Texas Flight Attendant Pay Is Not Just an Open and Shut Case

When I first moved my daughter to Dallas several years ago it was because she wanted to be a flight attendant. She moved to an area near the airports and started her search. We had family that worked for Southwest Airlines so it was just something she wanted to do.

She did have a couple of interviews and the one company that she really was interested in was in the process of setting her up for training. She was on her way. Then the very next day the NBA shut down. Then the whole country. That was the timing of Covid. Not really great timing for her dream.

While she was on the hunt for a job and to start training that was when I started to learn how being a flight attendant worked. You get to the airport for a flight. You make it through security. You board the plane. Then as a flight attendant, you put on that happy face and watch as everyone else starts boarding.

Oh, and then the doors shut. Did you know that once those doors shut that is when the flight attendants start getting paid? Not once they get to the airport. Not once they get on the plane. Nope, when those doors shut. After everyone boards. That is like you driving into work. You making it to your desk. Logging on to your computer and then checking and responding to all of your emails from the day before. Maybe even having a thirty-minute conversation with your boss and coworkers. All unpaid.

You would not be happy not getting paid for all of that work you did before your office door shut. Now I know being a flight attendant has its perks. I know they get to travel. A lot of jobs have some perks. One part of that is getting paid when the schedule says you have to be there. Not a time after your office fills and then the doors shut.

Oh, and flight attendants stop getting paid when the cabin doors open once they get to their destination. So while you are taking your time getting off the plane and then as they are going through doing a count and cleaning up, it is all unpaid.

It's not too shocking that flight attendants are looking for a pay raise. I mean if they are not getting paid while a lot of their work is being done, they might as well get paid more in the time they are in fact "on the clock."

Just last month flight attendants for Southwest Airlines got a nice raise and now others are following suit. American Airlines flight attendants are looking for a new contract. Oh, and I believe not only should raises be in the future. Especially since it's been several years since they have received one.

The bigger injustice is that they should be paid from the time they enter the plane until the time they exit. This whole doors open and shut business is not the answer.