It Doesn’t Actually Pay Very Well
Flight attendants have to go to work the minute they arrive on the plane. That means doing safety checks before a flight and then greeting and assisting passengers during the boarding process. But for all they do before the plane takes off, they’re not even getting paid.
Flight attendants only get paid for the hours that the engine starts and the plane pulls away from the gate. Anytime before that, they aren’t getting paid — or they’re at least not getting paid their full rate. Hours spent away from home but not in the air are compensated with a rate as low as $1.50 an hour.