“She was late to the briefing and all the other positions had been chosen. You should have seen her face when all that was left was business galley. It was gold”
Premium Economy, Business Class, Doors 5, Galley, Upper Deck – there’s at least one flight attendant to man every door on a plane. The door that the flight attendant’s sits next to also dictates where they will work on the aircraft. This work position also will include any responsibilities unique to that position (e.g. assisting with front door boarding) and what class they will work in. i.e. Business class, first class, premium economy and economy.
Believe it or not ‘What’s your favourite position?’ is a question flighties often ask each other. All positions have their pros and cons. For example being the galley operator in either business or economy is a lot generally a more work (and a lot more physical) as you are essentially running the service flow, but the plus side is that you get to escape being in the cabin and dealing with passengers.
How are work positions decided?
- Seniority. Depending on work group/contract and or seniority work positions are decided in briefing at sign on. The most senior flight attendant on the day will often be the team leader or choose their position first. If you are new to the company, expect to be left with the ‘floater’ position. This is working between both business/economy and sitting next to the cabin manager. There’s definitely a pecking order with work positions and if you’ve been around a while you’ll get first pick.
- Allocated By Cabin Manager. The cabin manager has the ability to assign work positions if they deem fit. Sometimes they will do this if they know someone works well in one area and less so in another, or to separate certain crew. For some airlines this is just how it works every time they sign on for duty.
- Based on Category. If you are a dedicated business class flight attendant you will obviously be only working in business or first class and in the pointy end of the plane so you will choose a door up the pointy end. And if you are a cabin manager/team leader or supervisor your position will always be the same either the front or back of the bus.
- Decided Between Crew. Sometimes on a smaller plane where there are only three or four positions to choose from crew will decide between themselves.
- Rotating Order A few months ago my airline made a really amazing change in how positions were assigned among those on my contract. Every roster we have a number next to our name on the crew list that changes. The lower the number, the first to choose their position, until it resets and your number goes back to the ‘bottom of the pack’ – this ensures a fair turn for everyone to work their favourite position on the plane.
Sometimes work positions are decided quickly, but when there’s a large number of crew on a massive aircraft like the Boeing 747 there are 14 different flighties to get through and then choosing positions becomes a big deal. If there wasn’t a way to decide them noses would get out of joint – and even with these systems in place to decide positions noses still do get out of joint!
The most sought after position on the jumbo jet? Business class upper deck. Only 18 pax to look after between two crew and your very own spacious galley. I’ve never worked it myself but its extremely popular because you are essentially your own boss and it’s a very civilised environment having your own dedicated level of the plane. No one dares to ascend the stairs unless they have a reason to be there!
What are the best work positions?
Not all positions are created equal and specific positions differ between fleet and airline. At my airline Left 3 (L3) has to be my favourite position on the Airbus a330, the plane which I most commonly work on. Why do I like it? Because you get to help boarding in business class which is quite chill. You are economy cabin but also the runner so replenish from the galley. Another of my favourite positions on the Boeing 737 was Left 2 Assist. As I used to say, this position is ‘all care, no responsibility’ as you don’t arm/disarm doors, participate in call backs, and you work on the food cart which generally is less tedious than the drink cart. Everyone is different though. Some people simply love galley or duty free or premium economy.
Is it a big deal where you work?
To be honest, not really because flighties mostly work as a team to get the work done and everyone helps everyone – or they should. If you’re not in the galley or the floater position between business and economy, most positions are much of a muchness. Even the galley and floater position are nice to do now and then for a bit of variety. Sometimes you’d rather be busy. That said there is definitely more work in these positions so it’s nice not to have to do them all the time if you can avoid it.
“The person in 24 C wanted a blanket, and said they asked someone already. Did you speak to them?”
“Oh no, that’s not my zone. I’m in the premium cabin baby!”
