it would be purely for fun and to travel. i'm in my early 20s now and just wanna explore before i settle down
I've been a flight attendant for Delta for 16 years. I started when I was 20 because I wanted to travel (and I speak French.)
Pass benefits are NOT all they are cracked up to be. First of all, you don't make enough money to go anywhere. Even if you fly for free you're still poor for hotels and meals.
Second, since it's almost impossible to non-rev anywhere, you end up stressing over getting bumped off of flights for days at a time - putting that job in jeopardy since you can't make it back to work. So you end up buying a full fare ticket just to get home. (Worst case scenario - but VERY real.)
My husband and I travel quite a bit - but we haven't used my passes in SEVERAL YEARS. Since I'm a FA, I am allowed to ride the jumpseat, which is the only way I get anywhere anymore. Of course my husband can't do that - so I only "non-rev" - which for me is really riding the jumpseat - when I am traveling alone. If its with hubby, we buy tickets. Since i live in PHL, it's usually not even on DL, but on SWA or USAir.
Want to go visit the family for the holidays? FORGET trying to use your passes. Want to take your dream trip to Hawaii? Get in line with the 90 other non-revs senior to you standing by on your flight. Thinking of going to europe? If you get bumped chances are you're out of luck until the next day. That hotel you reserved is expensive when you're not even staying in it.
For the most part, flying is so cheap now it's not worth the hassle of standing by, or the lack of pay and benefits for the paltry pass benefits.
I can't stress to folks enough - do NOT get into the airline industry. The pay sucks. The benefits suck. The pass benefits are a joke. The only people who should even consider a job with the airlines are those with no education to do anything else.