starting salary for a flight attendant at American Airlines is $30.35, while the maximum salary is $68.25 after 13 years.

As an American Airlines flight attendant, your first year will be spent on straight reserve. If needed, you will cycle between one month on reserve and one month spent holding a line over the following three years.

It is one month on reserve and three months of keeping a line if required as a reserve after four years.

Regardless of how long you have been on any kind of reserve, you will hold a line at any point in your career if your seniority allows you to do so.

As an American Airlines Flight Attendant you may be based in: 

• BOS (Boston, MA)
• ORD (Chicago, IL)
• DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX)
• LAX (Los Angeles, CA)
• MIA (Miami, FL)
• CLT (Charlotte, NC)
• SFO (San Francisco, CA)
• JFK/LGA (New York City, NY)
• DCA (Washington, DC)
• PHL (Philadelphia, PA)
• PHX (Phoenix, AZ)

Delta Air Lines

The list of top airlines for flight attendant employment includes Delta Air Lines. Flight Attendants at one of the “big three” legacy airlines, Delta AirLines, love to travel.

Even brand-new flight attendants only need to sit six days of reserve every month because to Delta’s proprietary reserve system, ADAYS.

The lack of a union at Delta means that they lack the employment and wage protection that a union provides its members, which can be a bummer.

The fact that only Delta Air Lines pays flight attendants for boarding earns them a huge gold star and places them among the best airlines for flight attendants. Though they only receive half of their wage, most other airlines pay flight attendants nothing for boarding, so it’s still better than nothing.

Six weeks of paid training are provided for flight attendant positions at Delta Air Lines. (This is the minimum wage, not the usual beginning salary.) The starting wage for a flight attendant at Delta Air Lines is $30.96, and the maximum compensation is $69.59 after 13 years.

As a Delta Air Lines flight attendant you may be based in:

• ATL (Atlanta, GA)
• BOS (Boston, MA)
• DTW (Detroit, MI)
• LAX (Los Angeles, CA)
• MSP (Minneapolis, MN)
• JFK/LGA (New York, NY)
• SLC (Salt Lake City, UT)

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Has Great Pay

Although Southwest pays their flight attendants by TFP, they have the highest stated hourly flight attendant rate on the pay scale, so it’s difficult to determine flight attendant pay by block hour (Trips For Pay).

There is credit time, which means that all of your flights get extra time added to them for credit time, which is AMAZING. Block time is the number of flight hours that the trip is blocked for.

Other airlines typically only pay flight attendants for block time, with sporadic excursions receiving extra credit time. That extra compensation at Southwest applies to ALL of your travels (as well as Alaska, as was previously mentioned).

Additionally, as a Southwest flight attendant, you are paid time and a half on the last day and the first three days of every month.

You will be placed on reserve at Southwest Airlines until you reach the top 35% of the base. Being in the top 35% can take YEARS. But once you’re off of probation, you can hold a line every other month as a Southwest Airlines flight attendant.

Rotating Reserve

Rotating reserve, or being on reserve every other month, has the drawback that you can’t earn as much money as you’d like while you’re on reserve. When opposed to having a line every month, it limits your flexibility; however, at most airlines (including Southwest Airlines), you can pick up additional reservations on top of your reserve schedule, earning significantly more money.

Depending on how much work you want to do, the rotating reserve may reduce your compensation. For example, some flight attendants desire to work a lot. It’s ideal for other flight attendants to work less hours.

Southwest Airlines Destinations

You will only fly “internationally” to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean as a Southwest Airlines flight attendant.

Once passengers have disembarked, Southwest Airlines flight attendants “tidy” the cabin by collecting trash and reversing seatbelts, something that flight attendants at the other airlines on the list never have to do.

As a Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant you may be based in:

• OAK (Oakland, CA)
• LAX (Los Angeles, CA)
• LAS (Las Vegas, NV)
• PHX (Phoenix, AZ)
• DEN (Denver, CO)
• MDW (Chicago Midway Airport, Chicago, IL)
• DAL (Dallas Love Field Airport Dallas, TX)
• HOU (Hobby Airport, Houston, TX)
• ATL (Atlanta, GA)
• BWI (Baltimore, MD)
• MCO (Orlando, FL)

Read Also: Employee Login to Macy’s Insite, My Insite to View Paycheck, Schedules, and Benefits

United Airlines

Finally, although by no means least… One of the best airline to work as flight attendant for is United Airlines, one of the biggest US carriers.

United Airlines completes the list as one of the airlines with some of the greatest flight attendant jobs, serving more destinations than any other airline in the world. To apply to work as a flight attendant with United Airlines, you must be 21 years old.

For training flight attendants, United pays $140 a week per diem and includes two meals daily. In addition to having one of the most adaptable trading systems for line holders, United Airlines has a straight reserve. When you are no longer on United’s reserve list, you have complete control over your flight attendant schedule.

At United Airlines, the starting salary is $28.88, and the final salary after 13 years is $67.11. The reserve override for United is $2 per hour, though. Due to this, if you are on reserve, $28.88 becomes $30.88. (The reserve override is always $2 more than the base pay because it applies to any reserve.)

Here they are: the top US airlines for hiring flight attendants. They also happen to be the airlines that offer the highest pay for flight attendants.

Did this make it clearer to you which airline is the best airline to work as a flight attendant?

Do you know of any further airlines that you think need to be listed? Please let me know in the comments; I look forward to your feedback.