Two years of being ready

New hires serve two-plus years of straight reserve, then a rotating pattern. A reserve availability period is typically 12 hours. Report within 2 hours to base — 3 hours at co-terminal bases (DCA, LAX, LGA, MIA).

Years 1–2: straight reserve.
Years 3–5: typically one month on reserve, one month off, subject to the operation.
After that: more line time, still not a 9-to-5.
12 days off a month. They will include weekdays you did not choose.
Reserve guarantee: 75 flight hours. Lineholder minimum later: 71.
Trips last 1–4 days. Layovers 10+ hours with hotel and transport.

Free kit

First 3-day / reserve bag

First 3-day trip / reserve bag

You have two to three hours from the call. The bag is already packed. Underwear is the exception to minimalism.

UNTIL THE WINGS · FIRST 3-DAY / RESERVE BAG
Pack this the night you get a base. Live out of it.

ALWAYS (personal item + crew carry-on)
[ ] Passport + crew ID + company device, charged
[ ] Watch with a second hand
[ ] Spare uniform shirt (spills are the job)
[ ] Flats or approved duty shoes you can walk a terminal in
[ ] One layover outfit that can be seen in a hotel lobby
[ ] Workout kit
[ ] Pajamas / something you can sleep in on a crew-rest leg
[ ] Toiletry pouch: toothbrush, deodorant, lip balm, mist, meds you already take
[ ] Chargers in one zip pouch, not loose
[ ] Extra underwear — two pair per day is the floor joke because it is true
[ ] Swimsuit (pool hotels, and you will forget this once)
[ ] Sandals + sneakers. Weather is a surprise on reserve
[ ] Black puffer that compresses (winter) or a light layer (summer)
[ ] Stain wipe, sewing kit, safety pins, extra hosiery
[ ] Earplugs, eye mask
[ ] Protein you will actually eat at 4 a.m.

RESERVE EXTRA
[ ] 2-hour (or 3-hour co-terminal) report plan written on a card: parking, bag, commute
[ ] Crash-pad lock/code, not in the same photo as your ID
[ ] Cash / card that works at 2 a.m.
[ ] A second uniform if your base weather swings

DO NOT
[ ] A bag that only fits a 737 overhead on a good day
[ ] Novelty prints
[ ] New shoes on day one
[ ] Your entire skincare fridge

Full kit — every list

From the floor

What candidates keep repeating

Paraphrased from r/cabincrewcareers, r/flightattendants, and drops we have checked. Not policy. Full list on the floor notes page.

CLT is a wish, not a promise

Charlotte comes up as a hometown base. The thread did not produce odds. Official: assigned in week 3; preferences considered; LAX and PHX are usually not initial. Budget a commute or a different city. The company does not pay to move you.

Facebook · AA interviewees · harvest Sep 20, 2026

Live inside the report, or don’t commute

Line FAs on r/flightattendants: 12-hour RAPs, 2-hour callout (3 at co-terminals), bid the night before around 3 p.m. local. Crash pads exist because a 90-minute commute plus traffic is how people miss reserve. Junior weekends are the nights everyone else calls out.

r/flightattendants

Probation is six months. Attendance, training scores, and how you treat the crew you did not pick are the whole game.