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Why do flight crew carry so much stuff?

AtlantaUser
Explorer C

I can make a trip to Europe for 8-9 days in a carry on with a smallish laptop bag. Workout and casual clothes, 2 suits, 2 pair of shoes and my cpap...

 

One compliant sized carry on. 

 

I'm dying to know what flight attendants have in the 4 bags they bring with them.  This flight from bwi to mci...the three flight attendants I saw all had a roller, a purse and two additional bags strapped to the roller.  I can guess one is a lunch box,  but honestly who wants that much stuff for an overnight?

 

I guess you cannot add an image when your on a smartphone.

1 REPLY 1

Re: Why do flight crew carry so much stuff?

KelbyTansey
Employee
Employee

Hi, @AtlantaUser,

 

This is a great question! There are several reasons why our Flight Crew may have so many bags, including:

 

•Our Flight Attendants and Pilots work multiple-day trips. The typical trip is three days, meaning they must have enough clothes, toiletries, and even food to make it through their trip.

 

• Flight Attendants and Pilots must wear a uniform. While they can usually wear a uniform piece more than once, they have to be prepared in case they can’t. For a typical three-day trip, that’s typically two full uniforms.


• They need casual clothes, too! Since our Flight Crew don’t wear their uniform for their off-time, when they arrive at their destination for the night they have to have personal clothes to wear—that means another pair of shoes (at least!) and one or two casual outfits.


• There may be variety of climate. Some Flight Attendants and Pilots may know where they will be each day of their trip—but, there is something called “reserve” which means they must be prepared for various climates. They may end up one day in Las Vegas, and the next night in Buffalo.

 

• Commuting – Many of our Flight Crew “commute’ to their base city. For instance, if a Flight Attendant lives in Ft. Lauderdale and is based in Baltimore, they may need to travel the day before their three-day trip begins in Baltimore. They also may have to spend another night in Baltimore at the end of their trip, before they can commute back home.


• Food – As you mentioned, a lot of Flight Attendants and Pilots can’t survive on peanuts and pretzels during their work day so they bring an additional “food bag.”

 

Even with all of this, Flight Crew are still limited to one carryon (roller bag), a personal item (usually a tote or backpack), and a food bag. Also, they must carryon all of their bags because they may have to switch planes quickly. 

 

As you can see, life as part of our Flight Crew requiries resilience and flexibility. These jobs certainly aren't for the faint of heart, and we are so proud of the Employees that make it a career!

 

Kelby
Moderator
Southwest Careers