Do flight attendants get paid during delays?

Flight attendants are typically only paid during flight time, meaning that when flights get delayed, they're often forced to work longer days without compensation for the wait time — all while dealing with unsustainable schedules, exhaustion, and frustrated travelers.



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Flight attendants are only paid for their flight time. This means they are not compensated when they are walking through the airport to get to a gate or waiting for the aircraft to arrive. Their time clock does not start until the cabin door is closed.

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Because until the plane closes its door, flight attendants do not get paid. While this seems like some sort of wildly illegal practice, it's not. In fact, it's industry standard and has been for decades, along with a handful of others practices that seem archaic in an industry as crucial as air travel.

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So if your flight is delayed by 2 hours, there is no compensation. However, you can make a different claim. For example, if your flight is delayed by two hours or more, your airline must take care of you by offering you support services. These can be very different.

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According to the DOT, airlines are not required to provide money or other compensation when flights get delayed, regardless of how late they are. However, when a “significant delay” takes place, passengers may receive refunds for seat selection fees or checked baggage fees.

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A Flight Attendant required by the Company to deadhead shall receive full pay and credit based on scheduled block time or actual flight time, whichever is greater. Additionally, all premiums will apply to the deadhead.

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“We trust our people to make the right decisions on and off the clock,” said Michelle Agnew, a spokesperson for Southwest. Flight attendants say that fending off flirtatious passengers comes with the territory, but some admit that they are open to finding a mate, or at least a date, on the job.

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Flight attendants frequently have between 12 and 18 days off per month and over a years time, average about 156 days off. (The average office worker has 96 days off and, works eight-hour days.) Of course, days off are not necessarily at home, buy many flight attendants use these days as mini vacations.

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My flight is delayed - am I entitled to money or other compensation from the airline? No. There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed.

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For seasoned flight attendants looking for earning potential, JetBlue, $103,000, and Alaskan Airlines, $113,000, are the highest paying airlines. Being a flight attendant can be a great long term career path.

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Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Singapore Airlines are commercial airlines that pay the highest pilot salaries.

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If you believe you are underpaid, you cannot exactly walk into your supervisor's office and ask for more money. Instead, you must rely on your union representatives to stand up for you – and every other flight attendant who works for the airline – during contract negotiations.

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As a flight attendant, you'll be eligible for free flights – sometimes for your friends or family, too! – and maximum time off to enjoy the destinations of your choice during your free time. You'll also get discounts on hotels, car rentals, other airlines' flights, and vacation packages.

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If your flight's delayed for 3 or more hours You're entitled to get compensation if the flight arrives more than 3 hours late and it's the airline's fault - for example, if they didn't get enough bookings or there was a technical fault.

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For domestic flights in the U.S., airlines have to pay you 200% of the value of your one-way ticket up to $775 if you arrive at your destination one to two hours past your originally scheduled itinerary or 400% of the one-way ticket price, up to $1,550 if your arrival delay is longer than two hours.

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If you are connecting on a different airline, airlines are not required to provide compensation if a delay on the first flight causes you to miss your connection. However, if your first flight is delayed for more than 3 hours, you may be entitled to compensation from the airline that caused the delay.

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Passengers denied boarding involuntarily due to oversales are entitled to compensation set by DOT. It is based on the price of the ticket and the length of time that the passengers are delayed in getting to their destination because of being denied boarding.

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Certain circumstances, such as weather-related delays or air traffic control issues, may exempt airlines from providing hotel accommodations. These situations are typically considered “force majeure” or “acts of God,” and airlines are not legally obligated to provide accommodations in such cases.

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