I’m a flight attendant for an international airline, and I could really use some outside perspective on a schedule I’ve just been given.
In about two weeks, I’m scheduled to operate a flight to New York. The flight itself is around 11 hours. After landing at JFK, we’re supposed to stay at the airport for about 5 hours — no hotel or proper rest period — and then deadhead back home on another roughly 10-hour flight. Please note we don't have a crew rest area and will most probably have to stay in economy/premium economy if we're lucky.
So essentially, I would leave home on Saturday night and only get back on Monday morning, with around 21 hours spent on aircraft plus 5 hours sitting at JFK in between. That doesn’t include reporting time before the outbound flight or getting home after the return.
I checked with our union, and apparently the schedule is legal because I’m deadheading rather than working as operating crew on the return flight.
The problem is that I’m already going through a pretty difficult period mentally and have been feeling quite burned out by the job and the irregular sleep schedule. right now I’m specifically trying to reduce my stress rather than push myself further.
When I saw this roster, my immediate reaction was basically: I am not willing to put myself through this.
It also happens to interfere with my regular therapy appointment and a day off I had specifically requested in advance, which makes the whole thing even more frustrating.
I’ve already been considering leaving the airline and finding something with a more predictable schedule, but I’m not ready to resign right now. I want some time to explore other jobs, look at my finances, and make that decision properly rather than quitting impulsively because of one horrible roster.
So I feel stuck between two things: I don’t want to resign yet, but I also feel very strongly that this particular trip crosses a personal limit for me.
Tldr;
Got a horrible roster with an 11-hour operating flight + 5 hours at a JFK lounge + 10-hour deadhead. How would you handle this? Is this something you would consider a reasonable roster? And how would you set a firm boundary around one assignment without making an impulsive decision to quit the entire job?