Employees of any company enjoy some perks offered by the employer. Such is the case with airlines, where employees enjoy a variety of bonuses provided by the company. Cabin crew get to travel the world for work while they are getting paid for it. While other airline employees may not be in the air as much, they still get various opportunities for travel with the airline.

But do all airline employees get travel perks? Can they actually fly for free? Is it limited to a certain number of yearly tickets depending on the position and years of employment?

Simple Flying explores some perks airlines provide to their employee passengers, including free travel for them and their immediate family members. The number of tickets per year for the employee and family varies depending on airline policies. Some carriers may also restrict the type of class or season and days of travel that non-revenue passengers can opt for. Let us take a closer look at what “free travel” perks airlines typically have for their employees.

Working for an airline is not all free flights

Workers also need to put some effort in if they want to enjoy free flights. Working for an airline is not just nine to five with weekends and holidays off. The aviation industry requires employees to be prepared for odd-hour shift work, often at the airport in the very early hours of the morning or very late when most people in the city are in bed.

Employees must also be prepared to miss out on holidays at home with their family, as celebrations like Thanksgiving and Christmas go to the airline employees with the most seniority. Due to seniority, if you’re a newbie at the airline, you typically get the honor of being the last to pick your vacation weeks.

Speaking of vacation time, you probably won’t get any for the first year. After that, you’d start to accrue one week per year for every year of service up to whatever is the airline’s maximum allowed vacation time. That said, because of the nature of being away from home often and having to stay in hotels, flight attendants usually make more money than ticket agents and baggage handlers.

Ticket agents and ground crew make about the same amount of money as a cashier in a supermarket, and while the money is not great, working one job and doing part-time at the airport can still get you free tickets.

Tell me more about the free flights

Airlines that offer free travel will allow flights operated by the airline the person works for, and sometimes also on other carriers they partner with. Many airlines arrange with each other to offer seats on aircraft that are not full to other airline’s employees.

Let’s say you work for a small regional airline that just flies a few domestic routes. With this in place, you could still get free or discounted tickets on a British Airways flight to London if you request it early enough.

Tickets are not entirely free, as the passenger must still pay the tax, which is often the lion's share of the overall fare, particularly on domestic or short-haul trips. There is also the issue of being 'on standby,' which means the person will only get a seat if they are not all taken by fare-paying passengers. This might not sound too bad until you find yourself stuck in a destination for two days because you cannot get a non-rev seat back to your home airport.

Nevertheless, the possibility of getting a heavily discounted trip somewhere exotic is a huge perk for anyone working in the industry. While policies vary from airline to airline, most employees will be grateful of the ability to fly for less from time to time.

What are your thoughts on the airline perks for employees? Share your opinion in the comments section.