Flight Attendants

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
38%
risk level
POLLING
39%
Based on 416 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
20.8%
by year 2032
WAGES
$63,760
or $30.65 per hour
Volume
108,480
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
6.7/10

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Automation risk

38% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Persuasion

User poll

39% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 38% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Flight Attendants will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph(s) are included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Flight Attendants' job openings is expected to rise 20.8% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

High paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Flight Attendants' was $63,760, or $30 per hour

'Flight Attendants' were paid 37.7% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 108,480 people employed as 'Flight Attendants' within the United States.

This represents around 0.07% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Flight Attendants'.

Job description

Monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. Provide services to airline passengers, explain safety information, serve food and beverages, and respond to emergency incidents.

SOC Code: 53-2031.00

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Comments

Leave a comment

Anonymous (Highly likely) says
You automate the plane to give instructions during turbulence and emergencies. Ease passengers into by updating the seats, rows, and overhead panels with attendants still onboard. From a safety perspective what is 2 attendants per class going to do for 20+ people, nothing other than give instruction and help 1 or 2 women and children. After introducing passengers to those improvements kick it up a notch and introduce 1 robot attendant for every 1 human attendant. This robot would initially be programmed to serve drinks and snacks. You would order it prior to the flight and on your phone or TV during the flight. Now that you have safety and procedures programmed right in to the plane and passengers have interacted with it over the last 10 years with a few iterations to their programming over time and passengers have been able to be served by a robot, the in cabin experience can now be fully automated. You could even design the robots to be smaller in size to fit more than two attendants in the class. Ultimately decreasing burnout by human staff, boarding times, the time it takes to get to the customer, etc.
Mar 23, 2024 at 12:38 PM
PK (No chance) says
FAA requires a crew member 1 for every 50. Flight attendant position is based on safety and security designated by FAA not customer service!!!
Jan 29, 2024 at 02:41 AM
tony (Low) says
You're still going to need human intervention in an emergency. There are too many changes on a moments notice during flight to completely trust it to AI.
Jun 02, 2023 at 08:39 PM
Philip (Uncertain) says
I think aspects of the job could be automated but parts of the job won't be
May 12, 2023 at 06:40 PM
Sofie (Highly likely) says
Humans can decide quicker in an emergency situation, but robots can take a while.

Plus, robots can't do such things as CPR or use a first aid kit, for example. So, it's pretty risky.
Aug 08, 2022 at 06:37 PM
h (Low) says
AI and robots could mess up emergencies and need a connection to stay "alive"
Dec 31, 2021 at 01:27 AM
A flight attendant (Low) says
By federal law (FAA), there needs to be 1 flight attendant per 50 seats on a plane. The number can never decrease even with robots. Good luck getting those robots to handle medical emergencies or breaking up fights between ignorant passengers or helping all you ungrateful passengers evacuate during an emergency in 90 seconds or less with no ability of rational thought LOL
Dec 06, 2021 at 04:31 PM
Collin Tredo (Low) says
This job requires a friendly human face, people will be less comfortable having to talk to and trust a robot/AI when they get on a plane.
May 17, 2021 at 05:00 PM
A (No chance) says
Flight attendants use their knowledge to solve a situation given the surprise factor... it’s impossible to programme a robot that knows how to act in front of a surprise factor situation.

And by the way flight attendants are there to save u not to make u happy.

First priority is safety the If it’s possible the service time will come.
Apr 10, 2021 at 10:07 AM
Spiros (No chance) says
Flight attendants are there for one specific reason: safety. For this, human presence is important
Apr 10, 2021 at 01:55 AM
Erebus (Low) says
It involves emotional labour which only a human is capable of.
Mar 24, 2021 at 05:52 PM
JP (Moderate) says
With the global pandemic focusing minds on the amount of human contact passengers have on flights, I could see cabin crew being reduced in number to improve safety, with a Purser and assistant at each end of the aircraft being supplemented by robots which would handle more of the non-emergency workload. Robots would reduce the expense of accommodating cabin crew at destinations and would be able to clean the cabin autonomously using UV lights to disinfect the cabin air and surfaces.
Aug 02, 2020 at 04:53 PM
A flight attendant (No chance) says
Will absolutely not happen. What most do not realize is that flight attendants are on board for safety. It's just not something that can be replaced by robots.
Jul 22, 2020 at 08:27 AM
Ebork (Highly likely) says
Flight attendants make or break flying. They'll be robots soon enough.
Jan 03, 2020 at 11:48 AM
THM says
Flight attendants make your flying safe you ignorant.
Jun 27, 2020 at 09:20 AM
Izme;-; says
I think that is wrong you see robots can also break easy, if there is a drunk passenger or causing harm robots can break with their wires. In medical procedures or any emergency humans would be faster than the robots having to mechanically bend down taking longer than humans.
Mar 31, 2021 at 08:21 AM
JD (Highly likely) says
With the lousy customer service and the awfully attitudes these "air stewards(esses)" possess nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised that a machine will end up doing their job not only more quickly and efficiently, but for little to no cost of maintenance on said droids compared to paying salaries w/ benefits, retirement, etc & dealing with greedy unions, to people who don't do their job properly and are not even qualified to in the first place.

Given the recent horrific experiences passengers had to endure from these "flight attendants", I see machines replacing these incompetent humans in the future. It'll save the airlines plenty of revenue and avoid lawsuits and having to pay these poorly trained service attendants for mediocre to dismal services provided.

The only ones to blame would be the flight attendants themselves, because a machine did a better job than they ever would.
Apr 20, 2019 at 05:36 AM
Karen says
When you have a heart attack on the plane who’s going to administer first aid to you? A robot? A flight attendant is there to save your ass not kiss it and their customer service is based on your attitude. It goes both ways
May 05, 2019 at 06:17 AM
GG says
JD deserves the most awful flying experiences after the rudeness he showcased here.
May 09, 2019 at 04:11 PM
MC says
JD I don't know what airline you have been flying on. I have been involved in the airline industry for over forty years, have traveled on numerous air carriers, and have never experienced what you have described in terms of lacking flight attendant professionalism, training, emergency, and medical preparedness.

I have witnessed a decline in the manners and decorum of the passengers traveling. Possibly, the added stress to passengers of airport safety procedures has taken a toll on their nerves. I remember when friends and family could accompany passengers to the gate. Now, the seats are packed in like sardines in a can.

Airline competition made the way for no-frills service and more passengers in smaller seats on airplanes. This has taken a toll on everyone's stress levels. Still, I see friendly FAs who are doing their best to accommodate everyone onboard and assuage those who are already frazzled by the time they take their seats.

A robot may make the dispersion of in-flight commodities easier but it can never take care of all of the emergencies that FAs are trained to handle, the medical emergencies, the duplicate and other seating problems, the myriad of human interactions that FA's handle, unaccompanied children, wheelchair passengers, interaction with cockpit and ground staff, etc., etc. the list goes on, not even considering a major emergency like a hijack incident.

You have vastly underestimated the uber-selective hiring, initial and ongoing training that FAs have. Did you know that they have to take FAA-mandated emergency testing yearly on every airplane which they are qualified to work and pass the test with a 90-100% grade. This includes physical testing in airplane simulators., first aide, resuscitation and cardio procedures etc.

If you see an FA behaving in the unprofessional manner you have described, you should write a letter to the airline about that employee.
Jul 16, 2023 at 10:31 AM

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