How much does a Flight Attendant make?

The average salary for a Flight Attendant is $52,093 per year in United States. Salaries estimates are based on 18984 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by a Flight Attendant employees in United States.

The highest salary for a Flight Attendant in United States is $69,474 per year.

The lowest salary for a Flight Attendant in United States is $39,179 per year.

If you are thinking of becoming a Flight Attendant or planning the next step in your career, find details about the role, the career path and salary trajectory of a Flight Attendant.

A career as a flight attendant allows for extensive travel. In addition to paying a salary with benefits, airlines generally provide stipends for meals and accommodations, as well as discounted or free personal travel. Flight attendants with proficiency in more than one language, as well as flight attendants with extensive work experience, are in especially high demand and may secure higher paying roles. Successful senior flight attendants can be promoted to the title of Pursuer, or head flight attendant. This role combines management and administrative duties with traditional flight attendant responsibilities.

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Per anonymous figures collated by Glassdoor, around 69% of flight attendants feel satisfied with their annual earnings. Several factors may enhance a flight attendant's salary, such as further education, language fluency, advanced first aid training. They can also earn around $3,174.70 in annual additional pay.

The average annual salary for a flight attendant is $48,917.88, ranging from $30,327.54 to $89,813.82 depending on experience and other factors. Taking into account bonuses and other perks, the total pay can be around $52,092.58. As you progress along the typical flight attendant career path, you may naturally advance into a purser, cabin manager, or base manager role, which will typically attract a higher salary.

Are you hoping to be paid more during your flight attendant career? Enhancing key skills, such as customer service, organization, dispute resolution, and interpersonal communication can make you more competitive in the job market. Some airlines may pay extra if you are fluent in particular languages and some prefer to hire people with college degrees. Supplemental certifications beyond compulsory training requirements may be useful, such as first aid, food safety, sanitation, and fire safety. You could also consider becoming FAA certified for several types of aircraft to increase your cabin crew opportunities.

When negotiating your salary for a new flight attendant position, illustrate any previous experience you have in customer service, hospitality, emergency response, or healthcare capacities. Give details of desirable training and skills, such as language proficiency, administration experience, further education, and relevant specialist certifications. If you're wondering how to ask for a pay raise from your existing employer, consider how much seniority and experience you have. Discuss additional responsibilities you've held in the past, such as cabin management or as lead flight attendant, highlight extra job training, and provide examples of when you've contributed to excellent customer satisfaction or resolved challenging situations.