How are flight attendants paid?

Flight attendants are paid through flight pay and per diem. The main component of a flight attendant's salary, known as flight pay, is the total hours the flight attendant is on the plane with passengers, either navigating the taxiways or flying in the air.

Typically, flight attendants employed at major airlines in the United States will not receive flight pay until all customers are boarded, the doors have been closed, and the pilots have released the aircraft brakes in preparation for pushback from the gate. Most airlines use the term "block out" for this.

Flight pay will continue until the flight reaches its destination, parks at the gate, and the aircraft parking brake is set. This is known as "block in." The "blocks" in question refer to the chock blocks the ramp crew puts behind the landing gear wheels to prohibit unanticipated aircraft movement.

The rate of flight pay at each airline is different. Typically, flight attendants who belong to a union and are employed at a major airline will receive a higher rate of flight pay. Flight attendants will all receive the same rate of pay defined by their airline, and that rate will increase every year the flight attendant celebrates an anniversary.

Flight pay does not vary based on individual experience or performance. It is a set rate that all flight attendants within the same airlines will receive once they graduate and start logging hours. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, flight attendants log between 75 to 100 hours a month of flight time.

These numbers can vary at each airline depending on the airline's work rules, such as any cap on hours and if overtime is offered or available. Depending on your seniority within your airline, flight attendants are either on "reserve" or are "lienholders."

Line Holders are guaranteed a minimum amount of flight hours in predetermined trips per month, and those trips are awarded through a seniority-based monthly bidding process.

The different ways that airlines facilitate this bidding process can differ; however, all of them rely on seniority to determine what flight attendants can "hold."

Reserves are also guaranteed a set amount of hours each month, regardless if they fly or not. Reserve schedules are awarded during the monthly seniority-based bidding process as well.

Being on reserve requires the flight attendant to be available should the company need them to work for a flight or sit on standby at the airport, where they might be needed to fill a position on a crew as quickly as possible.

The second component of a flight attendant's salary is "per diem." This is compensation paid to the flight attendant for every hour they are away from the base. Per diem typically begins when the flight attendant reports for duty and ends 15 minutes after the plane blocks into the gate on the final leg of a trip.

The 15 minutes post-block-in is called a"debrief." Per diem is meant to cover expenses such as meals and basic essentials while the flight attendant is away from home. The flight attendant will continue to accrue per diem even after the flight arrives at a layover and the flight attendant has checked into their hotel room for the night.

In case you're wondering, all airlines cover the cost of hotel rooms when flight attendants are required to layover while working a trip. Per diem ranges between $1.50-$2.00 per hour. Some airlines pay more if the flight attendant is working an international trip which means flights from the United States to an international destination.

For example, if a flight attendant works a four-day trip, from the time the flight attendant reports at the airport for their first flight until their 15-minute debriefs on the fourth day, their time away from base (TAFB) totals 84 hours.

The airline they work for pays $1.50 per diem, so the flight attendant will receive $126 per diem for that particular trip. If the flight attendant happened to work the same trip once a week, then the total per diem for that month would be $504.