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Flight Attendant Friday: Working for a Regional Airline

by Mary Jo Manzanares on February 29th, 2008

A question from Kelby about working for a regional airline:

Q:  I am thinking about becoming a Flight Attendant with a regional airline.  I’m wondering, would I be flying the same route all the time, or would I get to layover in different cities every night?

A:  The type of schedule a Flight Attendant would fly, whether at a major or regional carrier, will vary based on the company, and is largely dependent on where the carrier flies.  The more cities served by a carrier, the more interesting the flying is likely to be.  More cities equals more layover opportunities.

However, it the first year (or years) of flying, a Flight Attendant will be on Reserve.  This means that there is no set schedule of flights and layovers, but instead, there is a schedule or days off and days on.  Work days are spent covering for sick calls, misconnects, or other staffing irregularities.  This means that every work day is likely to be different.

While many people think the irregular schedule of layover cities sounds exciting, Flight Attendants HATE being on Reserve.  We’d much rather know what we are doing for the month, what flights we will be working, and where our layovers will be.

Flying for a regional airline will likely mean layovers in a variety of cities.  However, by the very nature of regional airlines, these are generally smaller cities that may not be served by a major airline.  Flying for a major airline will likely mean layovers is larger cities, frequently thought to be more glamorous and exciting.

One isn’t necessarily a better layover than another.  It all depends upon your personal definition.

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