Are you one of the people who have always wondered whether your true calling lies in jet-setting on an airplane from one exotic location to another?
The most practical way to fulfil said calling — when you don’t have thousands of pounds lying around to spend on leisure travel — is to apply for a job as the cabin crew of an airline. For those wondering just how well that job is going to fill your pockets (and feed you.. and pay your bills.. you get the gist) look no further, because we’ve collated a list of cabin crew salaries across some of the biggest airlines that operate in the UK.
As per Aviation A2Z, easyJet crew are paid a basic standard salary which is likely to increase by 20 per cent from May 1, after a successful agreement was reached between the workers’ union in the United Kingdom and the airline.
Currently, the easyJet cabin crew is paid an overall salary that starts from £22,000 per year, with £2,000 average increments in each annual cycle. Each individual’s salary largely depends on their overall experience, the total duration of their employment with the airline, the flight hours they clock, and the applicable taxes if they work in different EU countries.
Beyond their base wages, easyJet cabin crew are entitled to layover allowances for meals, which vary depending on the destination. The airline also arranges transportation for the crew to and from the airport while they are in transit. Furthermore, cabin crew can earn a 10% commission on every sale made during a flight, which includes food, drinks, and duty-free items offered on board.
According to a 2024 Telegraph story — where one of their writers took part in a Ryanair recruitment day — it was found that cabin crew were paid an average salary of approximately £23,000. The starting salary stands at £15,750, but this doesn’t account for flight payments (crew members earn a supplement for each hour they spend in the air) or commission. Additionally, staff are said to enjoy the benefit of unlimited standby tickets.
As of 2024, Aviation A2Z reported British Airways cabin crew wages were relatively modest compared to other airlines in Europe and worldwide. Entry-level crew members at BA reportedly start with a salary of £16,800 a year, which can increase to around £28,000 annually, depending on flying hours and additional allowances.
For senior cabin crew — known as in-flight managers at BA — those working on the airline’s premium long-haul routes such as New York and Sydney (via Singapore), could earn up to £50,000.
This would make the base pay for an entry-level cabin attendant at British Airways stand at just over £8 per hour, a number that is admittedly very low, assuming employees were clocking 40-hour work weeks for 52 weeks in a full year.
In February this year, British Airways introduced a profit-sharing bonus for cabin crew and ground staff for the first time, as per PYOK . This move comes as part of the airline’s newly approved three-year pay deal which will ensure a 10.5 per cent salary increase for thousands of employees of the airline.
The agreement was reportedly supported by over 86 per cent of the workers at BA in a recent ballot and it guarantees an immediate pay rise and minimum bonus of £1,000. Profit sharing will be linked to the airline’s annual operating margin, offering a maximum payout of 4% if performance goals are achieved.
Additional perks:
As of 2023, British low-cost carrier Jet2 was hiring cabin crew members based at Manchester Airport with no previous experience required and an on-target earning salary of £30,000. There was also a “generous commission scheme” in place and additional payments such as sector and duty pay, a free uniform and car parking at the airport, no upfront fees for the cabin crew training course, as well as discounts on Jet2holidays and Jet2.com holidays and flights being offered to the cabin crew.
As per Cabin Crew Wings, TUI offered an average fixed-term base salary of £18,000 per annum to cabin crew as of 2024, which could increase to £30,000 for more senior positions. Other perks included holiday benefits such as discounts, great foreign exchange rates, exclusive offers and insurance, and a pension scheme.
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