Flight Attendants Deserve to Be Treated Better by Airlines

All businesses, including airlines, are looking for ways to save money. Ask any economist, and they’ll tell you that saving money is the way to make money.

For airlines, paying flight attendants a criminally low wage shouldn’t be one of them.

Flight attendants are more than just ambassadors in the sky. That’s just a fancy and nice compliment. They are deserved, of course, but they are so much more than that. Frankly, they are the glue that keeps air travel running.

As the union representing flight attendants alleges, sleeping in cars is unacceptable. It might be considered a way to combat the high cost of living in some metro areas, but it’s no way to live. Taking an extra shift just to get a free meal is no way to live. They are literally on the front lines.

They constantly deal with passengers who are rude, insensitive, and sometimes intoxicated and prone to physical assault. Flight attendants should receive bonus pay just for that alone. And yet, it’s a shame that they don’t even get paid until the cabin doors are shut.

Not As Glamorous As You Think

Many outsiders think it’s a glamorous job. It’s not.

It can be, but it takes an inordinate amount of time to gain the experience needed to fly to Paris and stay in a first-class hotel. Otherwise, it’s puddle jumps and sleeping in subpar facilities with 10 other flight attendants and pilots.

And the bedbugs. Doesn’t sound so glamorous right about now, does it?

Several airlines are currently in contract negotiations with flight attendants. The situation shouldn’t have to come down to words like ‘strike’ and ‘mediation.’ Airlines should do the right thing and just pay them.

Airplane mechanics and pilots make wages that are commensurate with the responsibilities of the job. And rightfully so. But so should our flight attendants. The union said that some flight attendants make $27,000 a year. If true, that’s insane.

For now, airlines need to step up and pay their flight attendants for more than just passing out a Diet Coke; for more than just being ambassadors in the sky.

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