120304

Hi everyone,
I am considering a job with a major U.S. airline and am wondering if anyone is familiar with the perks of the job. I understand that there is unlimited standby travel for me, spouse and children. Not sure that this is great, as standby doesn't sound appealing, especially with young children, but I figure I could always check the capacity of the flights to figure out the likelihood of getting on. Does anyone know what type of other discounts are offered for hotels, cruises etc.? Also, any direct or indirect knowledge of working for an airline? Pros, cons?
Thank you!

clevelandbrown

I would think it would vary with the airlines, and your job. Executives often have perks that are not available to workers.

I know a retired worker and, while they have unlimited travel, it is always standby, and they have been bumped many times. They live close to the airport, so they don't have to stay on site waiting for another flight. We were talking at Christmas, and they had first class tickets for Cleveland to Orlando for $12.50 each, which sounds great, but they know they are subject to being bumped if a paying customer shows up. He's not interested in international travel, but I imagine that would be even more difficult, as the number of flights has been curtailed.

TxTravelPro

Hotel deals? Not so much.
Check out Interline Travel (Perx)
http://www.perx.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc
Non Rev is still awesome once you get used to it.
In all the years I flew non-rev (AA) I was bumped only once.
I studied routing, loads and understood the concept of occupancy. It helps a lot. My brother is a pilot for AA and he took his whole family to Hawaii last month no problem.
People in the travel industry generally vacation during low occupancy seasons.
Oh, and on AA it was not seniority based. An important consideration!
But as far as hotels for personal trips, HOTWIRE is often cheaper than airline 'deals'.
Worked for us.
I miss it.

Odin

Salaries are not usually great when working for an airline (unless high up in the system) and taking a job just for the travel perks is sad. Posting such questions on here is inappropriate for those who have to pay the real price of travel. On top of that you have been given out of date and incorrect advice above.

TxTravelPro

Wow, Odin. Your post serves no purpose.
My post is not out of date, it is dead on for AA.
And what may seem 'not great' in your salary range may be just fine for someone else.
Many people work for the airlines so they can travel cheap.
My work for AA was 'skilled' and they paid MORE than other companies for the same job. As far as the bottom of the rung, new hire reservation agents, the pay is about the same they would get anywhere AND they get travel benefits... so it is NOT sad, it is a true benefit.
AND, it is perfectly appropriate to discuss this on Fodors.
It is a travel forum.

Birdie

Please define "real price of travel".

Does that include free flights for giving up your seat on an overbooked flight, or great last minute deals, or frequent flyer or credit card miles? There are travel perks available in other places besides airline jobs and we talk about them all the time. IMO, the airline employees deserve those perks considering the crap they often get from travelers.

lcuy

I have friends who work for Hawaiian Airlines, Continental Airlines, and United Airlines. They all agree it is great getting the "free" flights. even those with seniority say most flights coming into and out of Honolulu are full these days, making it is very difficult to get onto flights. Flying with spouse or kids makes it nearly impossible. It can be done, but you have to spend a lot of time figuring out the odds, travel during off peak times, and need to be able to afford alternate plans when the standby doesn't work.

TC

Don't airline employees have to declare "free" travel as income and pay income tax on the market value? Just something to consider. I think it also makes a huge difference if you live in a hub city. A friend's sister flies for Delta out of a major hub. Getting bumped is so frustrating (especially trying to get home from a vacation) that she rarely uses the passes.

120304

Thank you all for the replies. I decided against accepting the position - I have two young children and decided that the cons outweigh the pros for me and my family at this time.

Thanks again and happy travels to you all!