Ask anyone in the industry. It’s like a disease. It gets into your blood and never goes away. Whether you’re part of a flight crew, or a crew scheduler, or dispatch, or a gate agent, or working outside fueling planes and tossing baggage; you have it. You deal with the hoards of screaming customers when a flight is cancelled. You deal with the long hours. You deal with the freezing rain and the blistering heat. All because of this disease. Most people don’t even know about it. Most never will. Yet the people that have experienced it never want anything else. I’m talking about the benefits. Some might call it a “travel bug” or whatever, all I know is I have it and it’s not going away.
A little about where I fit in this. I worked for Comair, a subsidiary and regional carrier for Delta, for several years. I left the company, moved a little over an hour away, and did a couple of different jobs. After moving back in the area I just had to try finding another job in the industry. As luck had it, I found one with ExpressJet, another regional carrier. I’ve been there ever since.
I’m sure you’re saying “What the hell is so glorious” or “What makes it so different”. Benefits, benefits, benefits. There’s the usual benefits you see with a large company. Little things here and there like cell phone bill discounts, gym memberships, and the sort. The big thing is the travel benefits. There is absolutely nothing like flying for free. Being able to see places you’d never be able to see otherwise. You’ve got the ability to walk through the airport, find a destination that interests you, and as long as it’s got open seats just book yourself. It really is a great feeling. I’ve flown to countless destinations. I flew to Bangor, Maine just to eat a lobster dinner. I’ve flown to Chicago numerous times. Several places in Florida. I ran away with a fuck buddy to San Juan and spent several days on the beach. Almost anything is possible.
Don’t get me wrong, there are downsides. It’s not always possible to find a flight. You fly standby, so if the plane fills up with customers you’re finding another flight. It’s especially worse if you’re flying home and have to work the next day. There’s no “I’m sick I can’t come in” if you’re stuck in Vegas without a flight home. The industry is a constantly changing beast. You HAVE to be flexible or you will not make it. Companies go under, merge, get bought out. It happens and you have to be able to roll with the punches. Several months after I left Comair Delta cut the flights going out of the hub I worked by more than half. People lost their jobs and there’s a whole concourse empty. But that’s the nature of the beast, it’s a company and they are there to make money.
At any rate, give it a shot if you live near an airport. Find the airlines that use it and start applying and calling. A lot of times you can find whatever you’re looking for. Full time, part time, and even ready reserve…where you can give them your schedule and they call if they need someone (though that is in rare cases and usually just at a main hub). So do it. Now.
Feel free to ask any questions. If I have an answer you’ll get it.
How much money do you make?
I said Akku Bar in the airport, and I got punched at. What do????
I hate people at airports.
I also hate countertunes.
How would you get intouch with little qualification? Do you have to be 18 to work at airports mostly? (16 here)
What kind of stuff could someone 16 do?
Woah, I'd love to have that sort of adventure.
But it does come at a cost (hotels, food, transport within the city).
What's the pay like generally?
What was your job?
[QUOTE=CounterTunes;25325613]How much money do you make?[/QUOTE]
Generally for someone with no experience you might be looking at around $9 an hour.
[QUOTE=Piggah;25325650]How would you get intouch with little qualification? Do you have to be 18 to work at airports mostly? (16 here)
What kind of stuff could someone 16 do?[/QUOTE]
You have to be 18. With no experience you can easily work out on the ramp or even ticketing/gate. Getting the job just depends on the person. There's a lot of training with both.
[QUOTE=phill977;25325675]Woah, I'd love to have that sort of adventure.
But it does come at a cost (hotels, food, transport within the city).
What's the pay like generally?[/QUOTE]
Yes, you do have to pay for everything else. It helps to have friends in different cities so you can crash at their place. You do get discounts at certain hotels and such through the airline and there's also usually a website that gives interline discounts between the airline, car rental, hotel/resort, and cruise.
[QUOTE=Uberslug;25325728]What was your job?[/QUOTE]
For Comair I was strictly on the ramp. Anything from fueling to pushing back aircraft, loading/unloading, deicing, ect. Right now I can go between ramp, gate, and ticketing.
Sounds pretty awesome.
Have you ever seen a plane get hit by lightning?
[sp]I have, I saw one get hit by a bolt at the Chicago Airport, flight back home got delayed[/sp]
[editline]11:05PM[/editline]
Have you ever seen a plane get hit by lightning?
[sp]I have, I saw one get hit by a bolt at the Chicago Airport, flight back home got delayed[/sp]
[editline]11:05PM[/editline]
What the fuck double posts
Are there restrictions as to what flights you can fly on? Like transatlantic flights or the such.
I love the feeling of just being in an airport during the early morning. I get this feeling I can't quite describe, but it's awesome.
my friend said in the airport.
"Dis trip is going to be da bomb!"
It... ended badly.
I love the feeling of being around aircraft. It is just a really sweet feeling. I could sit on a plane all day a not get bored with myself.
I don't know if I would like to work at the airport, but I will be trying to get my pilots license.
I might be working in the ground crew at the airport if everything goes to plan with the job opportunity I got today.
Flying isn't as great as sailing. Something about the open sea that is just magical.
My dad use to work at the Edmonton airport for US Customs. He had a master key to the whole airport. For various reasons I'd go to work with him some days.
The security room was almost always empty. I'd go in there and play with the cameras. Zooming in all the way at people and pilots at the jet way was amusing.
That's a great story dude, thanks for sharing!
Delta sucks though.
I'm a student pilot right now, can't wait to get into the airlines (even though I know I still have a while to go)
Jump seat on any plane to anywhere I want in the world whenever I want so long as the PIC is okay with it :>
So true. Both of my parents have worked for Delta, so for as long as I can remember we always flew standby. Like you said, the only negative side of flying standby is the chance of all the seats being taken which actually happened over the Summer for us. I don't mind the airport, you get to see so many different people there.
[QUOTE=LinuX;25325624]I said Akku Bar in the airport, and I got punched at. What do????[/QUOTE]
you mean allah akbar?
[QUOTE=LinuX;25325624]I said Akku Bar in the airport, and I got punched at. What do????[/QUOTE]
:geno:
[QUOTE=LinuX;25325624]I said Akku Bar in the airport, and I got punched at. What do????[/QUOTE]
What the fuck is Akku Bar?
Look, it's Allahu Akbar anyway. Not akku bar or allah akbar or any other retarded variation.
Also, pretty cool job. Airports have always been magical places for me.
[QUOTE=LinuX;25325624]I said Akku Bar in the airport, and I got punched at. What do????[/QUOTE]
[img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_u5FK0DjeH98/THFdKtMt6UI/AAAAAAAAA9A/EOBj00VbhGA/s1600/aku.jpg[/img]
That sounds neat. Just walk through the airport and choose your destination for nothing. :neckbeard:
[QUOTE=Piggah;25325650]How would you get intouch with little qualification? Do you have to be 18 to work at airports mostly? (16 here)
What kind of stuff could someone 16 do?[/QUOTE]
you can head security, keep them terrorists at bay
[QUOTE=LinuX;25326343]Have you ever seen a plane get hit by lightning?
[sp]I have, I saw one get hit by a bolt at the Chicago Airport, flight back home got delayed[/sp][/QUOTE]
I haven't seen one with my eyes but I've seen them come in with lightning damage. You'd be surprised how often it happens, often times with passengers never knowing. They're designed to take it. It's actually pretty interesting.
[QUOTE=Goryal;25326462]Are there restrictions as to what flights you can fly on? Like transatlantic flights or the such.[/QUOTE]
When flying international you do have to pay. Usually you pay taxes or an international fee. Either way it's NOWHERE near what you normally would.
On the pilot thing...flying would be amazing but it is a LONG road. Ask mscmn. You have to get a license first, then after a shit ton of hours THEN you can apply for the commercial license. You're also going to need a college degree, usually just any will do...don't necessarily need to major in aviation. Of course, if you go to an airline's pilot school all of this is different.
[QUOTE=Cassius Clay;25331053]On the pilot thing...flying would be amazing but it is a LONG road. Ask mscmn. You have to get a license first, then after a shit ton of hours THEN you can apply for the commercial license. You're also going to need a college degree, usually just any will do...don't necessarily need to major in aviation. Of course, if you go to an airline's pilot school all of this is different.[/QUOTE]
It's also expensive as fuck.
[QUOTE=YoMother;25331172]How did that go?[/QUOTE]
20 hours of traveling. Vegas to LA, LA to Cleveland, Cleveland to Houston, Houston to Cincinnati. Was still an hour late. Went straight from the gate to my locker and then out onto the ramp.
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