The minimum education that you need to possess to even consider flight attendant jobs is a high school diploma, but more and more airlines are looking for college graduates. If you have gone to college for flight attendant training, you may have a leg up on others seeking flight attendant jobs, but degrees in communications, psychology, nursing, sociology, anthropology, police or fire science, hospitality, travel and tourism, and education are also considered worthwhile and relevant to the job. Airlines also look favorably upon those who are multilingual, which is a requirement for those who want to work international flights. Once you are hired, you will be required to attend the airline’s formal training for flight attendants. This course will last form three to eight weeks, depending on the airline, and is designed to train you in the specific policies and methods of the company for which you will work. After your training, you must be certified by the FAA — all flight attendants must have this certification. During the certification process you will be drilled by an FAA official on everything that you have learned throughout your training.
The Top Schools
The top schools in the country are few. First is Cypress College in California. This school is located in North Orange County (near Disneyland) and offers flight attendant, airline customer services, and travel/tourism degrees. Next is Jet-Set Aviation, also in California. This school, based in Beverly Hills, specializes in flight attendant training, but also has a few other related programs. Of this school, graduate Tim B. said, ''The program is a wealth of information- fascinating introduction and insight on corporate travel and service!''
In Florida, you have Flight Attendant Express. Flight Attendant Express is based out of Orlando, Florida, and focuses on helping graduates searching for flight attendant jobs, promising every graduate an interview, as airline recruiters regularly attend their classes. Next is the Aerospace Aviation Center in Miami. The Aerospace Aviation Center offers courses in flight attendant training as well as other related courses. The Airline Academy in Daytona Beach also offers courses. Corretha B., Airline Academy graduate and current United Express flight attendant, said this of her school, ''The Airline Academy was an experience of a lifetime. The housing is really nice and so are the teachers. The small classroom size makes you feel so at home with the teachers and the students. Plus, you learn so much and it's so much fun you don't even consider it going to class.''
In Georgia, you have Fly-Hire, based out of Atlanta. Fly-Hire is a flight attendant school in which all of the instructors are actually flight attendant recruiters. This allows them to help those seeking flight attendant jobs because they can guide them precisely through the job-seeking process, right down to drafting a successful resume.
In Ohio, there is Sinclair Community College. This college in Dayton has an exclusive agreement with Delta to use the Delta Connection Academy, and guarantees an interview at the 1,000-hour mark. This school is a great way to get a flight attendant job with Delta, an industry leader.
Last, but not least, you have Higher Power Aviation in Texas. This school, located in Ft. Worth, offers training in just about every aspect of the industry, including flight attendant training. Many of its graduates go on to flight attendant jobs with Southwest Airlines, as recruiters from Southwest hunt for prospects there.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, only you can decide what flight attendant school best fits your needs. Your options are limited to begin with, so that kind of narrows things down. The best thing you can do is to look at the schools mentioned here and pick one that is either close to where you live, or if you are open to temporarily relocating (which is a good idea if you plan to be work in the airline industry), you can look for the school that is most enticing to you, for whatever reason. If you want to work for Southwest, for example, you should probably consider Higher Power Aviation in Ft. Worth, Texas. If you want to work for Delta, on the other hand, consider Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, as it is a prime recruiter for Delta.
In the end, any of these top flight attendant schools can be a great opportunity for someone aspiring to a career as a flight attendant, as long as they take what they have learned and apply it, and provided that they also possess an appealing personality and a customer-service oriented attitude. This is all that you need to be a successful flight attendant — perseverance, a good head on your shoulders, a positive attitude, and the ability to think on your feet. Now, all you have to do is choose the right school and let them guide you to success.
