Galley Gossip: How much do flight attendants get paid?

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Heather,
You have a great insight into the world of the commercial flight attendant. I work with private jet flight attendants and although the name of the position may be the same the differences are many.

To begin with, the pay structure for private jet flight attendants is different in that most work on a contractual basis and the pay scale ranges from $350-$450 per day. It's not hourly work, so whether your "wheels up" or grounded, the pay check is the same.

Secondly, the crew rest times are different. This can be a blessing and a curse as you may find yourself working more hours then you would have at a commercial carrier on any given trip or day.

Keep in mind there are different ways to work within the Private Jet arena. You can fly full-time for a fractional ownership company (think time-share for private aircraft), Full time for a private flight department or charter company (think on-call 24/7, like working on a yacht), or as a contract flight attendant for any of the above (think you choose which trips you want to fly).

Finally, you still get to travel to foreign lands, meet interesting people, and work in an environment that is not centered on a three hour wait at the airport and invasive security measures. Rather you get to enjoy some of the same luxuries that the world's elite travelers experience everyday.

In my opinion, true First Class service (Old School Pan Am style) has disappeared. Not, mind you, by any fault of the commercial flight attendant. After 9/11, every wealthy or semi-wealthy individual who could figure out a way to do it came over to private aviation. That's where the real First Class went (along with those higher revenue seats) and today's commercial First Class cabin appears to be full of Crown Club members and up-graders.

9-08-2010 @ 7:02PM

Jimmy Mack said...

Robert,

Just wondering...., are private jet flight attendants responsible for reserving and paying for their own lodging and meals? Are these expenses reimbursed? Do weather/mechanical delays impact their salary? Do they have real monthly schedules with actual days off, or are they on call all month? Vacation days with pay, sick pay, disability pay, healthcare?? Are they subject to the jurisdiction of the FAA...., with random drug and alcohol testing and crew rest requirements? Who oversees their pilots and mechanics? I would think many commercial flight attendants around the USA would be very interested in enjoying the same luxuries of the world's elite travelers, as you state, albeit with some protections to allow such an employee to have a life on the outside........, i.e, a family, parent/teacher stuff, little league coaching....etc, ...along with the things I mentioned above.

May I assume they don't get cursed at and smacked on the head with carry-ons?
Thanks for any info.
Jimmy Mack

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