The Flight Attendant Dictionary
Working in aviation you learn quickly that not only is it a different world, but it also has its own vocabulary. So, in order to take you on my journey of being a flight attendant I have to first teach you the lingo.
Deadhead- A flight attendants favorite word. Deadhead means the company is transporting a flight attendant from one location to the next. In this case we are regular passengers on the flight.
Reserve Flight Attendant- A reserve flight attendant is a flight attendant that has an on-call schedule.
Line holder- A line holder is the opposite of reserve. This is a flight attendant that has a set schedule of flights for the month
Crew Scheduling- The department that assigns the trips to the flight attendants and pilots
Turn- A turn is a one-day trip. It’s called a turn because essentially you are leaving and returning back to your base the same day
Standby/ Airport Alert- This is a shift for reserve flight attendants that requires them to sit at the airport for 4 hours to cover any flights that need immediate staffing
Illegal- Inside tip: Now, if you are flying and you overhear the word illegal from the crew members prepare for a possible delay. Flight attendants and pilots have a set number of hours they can work each day and sometimes due to delays, misconnections, or anything that could extend your duty day you can exceed that time and have to be pulled from the flight/trip. Usually in this case the crew going “illegal” will be replaced by another crew.
Duty Day- Is basically the set of flights and flight hours you have to work for the day
Crew Rest- A set of hours mandated by the FAA that a crew member must be off duty, either at your home base or layover hotel
Layover- Is the off time spent at a hotel
Debrief- No comment LOL
Slam Click- Slam click means you are going straight to your hotel room when the trip ends and slamming the door and locking it. Slam Clickers are not interested in any layover activities
Senior Mama/ Papa- Is another name for the OG flight attendants
Base/Hub- Is the city you are assigned to work out of. This is the city in which you will start and end all of your flights
Non-Rev/ Standby Travel - This is the term used for leisure travel. When traveling standby you are only allowed a seat if there is space available after all of the revenue passengers are seated.
*Now study these words for a future pop quiz and giveaway😉*
