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Julian Richardson has been a flight attendant for Spirit Airlines for about eight years.
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He was shocked by Spirit’s closure despite hearing rumors about it closing for years.
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He was applying for more flight attendant jobs while earning income from his side job.
The now-famous article was based on conversations with Julian Richardson, a 42-year-old flight attendant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I have been a Spirit Airlines flight attendant for almost eight years. This was my first and only job as a flight attendant and I would definitely have stayed longer if given the opportunity.
When someone gets off my flight and says, “This was the best flight I’ve ever been on,” it makes it worth coming to work every day.
I’ve been hearing rumors for years that Spirit might shut down, so I always knew it was a possibility. Still, I was shocked when I woke up early in the morning to an email on my phone from Spirit announcing its closure. I guess I didn’t expect this to actually happen.
When I think about job security as a flight attendant, I have a question mark in my mind, but I’m not ready to give up just yet.
The day before Spirit shut down, everything seemed to be business as usual
When the soul closes, everything seems to cease to exist.
Luckily I wasn’t traveling at the time, but the email said all flights were canceled and operations were ending. Now my insurance has stopped, there is no severance pay, and it is up in the air when I will receive my last paycheck.
It’s a tough situation, but I manage my emotions by remembering that everything happens for a reason. I’m not terribly worried about losing my income because I believe the skills I have acquired will help me find another job.
I don’t know what my next position will be, but I have applied to airlines that have flight attendant positions.
I’m working on a side hustle, but I’m not ready to give up the benefits of being a flight attendant yet
I’ve been doing sketch comedy on social media for a while now and it’s definitely a side hustle for me. In this case, it’s important to keep a side hustle.
Social media revenue can fluctuate wildly, but right now I’m trying to get more brand deals. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time at Spirit and learned a lot. As a flight attendant, I am very responsible for myself. I had to wake up, get to the airport on time, and catch the shuttle. It taught me a lot of independence and responsibility.
Additionally, as a flight attendant, I have not experienced any micromanagement. In my experience, you may see your supervisor or manager, but you won’t see them every day. They don’t look back to see what you’re doing.
I’m still young and I feel like I’m pretty good at what I do, so I want to continue being a flight attendant. Nothing is more important than the benefits of flying. I love this part of the job. My family and I can travel at a discount, so I definitely want to continue taking advantage of these benefits. That being said, I’m open to other opportunities. I’m not naive enough to put myself in a box.
Eventually, I want to have my own business
Anytime you work for someone, there’s no real job security, so I can’t say I feel like I have job security as a flight attendant.
I think the only time you can find real job security is when you work for yourself and run a business that is almost recession-proof. That’s why my long-term goal is to eventually own my own business. Still, I would recommend anyone to become a flight attendant.
Becoming a flight attendant gives you a lot of flexibility. I can already live anywhere I want. It’s kind of like working remotely. I have colleagues who live in Spain and work 15 days and then have 15 days off. There are not many jobs that do this.
Flight attendants also have the opportunity to interact with people and help them have a great experience. This is part of the job I love.
Spirit Airlines declined to comment for this story.
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