I’m not a real Flight Attendant – or at least that’s what some people will tell you.

The reason? I work for a low-cost/budget airline, and therefore I do not get to get off the aircraft at our destination but instead get to clean the aircraft and fly the next set of passengers home. Lucky me! Some people will have the opinion that I only work for the airline because a long haul flag carrier wouldn’t hire me. RUBBISH!  

I choose to work where I do, and personally I like getting home to my own bed every evening. Plus, I get paid more than most long-haul Flight Attendants and spend less… I love the faces our passengers make when they ask me if I ever get to get off and see our destinations, and I answer no. It’s almost a look that says ‘poor you’!

I tend not to tell them that we do get sent to work from some of our European bases every now and then, as I know this would not be enough to impress them.

So, why be a ‘low-cost’ Flight Attendant? I still get ‘perks’, including very cheap travel with the airline (even if I book an hour before the flight), and huge discounts on hotels and anything else travel related. In fact, it’s cheaper for me to fly out to Spain for the day than it is to get a train to a nice beach in my own country.I can arrive in Southern Spain by 10am, lie on the beach all day, and then get a flight home at 11pm!

But, in some people’s eyes I am still not a REAL Flight Attendant.

Ok – any Flight Attendant’s role can be summarised as looking after the safety, security, and comfort of an airline’s passengers. So, is that not what I’m doing every day?!

It all boils down to people’s perception of the job we do. ‘Outsiders’ consider the job glamorous, and this perception comes from the belief that we spend all our time lying on beaches, and having a great time in the Maldives or suchlike.

As soon as they realise that us low-cost Flight Attendants don’t experience this, the glamour instantly disappears from the equation – and therefore, we don’t seem like real Flight Attendants any more! We work harder than your average long-haul crew member, and get less respect. We must really love our jobs!

If I wanted to work for a long-haul airline, I would have applied for a position – but I never have, and do not plan to in the near future. We are not second best, and do just as good a job as any other airline employee. I’ve got lots more writing on the subject of low-cost airline travel planned – so stay tuned. I’m even considering writing about the pure snobbery of some people that prevents them from ever flying with a budget airline…….

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