A flight attendant posted a viral TikTok explaining why you shouldn’t apply to be one in our current economy.
The user @dandelion_wind has reached over 63,000 views and 4,000 likes on her video as of press time. She previously used her platform with over 308,000 followers to share day-in-the-life videos as a flight attendant.
@dandelion_wind’s starts her video saying, “let me be so abundantly clear right now, do not become a flight attendant right now in this economy.”
“This is coming from a flight attendant,” she adds, “unless you’re going to Delta.”
@dandelion_wind says that Delta gives flight attendant’s 9.1% in profit sharing, as well as being paid for boarding.
“Everywhere else isn’t gonna give you that,” she says.
Next, @dandelion_wind explains how her “niche” on TikTok was flight attendant videos, and this is how she gained her following.
“If you haven’t noticed, for the last year I’ve kind of stopped,” she explains, “That’s because I have a burning rage inside of me about not feeling valued or respected.”
She then says flight attendants are compared to “just a number.”
“We’ve had flight attendants die in hotel rooms on layovers and they don’t find out for 3 days because no one bothered to check,” she adds.
“I’m done pretending,” she continues, “There are new hire flight attendants that are living out of their cars.”
@dandelion_wild says the new hires can’t afford to eat, and some are “literally one meal away from being homeless.” She explains how flight attendants aren’t granted time to eat in between flights.
Next, @dandelion_wild says “I’m making 22% less than when I first started 6 years ago, that is ridiculous.”
For the past 5 years, she says herself and other flight attendants have tried contract negotiations and received “not interested,” as a response.
“I’m losing interest in being here,” she says. “I’m losing interest in committing my life and sacrificing my life every single day to not be respected, and not being able to eat half the time.”
@dandelion_wild admits “it would help me if you put in that application.” She explains that her seniority would be boosted by new flight attendants applicants, and she would get to fly out of the country and make more money.
“But what’s not right, is new hire flight attendants suffering and being homeless,” she adds.
“It’s not right that us 5, 6 years, 10 years can’t even afford it,” she explains, “but a baby new hire who doesn’t even have the opportunity?”
She says new hires would need to work every single day, almost 100 hours a week in order to “maybe survive.”
“You’re probably gonna have like 5 or 6 roommates,” she adds, “but you get to see Japan!”
@dandelion_wild suggests being a flight attendant for a year, “but this is no longer a career.”
When she signed up to be a flight attendant 6 years ago, “it was a career,” she adds.
“People were retiring, they had all of these things, this is why you see flight attendants that are 35 years, 40 years into it,” she explains. “That is the opportunity that they got, we no longer have that opportunity.”
Next she says “you’re better off going to In-N-Out and working there,” she adds.
Before ending her video she says “if you don’t see that this company has a contract,” a new contract with new financial negotiations, “don’t do it.”
@dandelion_wind I am LIVID. Ive kept my mouth shut for long enough. Oh and your first year of flying you are projected fo make 26k for the year. Thats below the poverty line. Our job is to save peoples lives in an emergency. We saw that recently with japan airlines and alaska airline. GUESS WHO IT WAS that made sure every passanger was okay and SAFE… flight attendants. Im so beyond sick of us being treated like our only job is to pass out a diet coke. No babe. Its to keep you alive. #flightattendant #cabincrew #travel ♬ original sound – Dandelion_wind
So, how much do flight attendants make?
A piece from the caption of @dandelion_wild’s video says, “your first year of flying you are projected to make 26k for the year. That’s below the poverty line.”
According to Indeed, flight attendants start at about $17 an hour. ZipRecruiter says that salaries start at $34,000 a year.
“The way I’ve only been here a year and a half and everyone keeps telling me to wait until I hit 5 years…” a viewer said in the comment section, “like I can’t afford to wait 3.5 more years???”
@dandelion_wild did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Dot via TikTok direct message.
