5-star hotels and free travel, but exhausting work: the advantages and disadvantages of being a flight attendant

A flight attendant with 7 years of experience shared that her profession has both advantages and disadvantages. The positive aspects include luxury hotels, traveling to different countries and a flexible schedule, while negative emotions are usually caused by changing time zones and dealing with rude passengers.

A flight attendant works about 14 days a month, but receives a full-time salary that people working on a 5/2 schedule do. Insider writes about 7 features of the profession.

The ability to choose colleagues on the flight

"Being able to choose who I work with or not is a nice luxury. When building my schedule, I can add the identifiers of my favorite colleagues to ensure a good shift," said the flight attendant.

Convenient schedule

The crew can provide a preferred shift schedule, which is usually listened to when planning the schedule. This helps to choose the days off and working days each month.

Quality service

Flight attendants and pilots are picked up from the airport by a car, which takes the crew to 4 or 5-star hotels for rest. Many airlines prioritize employee comfort.

Paid trips to different countries

Not only does the airline crew not have to pay for travel to any country where the flight is going, but they also get paid for it.

The need to adapt to different time zones

Long-haul flights involve a significant change in time zones, which can be stressful for the crew and cause exhaustion.

A request from friends

"People I barely know come to me expecting discounts on flights, and it's extremely uncomfortable. Most airlines have different rules about sharing discount codes. I tend to save my discounts for my dear friends and family," said the flight attendant.

Dealing with rude or angry people

When you have to deal with hundreds of people every day, you need to develop stress resistance and learn how to deal with any issues. However, sometimes dealing with rude passengers can be frustrating for crew members.