To be a flight attendant in Philippines is to be a Hollywood celebrity in the United States or an influencer in Dubai. It is sought-after. Whenever I conduct a career seminar among students about to start university, almost 80% of girls list “flight attendant” as their dream job.
At five years old, I set my mind that I will be a Philippine Airlines flight attendant and I refused to have any other dream since. That came true in 2018. Then I quit three years later. Let me tell you why.
Why Becoming a “Flight Attendant” is Your Dream Job?
While watching a Philippine Airlines commercial in the early 2000s, my dad told me I could become that well-dressed and elegant lady working on a plane. I was one of those lucky people who already knew what they wanted to become at a very young age.
Job opportunities in the Philippines were largely local at that time, with long work hours, limited vacation leaves, and low pay. Only the upper middle class or the rich afforded air travel so it is glorified. For us in the “hood,” there’s almost no other way to experience flying on a plane than working on one.
This little girl (me) on the right wants to be a flight attendant
As I grew older, it became clear that getting into this dream job would not be a walk in the park. Some requirements for flight attendants include having clear skin, a complete set of teeth, and good English. If you’re coming from a poor household like myself, even these minimum requirements can be quite challenging. But, nothing compares to the rewards that await.
The Rewards That Await…
⚫ You will see different countries while getting paid.
⚫ You will have a chance to take your family to dream destinations for free. Your immediate family is entitled to a certain number of free-of-charge tickets to all routes that the airline flies to yearly. There are also entitled to avail 90%, 80%, and 50% discount if free of charge tickets run out.
⚫ You have a stable and decent-paying job.
⚫ You have the same work routine until you retire. It gets easier the longer you stay in the company.
So I Finally Became a Flight Attendant
None of my friends had been in an airplane before reaching 20 years old. I had never seen one up close before my cabin crew training. My first airplane ride was during my assessment as a crew trainee.
In 2018, I finally became a flight attendant in Philippines. I worked for PAL Express, the local subsidiary of the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines. We only flew domestic routes with no layovers, but it was a decent company with great benefits and employee care.
Wearing that flight attendant scarf and elegant uniform was a badge of honor. It was a better validation than seeing Barcelona or Paris or every iconic landmark I dreamt of checking. And when I saw that money in my bank account for the first time when I received my first airline salary, I thought, wow…I can finally buy everything. I am living the dream!
This is the life I have been dreaming since I was five years old.
The Pandemic Made Me Realize Important Things
Many Filipinos dream of becoming flight attendants for two main reasons: to travel the world and to have a high-paying career. Many local airlines like Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific and some Middle East airlines like Emirates and Qatar Airways have mass hiring for flight attendant jobs multiple times a year. Let’s be real, who doesn’t like to travel to New York while getting paid? And the pay is good?
Many things went wrong during the pandemic and honestly, I am glad they did. In the isolation, I realized the fragility of life, of how short life is and how important it is to use our time to do what we love as much as we can. Did you know that an average person spend more than half of their lives at work? And that many of us are unhappy with our jobs but stay anyway? I thought, what a sad way to live this short life. Worse, many of us do not realize we are actually unhappy with our jobs because it pays the bills, gives us good societal status, or promises a comfortable life when we retire.
The Truth About Being a Flight Attendant in Philippines
When I was a flight attendant in Philippines, I never once complained about the job. If you check my records, I was never late nor had a sick leave. I was always a good team player and never had a problem with my supervisors.
You’ll think it’s all because I love my job. so. much. After all, it’s my dream job, right? And I was working in a company with great pay, opportunities for professional growth, and employee benefits.
It took me a lot of self assessment and honesty to admit that I was driven by fear.
- I feared admitting that my dream job was actually not my dream job.
- As a breadwinner, I was scared for my family. If I quit such a high-paying job, where else will I find one that pays as much?
- I did not want to hear criticism. Everyone will think I am stupid for leaving a glamorous and respected job.
These are just some thoughts that ran in my head. After seeing the whole picture, I finally filed for the retrenchment package offered by my airline for the pandemic. This is the most graceful exit I could think of. I want to share with you some reasons why I quit.
I feared admitting that my dream job was actually not my dream job.
How Much Do Flight Attendants Make Per Hour?
In my first job as a hotel front desk agent, I made 8,000 pesos ($151) monthly. That’s low, yes, but that’s the reality in this country. The average monthly salary of flight attendants in Philippines is 33,000 pesos ($575). This is four times higher than what I was making in the hotel.
During my time as a probationary cabin crew in 2018, my hourly rate was 100 pesos ($2) and making around 25,000 ($435) to 35,000 ($610) pesos a month. After six months, the hourly pay tripled and I was making way more than my personal and family expenses. You can get used to this comfort and stability.
Yet, the Philippines, as a largely English-speaking country, has benefited from the pandemic. Work-from-anywhere opportunities came and was one of the lucky to ride the Filipino digital nomads trend. It became possible to travel and work everywhere without working in an airline.
I got a better salary working online than what I was making as a flight attendant in Philippines. I also enjoyed having a routine, being in the comforts of home, no crazy work schedules, and no rude passengers to deal with. On the downside, freelancing is unstable, unlike my cabin crew job where I am guaranteed a salary every month.
Can We Talk About Routines and Schedules?
Flight attendant pay is comfortable by Philippine standards, but you need to make some sacrifice. The most obvious one is not having holidays. I had a 4 a.m. flight In the New Year of 2019 — I remember that because it’s one of those moments when I badly wanted to quit the job. The same goes for elections, birthdays, and other important events, that I missed.
You can get scheduled for a flight at dawn or midnight. You almost have no control over your work schedule, as long as the duty and rest periods follow the aviation regulator’s requirements.
This means that most of the time, you cannot have a solid workout routine or plan dates way in advance. You might be pulled out for an earlier duty or there might be flight delays. You cannot make plans for the weekend because what do you mean “weekend”? You are most likely working on Sunday and be off by Monday – just as when your friends are busy with work.
How Often are Flight Attendants Home?
That New Year’s duty was a first wake-up call. I asked myself, until when can I keep missing important moments like this? I bring others home to their families while I can’t be with mine.
How often are flight attendants home? This depends on operational demand. There are busy seasons where you will be flying to the max, in our airline that means flying 100 hours a month. This time you are most likely to be too tired to travel home and would focus on sleep instead. There are also chill months. I had months when I flew 20 hours, and that was before the pandemic. These could be due to factors like low demand, high manpower (new trainees being released), or a combination of both.
There are months that flight attendants (local) fly up to 100 hours, and others when we fly just 20. It all depends on operational demand. On days that we fly to the max, we rarely go home.
How About Life Outside Flying?
Being a flight attendant in the Philippines or abroad means having limited outside pursuits. Sure, there is life outside flying, and many of my friends in the airline have interesting lives beyond work. But, the schedule is a big issue.
One time I filed for a petition to study for a Masters Degree while working as a flight attendant. Since many post-graduate schools in the Philippines only offer weekend classes, I asked for my Saturdays as permanent day-offs, and I can fly whenever the rest of the week. They couldn’t accommodate my request because of manpower issues.
Completely understood because this is what I signed up for. Yet, it has then become clear to me that pursuing a higher degree or any high-commitment activity could be a challenge when you are a flight attendant.
What Do Flight Attendants Do…Exactly?
As aviation professionals, we undergo a series of training that enhance our credibility in handling safety, security, and customer service issues. Is flight attendant training hard? It is! In fact, I failed my first training after failing to perform the right emergency procedures due to panic.
There is a three-month training where you will squeeze your brain capacity to the max. You will memorize plane equipment, emergency procedures, and even survival swimming by heart. Yes, flight attendants are not just your servers, we can and will save your lives.
It’s true what others say that flight attendants only serve food, give out blankets, and make sure the flight is pleasant and comfortable. But that’s on normal days. I am sure all pray for these non-eventful days because who wants to do an emergency childbirth in a flight every day?
Even then, the job can be physically exhausting. We cannot sleep while you sleep – we look after you. I remember one time when I flew an eight-hour flight from Abu Dhabi to Clark with Qatar Airways. I observed that international flight attendants worked almost the entire duration of the flight, and were always attentive to passenger requests. That earned my respect.
Fear of Flying
Truth is, flying terrifies me. Of course, I know that flying is safer than driving. I researched all that. But even such assuring statistics could not ease my fear during take-off and turbulence. My hands sweat and I always say, God, please not today, whenever the plane shakes.
I kept it all together for a long time because it’s my dream job. It also pays the bill and assures a comfortable life.
Sustainability
My former airline used to offer snacks and cold and hot drinks to our passengers. One time, I was collecting used cups for disposal and realized, that’s a lot of plastics right there. The deeper I dived into sustainability, the harder it was for me to turn a blind eye to these things.
Aviation accounts for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions and has contributed 4% to global warming. The Philippines is among the most vulnerable to climate change. We experience stronger typhoons and increased periods of drought. This is an issue that affects me, my friends, and my family. It’s hard to work in an industry that doesn’t speak to my values, no matter how much I love the other parts.
The Way I Imagined My Life Was…
The way I imagined my life unfolding was:
- I will be a flight attendant in Philippines and live a dream life.
- I’ll get married to a fellow cabin crew, a pilot, or someone with a stable job like myself, and stay in the job until I retire.
- I will travel to nice countries on my vacation leaves, with free flight tickets in business class. My family will enjoy the benefits too and travel wherever they want.
- After retirement, I can finally go to the United States and “enjoy” my life.
In a nutshell, I will live the typical middle-class life cycle and have a life of comfort. But this is not how I want to live my life.
I Want A Life Beyond Flying
An average person only gets 4000+ weeks on Earth if lucky.
It is hard to say goodbye to a dream I had in my heart since I was five but I don’t want to look back when I was 80 years old and tell myself I should have visited more countries, fallen in love more, and met more people! That I should have been less scared, more brave, more adventurous.
I am nowhere near to living a comfortable life right now. Everything is uncertain. But one day I can say that I lived a really good life. So, you, please have courage to leave what doesn’t serve you, regardless if that is your “dream job” and live life to the fullest!
Do you want to be a flight attendant in Philippines? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
