Flight attendant Caprice Merritt loves her job. However, since starting the position a few months back, Merritt has realized her roles and responsibilities extend far beyond serving food and drinks on planes.
“There’s so much more to the job that’s mental that a lot of people don’t really think about,” Merritt said. “The real job of a flight attendant is to be able to save lives in the event of an emergency.”
Over the last decade, the number of Black flight attendants serving passengers from the sky has continued to grow. However, their numbers are still few. According to the Census Bureau, less than 15 percent of flight attendants identified as Black or African American.
Despite their small numbers, Black flight attendants are taking every opportunity to see the world. Many say there are incredible perks that accompany serving flyers. But living from the sky is a unique lifestyle that has both its benefits and drawbacks.
A Life With Wings Is A Different Lifestyle
It didn’t take Merritt long to recognize that a life with wings was a bit different. She receives her schedule about a month in advance giving her enough time to pick up extra flights or request off. However, seniority matters. Newer agents sometimes get last dibs on the best schedules and training is intense. Still, Merritt believes being a flight attendant helps her fulfill her purpose of positively impacting lives.
“For me, one of my major things in life was to be able to change someone’s life,” she said. “Whether it be for a moment, just to provide a bit of happiness and show the world is a beautiful place and people still care. [As] a flight attendant, you have access to everyone.”
Atlanta resident Deon Fisher has been a flight attendant for eight years. Like Merritt, he agrees the role allows him to connect with people everywhere and see places he’d never thought he’d visit. Access to free and discounted flights also helps him to aid his family in seeing the world.
“My favorite part of the job is the connections around the world I’ve been able to make and also just how cultured I’ve become from traveling all around the world,” Fisher said.
It Can Get Lonely In The Sky
While seeing the world has its perks, many Black flight attendants say the job can get lonely. Fisher can recount missing several holidays, birthdays, and important memories with his friends and family since becoming a flight attendant. A family man and social butterfly, he said the hardest part of his job is combating loneliness.
“We are surrounded by hundreds of people every day but the job is still lonely at times,” he said. “You fly with a different crew every trip so it is very hard to build any meaningful work relationships. You miss a lot of important moments in friends and family life.”
Merritt agrees that being a flight attendant can be a lonely job at times. She is thankful the company she works with has resources and wellness opportunities available for flight staff who deal with depression and loneliness. Between balancing commuting to work, changing schedules, and avoiding missing flights, it can be hard adjusting to life as a flight attendant.
“Coming in at the beginning, you’re not going to get a schedule that fits your current life perfectly,” Merritt said. “Especially if you’re someone that has kids, or has a husband and kids who are involved in everything, you’re not going to be able to tailor it so much at the beginning and you’re going to miss a lot. You’re going to be away from your family a lot.”
There’s More To The Job Than Most Realize
Both Merritt and Fisher realize that there’s much more to being a flight attendant than most realize. While the faces of the passengers change, the job remains the same, so it’s important to stay on top of their game.
Although Kells Coleman hasn’t been in the game as long as Fisher and Merritt, she understands her role in the sky is greater than many know. Aside from serving drinks and snacks, Coleman knows the importance of ensuring every passenger is safe. From communicating with the pilot about the weather and turbulence to making sure the plane is in compliance before take off, being a flight attendant is more about safety than anything else.
“We’re whatever our passengers need us to be,” Coleman said. “Just because we serve in that flight attendant role, we have many other roles too.”
Fisher also said being a flight attendant is more about saving lives than serving drinks. After his eight-week training, he realized his real role was to ensure all passengers were safe during air travel and to de-escalate emergencies from the sky.
“At 35,000 feet in the air, you have to be trained and prepared for everything,” he said. “I learned that flight attendants are primarily there for your safety. We train how to handle medical emergencies, flight fires in the sky, and handle security threats on board.”
Having been a flight attendant for nearly a decade, Fisher says anyone who aspires to live life from the sky should give it a chance. He encourages prospective flight attendants to do ample research about pay scales and cultures at different airlines to determine if they’d be a good fit for the position.
“Find out all the stuff about the job they don’t show in the movies and then really determine if this is something you really can do,” he said. “Don’t give up til you get those wings!”