On the job

Ever wondered what your life will be like as Cabin Crew? Unsure which airline to apply for?
Here we compare how airlines may come with different benefits and lifestyles:

Airline: British Airways.
Salary: £23,000 – £28,000 (incl benefits)
Operations type: Short and long haul. You will be expected to do both.
Typical Roster: A mix of trips; some single working days, up to 9 day trips. You do have the ability to ‘bid’ for trips/destinations/days off that you would prefer, but this is not guaranteed.
Work/life balance: 9 days off a month, no more than 2 single days, 28 days paid annual leave.
Where: London Gatwick or London Heathrow.
Service on board: BOB (buy on board) on short haul flights, service included on long haul. You will gradually be trained to work in all cabins and will be allocated different working positions each time. Even if you are trained to work in First, you will still spent equal time working in the other cabins on different flights.
Down-route life: A great chance to see other destinations/countries and thoroughly explore. Sometimes multiple nights in a destination.
Typical Flights: Flights to 170 destinations in 70 countries.

Airline: EasyJet.
Salary: Approx. £22,500.
Operations type: Short/mid haul only.
Typical Roster: Random Rosters, you may work a 4-5 day block then have 2-3 days off afterwards.
Work/life balance: 25 days Annual Leave with the option to ‘buy’ 5 more.
Where: Easy Jet has bases all over the UK and Europe, depending on your right to work.
Service on board: Buy on Board.
Down-route life: You do not typically have layovers, you will be home each night which may better for those who do not wish to leave home too often.
Typical routes: Predominantly European destinations and north africa, 150 destinations in 37 countries.

Airline: Emirates.
Salary: Roughly £1700 per month, but there is also paid accommodation facilities, dry cleaning, transport included. You also receive Layover Allowances.
Operations type: Mixture of short and long haul.
Typical Roster: Regulations in the UAE mean that crew can fly 1200 hours per annum compared to BA/ EasyJet’s European rules of 900hrs. So the rosters are busier with less days off.
Where: Dubai, UAE.
Service on board: Included as part of the flight. You will start working in economy and ‘promote’ in time to working in the other cabins. You only tend to work in the cabin you are trained in at that time.
Downroute life: A great chance to see other destinations/countries and thoroughly explore. Sometimes multiple nights in a destination.
Typical routes: Emirates flies to 161 destinations across 85 countries.