The incredible perks of a flight attendant’s job revealed
AS a flight attendant, one of the main things I get asked about are the perks of the job.
In addition to literally being paid to travel around the world. there are plenty of upsides to being a cabin crew member.
Here in my latest weekly blog for Sun Online Travel, I'll reveal all the extras we get to make the most of as flight attendants.
The main perk people are interested in are the flight discounts.
Each airline has its own specific staff travel allowances, so it can change depending on who you work for.
However, as crew we don't have to pay for our flight tickets. We just have to pay the tax, which is a great deal cheaper.
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How much cheaper it is varies, but it's very often more than 50 per cent off.
I've flown first class before from London to Thailand for less than £100 before. It's a very reasonable arrangement.
However, the only downside is that we have to get "standby" tickets so you're not guaranteed a ticket - you only get to fly if there's any spare seats on board.
But there more often than not is and you get to fly straight away. Otherwise you have to wait for the next flight, which could be hours depending where you want to go.
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In terms of friends and family, we get to choose a certain number of people to put on our staff travel who are entitled to the same perk.
Depending on how senior your role is, the more people you get to add to your allowance.
However, crew leader is the most important person on the plane and they have the power to upgrade whoever they like.
If their friends and family are on the plane, they'll almost certainly get bumped up. If you can make friends with them before you fly, that's one of your best chances of getting an upgrade.
Away from the plane, we also get great crew discounts at associated hotels.
Each airline will have deals in place with certain resorts and accommodation for all of our destinations and we're able to pick up the same deals.
There's some arrangements in place that are so good that, come the summer, there are flights that are filled with other attendants - and the hotels are similar.
Places like Dubai are extremely popular because of this - the resorts are amazing and the discounts mean it's really worth it.
The price varies depending on the deal we have with each resort, but I know some four and five star places where we can pay as little as £30 a night.
There's also another cheap flight that we get to make the most of called position sectors, where you will be flown out just to fly a return leg of a journey.
For those flights, you sit as a passenger, get everything paid for, as well as your accommodation, just so you're in the airport for the plane coming back.
You also get paid for the flight as if you were working it, even though you'll be sat there enjoying the refreshments and the entertainment.
This is a rarity, it happens maybe two or three times a year at the very most, but it's incredible.
As well as the big things, there's one or two little things we get to take advantage of too.
For instance, we're more than welcome to take home the bottles of fizz from the plane, or any food or drink left over.
So our fridges are always very well stocked, without us having to fork out for it.
Which is great when you've had a nightmare passenger or two on a nine-hour long haul journey.
The perks are great, but they're there because we deserve them. It can be a very challenging and demanding job sometimes.
It really helps to be able to plan all your holidays in your head, while doing it and know it won't cost a fortune, while also thinking about what to do with your free champagne at the end of the flight.
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Meanwhile, this is how some sneaky passengers manage to get into first class without having to pay for it.
And these six tricks could increase your chances of getting an upgrade free of charge.
