How to become a flight attendant
Official title: Flight attendant
Also called: Cabin crew member, Air steward, Air stewardess, Air host, Air hostess, Airline steward
Flight attendants provide services to passengers so they are safe and comfortable on flights. They may explain safety procedures, serve food and respond to emergency incidents.
Main tasks
- Look after passengers during flights
- Greet passengers as they board
- Check passengers are seated safely
- Help passengers store cabin luggage
- Demonstrate aircraft emergency plans and safety features
- Prepare and check cabin, catering and drinks
- Serve and clear away food and drinks
- Check emergency and safety equipment before flights
How to become one
You need to train on the job to become a flight attendant. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 2 may be useful. Required: to complete a training course; to have at least 18 months' experience in a customer-facing role; to pass ability tests; to pass a security check; to pass a medical assessment; to be able to swim 50 metres in under 2 minutes and tread water for 1 minute. Other requirements: to be over 18 years old; to have a valid passport.
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $52,000 to $74,000 a year (median $59,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $96,000 a year
- TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $28.37 an hour.
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- People employed in the group Travel Attendants: 3,291 at the 2018 Census and 2,889 at the 2023 Census (-12.2%). Past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 2,600 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Travel Attendants, 72% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Travel Attendants work (2023 Census): Auckland 60.6%, Canterbury 12.8%, and Wellington 12.5%.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a flight attendant?
You need to train on the job to become a flight attendant. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 2 may be useful. Required: to complete a training course; to have at least 18 months' experience in a customer-facing role; to pass ability tests; to pass a security check; to pass a medical assessment; to be able to swim 50 metres in under 2 minutes and tread water for 1 minute. Other requirements: to be over 18 years old; to have a valid passport.
How much does a flight attendant earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $59,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $52,000 to $74,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a flight attendant grown in New Zealand?
It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Will AI change the work of a flight attendant?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026