Home truly is where the heart is!!! I’ve been in Fort Lauderdale since March. I’m excited to share that I am no longer a San Francisco-based flight attendant. Being based in Fort Lauderdale means I’m no longer commuting. This is the best news I’ve received since being offered the job last year. Even though other flight attendants had told me being based at home would make a difference, I didn’t realize it would be such a game-changer. While I enjoy the job, when the time came to commute back to San Francisco, I often wondered how bad I wanted this job. I’m so grateful I hung in there because my transfer came much quicker than I expected. Others’ assumptions, were that my transfer could take four to five years. It only took me eight months. For this, I am grateful!
Is Being Home All It’s Cracked Up To Be?
In a nutshell…YES! Granted, I know the reasons for choosing where to be based vary from one flight attendant to the next. But being at home is one of the main reasons to chooses a base. The flying is not “exciting” here. Since Fort Lauderdale is satellite base for my airline, the flying is limited. So there is no opportunity for long-haul flying or to exotic locations. The majority of our layovers are in the MidWest or San Francisco…Mainly short layovers, at that. I’m OK with that for now. I say ‘for now’, because things can always change. There are some flight attendants at my base that choose to commute for the better flying, some even commuting to San Francisco from Fort Lauderdale. However, with my low seniority, I’d rather not take the risk of being based away from home and going back to commuting.
Commuting certainly made me feel conflicted about the job. While I was grateful and enjoyed the job, there were several times when I questioned how badly I wanted the job when it came time to commute back to San Francisco after a stretch of days off. I am overjoyed I hung in there since I’m now based at home.
From the moment I applied for the job in December 2022, this journey has been a sort of personal development project for me. It’s tested every aspect of my personality that needed improvement. The application and interview process tested my patience. The job itself continues to test my flexibility. I’m actually grateful for these experiences. It’s only when we’re uncomfortable that we’re able to grow.
