how to become flight attendant

Jocelyn a Flight attendant training graduate at The Travel Academy on the drink cart in a plane — Jocelyn a flight attendant training graduate at The Travel Academy.

Are you excited by the chance to travel the world? You aren't alone. Average flight attendant applications for the past 10 years are estimated to be over 1,000,000 per year. You need an advantage to ge hired.

Working as a flight attendant presents many opportunities to travel the world for free, and in overnight cases, get free hotel and meals. Build lasting relationships and develop valuable client service and life-saving skills. Use our handy guide below to learn what you'll need to do to start your flight attendant career.

Yes, Training Matters! Every day, hiring managers can choose between those who are trained and those who are not. Guess who gets the interview?

TTA provides many advantages to landing your dream job and getting hired fast. Airlines are actively recruiting out of our school, which saves you time and gets your resume in front of those who make the hiring decisions.

Learn the Requirements
Assess Your Skills
When You Have No Experience
Search for jobs
Get the job offer
Complete employer certification
Get Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency
Flight Attendant FAQ

Guaranteed Interview – click here

Steps to Take to be a Flight Attendant

Flight attendant jobs are one of the highest demand jobs a person can apply to. There are hundreds of bits of information and steps in the hiring process, therefore, it is best to have the training and a guide to help you successfully gain the experience and get through the hiring process to land your dream job.

Thinking about doing it on your own? It's difficult and can take a long time.

Airlines can take 3-6 months to get through the hiring process, that's if your resume makes it through the first cut.
Intense Competition. We estimate there are 1 – 1.5 million flight attendant applications for 5,000 – 10,000 jobs.
Get Hired Fast! Our school provides a fast track program where you can obtain training and job offers in just weeks!
Our best students obtain multiple job offers before graduation.

Learn the Requirements

Some flight attendant requirements are universal. These include:

Are you at least 18 years of age?
Flight attendants spend a lot of time on their feet – are you able to stand for long periods of time?
Do you have any visible tattoos or piercings beyond 1 earring per ear lobe?
Can you pass criminal background and pre-employment drug tests?
Do you have, or can you get a United States passport? (for international flights)
Do you have a high school diploma, or GED?

Keep in mind that each airline has its own set of guidelines. If you have your heart set on a specific airline, look up their job postings or careers page to find specifics on that carrier. Learn out more about flight attendant qualifications here.

Assess Your Personal Skills and Experience

Do you have flight attendant training or experience?

Airlines hire those with flight attendant training or experience first.
Airlines prefer to hire people who have lived a travel lifestyle.
Our school provides the training you need to get hired and offers crew quarter accommodations to simulate life on the road.

Training, age, experience, maturity, personality, education, location and foreign language skills are all factors in the hiring decision.

No experience? Complete our Flight Attendant Training Program!

If you don't have any prior experience, then a flight attendant training program can help you get a foot in the door.

Flight attendants do so much more than just serving food and beverage. A lot can happen in the air and you want to be prepared to deal with anything that may come up. You need to know flight regulations, job responsibilities and airline standards.

Flight attendants are trained to handle emergencies and keep passengers safe. You need to be skilled in first aid, security, evacuation methods, and aircraft safety procedures.

Having training or experience with a flight attendant training school gives you a serious advantage over your competition and shows airlines that you're committed to your career path.

Getting the Offer

Congratulations! Your hard work paid off and you've been hired by an airline!

Once you pass the pre-employment screening, the airline will require you to go through orientation and be trained on their own aircraft under their own FAA approved policies.

Many first-time flight attendants aren't aware that, when you're hired with an airline, the offer may be temporary until permanent. It is still possible to be fired at this stage. About 30% to 50% of new flight attendants never make it on an airplane. The most common reasons are tardiness, attitude, lack of flight attendant training or aircraft knowledge.

Most airlines have a probationary period where they test your skills and training.

Complete Airline Orientation & Aircraft Familiarization

All airlines require that new hires complete an orientation training program. In addition, flight attendants must complete orientation on each specific aircraft for the airline, very few airlines have the same aircraft.

Get Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency

After orientation, crew members working on a plane with more than 20 seats need an FAA issued Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency. Flight attendants receive this certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Flight Attendant Benefits

Get Paid to Travel

The flight attendant benefits are one of the top reasons why people choose this type of job. Specific benefits are different for each airline and may be different depending on how long a flight attendant has worked for their airline. The most popular benefit for flight attendants is just the job itself. Many flight attendants use their layover time between flights to explore a new city or country. There are times when a flight attendant job allows for a several day layover, which provides plenty of time to watch the sun rise or set over the ocean, explore historical places, or just sit and sip a cup of coffee on a cobblestone sidewalk.