I'm a Delta flight attendant, and I'm finally being paid for the worst part of my job: the boarding process
- A flight attendant at Delta, who asked to remain anonymous, talked about the new boarding pay rules.
- They're happy to be paid for a tedious and hard part of their job.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a flight attendant at Delta. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their career, but Insider has verified their identity and employment. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I've been a flight attendant for almost 10 years.
You really have to pay your dues in this business. You start off at a low entry pay without a guaranteed schedule and oftentimes get very little sleep when you're starting out due to the routes you're given.
The ability to get paid during boarding is a massive step for flight attendants who are working their way up in seniority
In April, Delta announced it would start paying flight attendants during boarding after June 2.
This is a first for a US airline. Typically, flight attendants aren't paid for boarding — they're only paid for their time in the air, not on the ground.
We should have all been paid for doing the worst part of our jobs all along.
Passengers might not realize it, but boarding takes a lot of patience, time, and labor-intensive work
Boarding is the hardest part of the job. It's crazy that people have worked for years on airlines and not been paid for it.
We do several things to get ready for being up in the air. Sometimes it goes smoothly, but oftentimes it doesn't.
Flight attendants working at the gate are the safety bodyguards you never knew you had. We aren't just welcoming people — we have to be aware of who's coming onto our plane. We want to make sure everyone on the plane is a safe guest.
Getting your bags situated before takeoff takes coordination — for example, we have to communicate with the gate agent about how much the bins are filling up. Anything involving seats or service before takeoff is also part of our boarding duties. If you've ever chosen to sit in the emergency aisle, you've talked to an unpaid flight attendant.
At the end of the day, I love my job
I love serving and helping everyone. Sometimes it's stressful — I don't like everything about my job all of the time. But I'm thankful that I can travel the world and make someone else's day better.
It's really great that my airline is finally seeing us and acknowledging the hard work we do, but this should be something all other airlines do, too.