I'm a flight attendant and only work 16 days a month — people can't believe my insane salary

New York Post

01-05-2025

She's a mile-high roller.
A Southwest Airlines flight attendant had viewers vowing to switch careers after she claimed she earned nearly $10,000 pre-deductions in a month while working the friendly skies. She detailed her enviable paycheck in a video with more than 10 million views on TikTok.
'This was my gross pay,' gushed crew member Josette in the caption to the clip on her page, where she frequently spills on the trials and tribulations of her air hostessing gig.
The footage shows the New Mexico resident looking despondent on the job with the caption, 'Me getting sick of my job … Then I remember my check last month was $9980.66.'
3 'I am very good at my schedule,' a smiling Josette explained in her viral TikTok video (above).
Tiktok/josette_nicole
Josette, whose hourly rate is around $60, per another clip, reportedly raked in the staggering figure last November.
Naturally, that might seem like an unbelievable sum, especially given the horror stories of crew members eating passengers' leftovers and even stripping to make ends meet.
However, Josette explained in the caption that she earns the big bucks because she's been at the budget airline for 14 years and clocks in around 150 hours per month.
3 Josette (not pictured) said she also picks up extra shifts, which pay twice the normal rate.
Bangkok Click Studio – stock.adobe.com
'Pay does vary depending on how long you've been here and how many hours you work,' the fly-roller explained. 'I am very good at my schedule.'
The high-flying employee added that she also takes advantage of the Voluntary Junior Avcan ailable (VJA) system, a union benefit from the Association of Flight Attendants, in which crewmembers pick up extra shifts — often on understaffed flights — for around twice the regular rate.
According to Indeed.com, Southwest flight attendants can earn between $22,300 and $144,000 per year, depending on how long they've been at the gig, plus other factors.
@josette_nicole
For context i have been at southwest for 14 years (first 4 were in reservations). This was my gross pay. I work about 150 trips ('hours') a month. Pay does vary depending on how long you've been here and how many hours you work. I am very good at my schedule and get a lot of VJA. #flightattendantlife #flightattendant #cabincrew #cabincrewlife #lifeatsouthwest ♬ original sound – ur mom
3 'Pay does vary depending on how long you've been here and how many hours you work,' Josette (not pictured) said of flight attendant earnings.
Svitlana – stock.adobe.com
Josette's video had cash-strapped viewers green with envy.
'It appears I should have become a flight attendant,' said one jealous commenter, while another wrote, 'My kids are almost off to college and I'm seriously considering becoming a FA.'
'My sister is also an FA for Southwest and literally makes the same!' said a third. 'And you deserve every penny!'
However, others pointed out that being a flight attendant is no cakewalk, given the grueling hours and the fact that the serious cash doesn't kick in until several years into the gig.
'As a former flight attendant, I encourage anyone who wants to do it, but can we give further context into what 150 hours is really like?' said one. 'Cause it's no joke and not for the faint of heart.'
'I'm in year 2 and it's so hard, you're literally poor and have to get a second job, but I'm keeping hope alive,' lamented another.
Thanks to the ratification of a new contract last year, Southwest Airlines flight attendants are reportedly the highest paid in the industry.
They make 14% more than the second-best paid in their role, Delta flight attendants.