Flight Attendant Information

How do you become a international flight attendant?

im curious im in 10th grade how do you become a flight attendant that goes from us to japan or japan to korea and other places im going to college still even though i heard you dont need to im trilingual and i find flight attendants inspiring lol not the rude careless ones but in good airlines theres some cool flight attendants that are so nice so how do you become one? im just curious

Public Comments

1. FA jobs are based on seniority, so you have to start small. Many start off at the small regional carriers -- SkyWest, Republic, Colgan -- who fly as Express versions of the legacies like United and Delta. You move from small planes to big ones as you gain experience and time. Typically the FAs on the international flights have been with companies for years, so it's a significant time investment. Being trilingual will help a LOT, so be sure to stay up to speed with your language skills. Your college degree will be a nice plus too. Be willing to move around a lot as you start, since flexibility matters early on. It's hard work, but an enjoyable career.
2. Like most all jobs within an airline it's almost all based on seniority.. or how long have you been employed by that airline.. Generally speaking, the most senior FA's get first pick of the routes they want to fly and when they want to fly them.. after that, it works down the line.. So.... when you're first hired, you'll unfortunately get last pick of what's left.. It is very, very unlikely you'll fly international flights with any regularity.. You may find some flights that are "open" as senior FA's take sick days and vacations, but for the most part, all of the international flights are taken by the airlines most senior FA's.. junior crews are usually left to fly only domestic flights. Having the ability to speak a foreign language proficiently helps-- specially if it's a language of a country to which the airline flys.. It's common for the airline to have at least one FA who is fluent in the language of the destination country.. These FA's are normally called "Language Qualified FA's" and they can, in some cases, have a better chance to get an international flight over a more senior FA who is not language qualified.