Life after flying
 

After reading the replies I though I would post my experience !! 20 years with emirates bmed and ba,hit 40 and flying back from Glasgow to heathrow breakfast service on my hands and knees 5 miles up and pushing plastic trays into a trolly !!!! Well that was it,my mind was made up I had fun but it was over the fat lady had sung ,What could I do I had to leave no idea what until a polish plumber came round to quote on a small plumbing job ,and wanted £2.500, soon as he was out the door on was on the Internet and booked a plumbing course.every body who knew me laughed and I don't blame them,still I did the course and ended up with carillon amassive construction company,did it for 18 months,then went travelling for 10 months,didn't like the job good money but not me, so I put myself on another course this time barbering ,I've now ended up in one of londons oldest barbers shops and love it, still get to work in a team,and talk to people,also lots of part time work and very flexible ,it's been a total roller coaster ride but worked out in the end.There is life after flying it just takes a while finding what it is :rolleyes:

Use the skills you aquired through being crew
 

I spent 10 years flying as cc and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Unfortunately i was made redundant and the decision to leave was made for.

I was lucky enough to work for some smaller carriers and got exposed to different elements, such as training, auditing and management. I've recently moved in health and safety in what is classed as heavy industry (steel) and even though initially i hated it with every bone in my body i put what i learnt from flying into it. I took a lot of stick about being crew from everyone in my current organisation until they realised what i brought and now they want to hear 'stories' of my time within aviaition

I'm now on the final stages of my post graduate diploma in OHS and even though i still miss the buzz of passengers and service i don't think i could go back to being crew. I do miss aviation and would love to get back intoit but within a health and safety role.

I remember my father giving me some advice was i was a cocky 16 year playing football and i was offered a contract with a different club and i didn't take it because none of my mates (at the time) played there....and his reply was if you don't try son, you'll never know. That's stayed with me since. Have a go, if it's not for you, move on.

I hope this helps anyone looking at changing careers.

life afterwards
 

After 25 years in the air I have requalified as an adult education teacher, I am having the best time ever and I cannot believe that I thought flying was so amazing. Once you stop you realise that flying is full of shallow and narrow minded people, no fault of theirs, we just become isolated in our little bubble. I am happier and more fulfilled and guess what...so much fitter as my sleeping regime has normalised. I was 47 when I had my big career change...don't let anything hold you back...think outside the leisure industry too!

Hi, this is on a slightly different note, I left flying and have regretted it ever since,

I was a nurse, got a job as cabin crew and flew for 5 years I was unsure wether to leave or go part time and I unfortunately made the wrong decision and left. I then had 2 children and spent a couple of years looking for a p/t flying position to no avail and reluctantly resigned myself to the fact that I would never fly again. I am still nursing and have my own ebay business which does really well.

But.... you got it!! I want to go back flying, I am 42 now (eeek) but I know airlines still employ people of this age, I am not very flexible, I need to be based at Manchester or Liverpool, no long haul, prefer to work week ends, not asking a lot I know! both my children will be at school next year so I have started looking at different airlines, I quite fancy Flybe although if I had to be away for 5 weeks training it may be difficult as I do not have help with my children. I would probably get another cc job as I am a nurse children's and adult it's just finding an airline that would best suit my lifestyle, for example early morning flights would be great as I am then home late afternoon.

If any one has any ideas please let me know, as I think I have now come to terms with the fact that I will never get over the flying bug and would like to try again.

Thanks

myt

I doubt very much that you will find an airline to be accommodating you in the way you need it.
All will need you to go on a several week-long training course. And as far as I know, all of them require you to start full-time, and then you will probably need to join a long waiting list for part time. They will all expect you to fly all times of day, 24/7/365 no matter if you are part time or full time.
If your home life restricts you that much in how flexible you can be for an airline, you will probably not have a good time returning to the industry. I would even go as far as saying it's near impossible!

Having said that, that shouldn't discourage you! If you really want to return, see what you can do about your private life, and if it's not working now, try again in a few years time when the kids are a bit older and your circumstances have changed! Good luck either way!

I was a flight attendant for 7 years. At times I loved it, at other times I hated it. When the thought of spending another weekend (or birthday/wedding/nye) away from home became too much I thought, what else can I do? I thought nursing could be for me. I studied for 4 years whilst still flying full time, graduated as a nurse and went straight into the OR. My years of flying taught me how to interact with people and helped me get a job in my chosen field with no experience. No, it wasn't all smooth sailing, it was a steep learning curve and there were many times I though I'd made a mistake. But 2 years on I couldn't be happier. I am at home every night, I am no longer fatigued, I get to see family and friends more often and most of all I do a job that I find challenging and rewarding in so many ways, and for me that is worth more than a paycheck! Don't be afraid..

Jobs for ex crew
 

Hi ya, I hope you still read this forum. I was havin a nosey at the discussions on what to do next after flying. You mentioned a company that employes ex crew as receptionists? Could you give me the website please.

I'm in 20 minds as to what to do, leave flying or not!

Many Thanks
Zoe

Reviving thread
 

Hi all,
This thread seems to have died in 2012. Does anyone have any idea of what's going on for ex crew - especially in Asia - as age is such a big factor here. 'The younger the better' is the motto here :ugh:

Hi you said to reply if interested in the agency dealing with jobs for people after flying I was wondering if you could send me those details please my email address is [email protected]. Thank you

im done with flying and crying
 

Im with you outofthe box! Where did this thread dissappear to? How can it be revived? Due to a unfortunate accident I had to leave united airlines after over 20 years of flying. Im so sad as ive been racking my brain over the past uear and a half as to what I could possibly do at 52 ...that would compare at all to flying. Im all healed now and cannot fathom starting at the bottom again at this age. This forum has given me a couple of ideas perhaps but nothing that pulls at my heartstrings. I loved my career and spent so many years getting to the place I was in the company...finally a senior crew member off reserve and able to hold an international sked and finally making decent money..now all gone..where do I even start to begin. One good piece of news is that I still have passes...I have been a flight attendant my whole adult life and never got married..anyone have any ideas out there. I have thought of working in another country...but what would I do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. ;)

Hi All! Remember it is 4.2 times harder to get a job as a Flight Attendant than it is to get into Harvard! (source: Bloomberg).
If you are thinking of leaving flying as I did (stupidly without another job lined up) then think about exactly what you want to do next!
You need to consider the "factor X" that got you the the job in the first place, keep that heads ups attitude and get some additional training. I'm luckily in a role now with a Digital Marketing/app development company after doing some study in Marketing and Public Relations. We have the personality for these types of roles. Don't get all misty eyed about going back to flying, the conditions have changed, you will be junior to a 20 year old with 6 months flying experience, it will hurt, especially the lower pay scale you once had as well as the staff travel benefits or "tickets".
You have some brilliant "transferable skills", find those types of companies that want them, corporates that hire ex army/navy/airforce/emergency services, people that know process and procedure. Train up in the Microsoft Suite, it looks good on your Resume (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc), everything that you would use day to day in a corporate role (assuming that is what you want to do). Get a job as a Sales Representative in companies you can use your personality or a Marketing or Public Relation job. You are cool, you are edgy and none of your new office buddies will ever understand that crew party you had in that hotel in LAX, that movie star you met on the flight to Paris or that passenger in 23A that whispered that offer made you blush! Think twice about leaving flying because the people you will be working with next are your pax and believe me they are dull :ugh:Having said that, I am loving having every weekend, Christmas and Easter off, life is predictable, sleep patterns are regular and money is better. 14 years with Qantas and I now realise that when I travel regularly for work, I still critique every safety demonstration, service standard, boarding procedure, meal without a bread roll, that will drive you to want to work for the inflight product department, you have to let go, LCC is the future! Unfortunately accountants are running the show, this will not change in our life time. Good luck in your next adventure!

I just hired a 36 yo low timer x FA. If you really want it, you'll find a way. Btw ka100/1900 FO

Hi, Thanx for the information..it was really helpful. Although even I am staying in London and have more than 6 years of flying experience but little confused of what should I pursue further. could you please share the liverpool hotel details so that I could try my luck there.
Thanks in advance ;)

Try Delta
 

To Riotanga:

Delta is hiring, and they do not have reserve! They have six A Days a month, which are when you are on call. You can do all six days at once or split it three and three. That is fair and beats being on reserve for twenty years.

I live in England now and used to fly for Continental/United Express. I started at age 48 and flew for ten years. I am now 61, look 45, and was just invited for an interview with FlyBe Airlines, the largest regional in Europe. I am very excited, as I miss flying.

I also applied to Delta, as since they don't have reserve, and they don't have a minimum hourly flying requirement per month, I had planned on trading most of my trips, flying as little as possible, and commuting from England. I made it to the video interview, and that was it. I will reapply in six months.

Keep us posted on what you decide, and I hope you see this post!

Yes use your flying time and make connections
 

Hi all, I am 36 years old male, and I am from the USA.

I flew for Emirates for over 8 years and, after quitting, worked in a couple of customer service roles ( call center sales support, customer account management), but I came to conclusion that all job that have an element of directly dealing with customers suck.

So I decided to go back to school, now into my 3rd year of undergrad degree process ( yes at the age of 36!) and I have had several job offers, chose one, and now interning for a major insurance company in IT applications development role.

It is important to calculate your next move when you are still thinking about quitting, as it took me 3 years of well-paid Emirates job to save the amount of money required to pay tuition and board at the US public university. Choose the field which will give you the *guaranteed* job: computer science, technology, engineering, teaching ( esp bilingual etc), nursing.