Flight Attendants

A number of advancement opportunities are open to flight attendants. They may advance to supervisory positions such as purser (sometimes known as the first flight attendant, senior, or lead flight attendant), or become an instructor or airline recruitment representative. They may also have the opportunity to move into the position of chief attendant, representing all flight attendants in a particular division or area. Although the rate of turnover in this field was once high, more people are making careers as flight attendants, and competition for available supervisory jobs is very high.

Many flight attendants who no longer qualify for flight duty because of health or other factors move into other jobs with the airlines. These jobs may include reservation agent, ticket agent, or personnel recruiter. They may also work in the public relations, sales, air transportation, dispatch, or communications divisions. Trained flight attendants may also find similar employment in other transportation or hospitality industries such as luxury cruise ship lines.