Hard work or flights of fantasy?

A group of would-be flight attendants bow as part of their training at an institute in Seoul. Many university graduates, especially women, are rushing to become flight attendants in the current stagnant job market. / Korea Times file

By Jung Min-ho, Kim Bo-eun, Bahk Eun-ji

Korea could have the largest number of flight attendant schools in the world. A slew of would-be cabin crew members is willing to pay monthly fees of 400,000 won ($358) or more in order to learn how to land a high-flying career.

Such positions require a two-year college degree. However, graduates of four-year courses at renowned universities compete fiercely for them, and demand appears to be growing.

But is being a flight attendant really as appealing as it seems?

Dream job?

Kim Da-yeon, a 21-year-old university student, has always enjoyed traveling, and such an interest naturally led her to dream of becoming a flight attendant.

"I think a flight attendant career, compared to jobs in general, gives you the opportunity to go to different places where you can learn various things," she said. "I'm the type of person who easily gets fed up with repetitive work. So for me, flying around the world and working flexible hours seems to be an attractive choice."

In fact, flight attendants not only have more opportunities to travel but also get discounts of around 90 percent on flight tickets when they embark on private trips.

They can also adjust their schedules by switching shifts with their colleagues to take days off as they need.

Kim said the relatively high salary is also an appealing aspect. "As far as I know, the salary is quite high for those in their early- and mid-20s who just started their careers," she said.

According to J Plus, a flight attendant training institute, the starting monthly salary for domestic airlines is around 2.7 million won ($2,423) for those on domestic flights and 3 million won for those on international flights. For foreign airlines, starting salaries range from 2.5 million to 3.5 million won, depending on the company.

In addition, when flight attendants stay in foreign countries, airlines provide subsidies for accommodation and transportation.

Kim also said flight attendants' professional looks; their classy features, uniforms and suitcases are what make the job more attractive.

"Having a job for which you are well-paid and are able to enjoy both work and life seems like the best you can get," she said.

Some outsiders view the job positively for other reasons.

"Since your academic background doesn't matter much for this job, you can become a flight attendant after graduating from a vocational college. Also, you don't need the best grades because that is not what employers look for anyway," said Chung Hee-soo, a 26-year-old office worker.

Due to the classic image of flight attendants, attractive young ladies neatly clad in their uniforms with graceful speech and behavior, there is also a kind of halo effect that they may enjoy, she added.

"Since appearance is an important factor, at least for Asian, or Korean airlines, most flight attendants are very attractive," said Chung. "So people generally have a positive perception of flight attendants."

This leads to a tendency of them being favored as partners for dating or marriage, she said.

"There is a so-called "tradition" among male patent lawyers in which they date flight attendants when they pass the big test. It's little surprise that they also make popular brides-to-be."

What it is really like to be a flight attendant

"Before I became a flight attendant, the job seemed really fabulous. But it did not take too long for me to realize that it is much more difficult than I expected," said Kim Bo-ra, a 26-year-old flight attendant for Jeju Air.

Kim said she just thought the job seemed quite easy from an outsider's point of view before boarding a plane to work.

"As a passenger, the only thing I saw was flight attendants serving food, and providing drinks and other goods to passengers. Other than that, I thought they had free time during flights," Kim said.

The reality Kim faced was quite different from what she imagined. From collecting trash to constantly smiling at passengers, it takes much more to keep customers satisfied, she said. The atmosphere for crewmembers is also very tense to make sure everything is perfect for the passengers' safety, which is the company's priority.

The most challenging part of the job is the unstable schedule, Kim said.

Jeju Air is a carrier based on Jeju Island that mainly offers domestic flights. Kim said her hectic schedule is hard to keep up sometimes.

"For example, take the Jeju flight. First, we depart from Gimpo Airport to Jeju Island. As soon as we get to Jeju Airport, the next passengers start to board. And in a half an hour, the plane takes off to Busan," she said. "We basically spend our whole days on planes."

"It's also hard to stay healthy because of that."

Kim said the constant and long flights become painful with the tense atmosphere inside the plane.

"Another difficult aspect is constantly offering the same quality of service to passengers," Kim said. "People want to get what they pay for and flight tickets are expensive. We get complaints when we fail to live up to passengers' high expectations."

Kim said that's why attendants always try to be helpful and understand the passengers.

"Being patient is the most important quality for this job, and you have to boost other people's egos while suppressing your own. This is the hardest part and I'm still learning to do this," Kim said.

The situation for flight attendants who work for foreign airlines is not much different.

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines flight attendant Choi Mi-na said a sense of insecurity is the hardest part of the job as she ages.

"Being away from my family itself is pretty tough after the initial excitement withers," Choi said. "Unstable schedules are something we have to live with because the schedule frequently changes due to weather conditions and mechanical problems. It means we cannot make plans, which is very stressful."

Most female attendants want to get married at some point, and that is when another problem kicks in, Choi said.

"Unless a crew member settles with a man who lives where the company is, they have to make a choice between their career and marriage," she said. "Even after marriage, if they continue to work, it is hard to manage time for their families."

It is also tough to change jobs to one outside of the airline industry because experience from there is not highly valued in other fields, she said.

"Still, there are many benefits that only flight attendants can get, such as flying to countries that others have often never heard of," Choi said. "But the applicants would be better to know that there is an obvious discrepancy between this reality and the image of flight attendants."