Expert: D. Norkus - 5/30/2010

Question
I am currently enrolled in school to become a flight attendant but I am still in need of three thousand dollars to complete my training, and my only income is unemployment. How do i find a grant especially for flight attendants without all the run around? Any suggestions will help, I feel I have exhausted all my other options. Thankyou for your time.

Answer
Lori

There are business aircraft F/A training scholarships awarded via the National Business Aviation Association/NBAA -

http://www.nbaa.org/prodev/scholarships/fltatt/
(Their next F/A conference is in San Diego in a few weeks- http://corporatefainsider.com/)

http://www.corporateflyer.net/scholarships-for-corporate-flight-attendants.htm

Since you didn't provide more details about what type of school you are attending, I can only assume it is airline targeted and there are no scholarships for that since such training is not needed to get the job. Unless you are currently going through a corporate flight attendant training program for business aircraft, in my opinion you do not need to go to a flight attendant school or academy to try and get an airline job. In my opinion, such "schools" that offer F/A "training" to aspiring cabin crew, are a waste of good money as all airlines will train you to their specifications once hired. Especially in this job market, there few very few F/A jobs to be found right now, so you could spend thousands on this program and not get hired in the near future anyway. Unless this 'school' has a written agreement with several carriers who are willing to grant you a guaranteed interview, you ought to consider if it is worth the money or if their marketing department is a very good sell. How many grads have been hired? Who hired them? How many in the last year, or two, or three? What does this program cost? Consider that new hire F/A pay can easily be under $20,000 a year! (Especially since the regional airlines are the ones doing most of the hiring now.)  While they make give you a good appreciation for the lifestyle and what to expect, along with some very expensive interview coaching, most of this information you can get online via forums just for F/As.

Here are some very good resources-

http://www.flightattendants.org

http://www.aviationinterviews.com

http://www.thirtythousandfeet.com/flightat.htm

"Welcome Aboard!: Your Career as a Flight Attendant" by Becky S. Bock
at http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Aboard-Attendant-Professional-Aviation/dp/15602750...
(Used copies for $7)

Here are some airlines that are hiring (June2010)-
http://www.skywest.com/careers/flight-attendant/flight-attendant-jobs.php
http://www.gojetairlines.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid...
http://www.virginamerica.com/va/jobsJoinTheTeam.do

More interview and hiring info (aka "gouge" as the pilot call it) can be found at the F/A message board above.

Good Luck,
Dottie