If you think you have a long commute to work, well, I have a Delta flight attendant Id like to introduce you to
Woah, that is a truly wild commute. Eh, if it works for her, who are we to judge. (And, many of us based here pay far more than that for a 'crash pad' in NYC; though, I try to call it 'an apartment.')
LOL! 630,000 Skypiles for a one-way ticket JFK to Accra on DELTA!
LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!
Even AF LP is only 350K point for a one-way segment for longer flights than that!
Yeah, but, AF LP requires FB Platinum to use points, right? So, like, there's a little more work involved to make that one happen, no?
Tax? Where is she taxed?
If she spends 183 days or more annually in Ghana, she will pay income tax in both countries as there is no double taxation agreement. She would probably be in the highest tax bracket in Ghana at her Delta earnings rate so that's 35% on top of US taxes paid (with some credits available).
Wages earned by an employee of a US airline based in the US are US source income, regardless of the employee's country of residence. So she pays taxes in the US.
Her wages may also be subject to taxation in Ghana if she has tax residency there, though from a quick search appears that 1) they have a foreign tax credit that would allow her to deduct the amount paid to the US from her Ghanaian tax bill (up to her Ghanaian tax liability on the US-source income), and 2) they exclude some foreign employment income from Ghanaian taxes.
I met a UA FA who commuted to EWR from... Guam.
There's FAs and pilots who commute from Thailand, Europe, Brazil... it's more common than you might think.
From ACC the lack of seniority is a notable issue and makes it tougher to get on when flying standby, but still not impossible.
"Ghana Cocoa" is the name of a cocoa ,
The cost of living in Accra is not particularly cheap relative to New York
There's also no double taxation treaty in place between the US and Ghana so she is liable for Ghanaian income tax in addition to her US tax if she spends 183 days per tax year in Ghana.
As someone who did an intercontinental commute from Ghana, it's not something you can pull off for more than a year or so.
What? You think Accra comparable to NYC? A quick search shows its like 80% cheaper in Accra. You get a big 'Yowzers!' from me on that point.
@1990 - If you are living to a Western standard (ie. you want reliable security, electricity, water, etc..) and living in Accra city, it really isn't that much cheaper. Add in transportation costs (either vehicle ownership or Uber) and it adds up further. If she's living in a rural area and taking trotros though I guess she could save a lot, but somehow she doesn't strike me as the village girl.
Sean, claiming Western-standard Accra 'not that much cheaper' than NYC is just wild to me. Even in Airport Residential with a 24/7 generator, water storage, private security, A/C on blast, and taking Ubers everywhere, her monthly burn rate isn't touching NYC. Unless you're using outer-borough room shares or taking her crash-pad rate ($350/mo?) as the NYC baseline, it's not a comparison. An average 1-bedroom rental in Manhattan or Brooklyn is pushing $3,500–$4,000/mo before you even touch utilities (or food, medical, etc.), here.
@1990 - How much do you think a 1 bedroom with utilities, security and backup costs in Ghana nowadays? You're looking at $2500 in Airport Residential or Cantonments for somewhere half decent.
Agree with Sean. The same can be said about major cities in India - you can live away from the urban areas. However, if you choose to have the same style of living as in the west and in the major urban areas, then be ready to pay steep rents, high taxes on cars, petrol, and personal consumables and designer apparel, exorbitant electricity bills and pay premium for organic groceries. Going out to eat? Don’t forget vat and taxes on alcohol - a pint of microbrew can easily cost between to 8-12 bucks. I was living in Bangalore for three months for work and I was genuinely surprised by how expensive things are. The rent was probably the only thing that was cheaper than in Chicago.
If she's subject to Ghanaian taxes on her US source income based on Ghanaian residency, she should be able to claim a foreign tax credit in Ghana for the taxes paid to the US. The existence of a treaty wouldn't really change anything about that, especially if she's a US citizen. (It seems like Ghana also has some deductions for foreign-source employment income, so it may not even be taxable there.)
@Tonei - yes, but given her likely earnings with that kind of seniority at Delta she would be at a relatively low tax bracket in the USA, but one of the top tax brackets in Ghana, so she would be on the hook for the higher taxable amount (35%) to Ghana Revenue Authority. Talking about it on YouTube is not likely to help her fly under the radar with GRA unfortunately.
She is nuts. Setting aside the amount she is spending in a crash pad and commuting the sheer toll on the body. Sitting in a cramp coach seat for hours on end then needing to be at least on call. Then sitting in a cramped coach seat for returning home.
You mean she can't commute from an area in the US that is cheaper than NYC?
"You mean she can't commute from an area in the US that is cheaper than NYC?"
Who cares? She can do anything she wants, and that's her business.
She chose to move to Accra, and this is about how she makes it work for her.
Not sure why this is being written about other than social media now gives voice to this? I worked at United and knew flight attendants who commuted from Florida to the company's old Tokyo base, who commuted from Kentucky to the LHR base, etc. it's all common and routine for flight attendants. Sure most commutes are not that long, but it was totally common. And still widespread
This is also most of the faculty teaching MBA in Ann Arbor.
Not that uncommon amongst Flight crew. I had a crash pad roommate that commuted from Warsaw, and another that commuted from Barcelona.
I knew of a British Airways pilot who used to commute from Perth, Australia to London to work. BA tried to ban this kind of commuting for pilots and flight attendants 10 years ago, including commuting from other parts of the UK, because it meant it had to increase its crew standby reserve to cover the occasions when commuters could not board their commuter flights. I am not sure of the situation at BA now.
Cool story, but the headline stumbles: "commutes from Africa to New York" treats a continent of 54 countries as a single place (ie. Africa isn't a country). You'd never write "commutes from Asia" or "commutes from North America" if it was in reverse for such a story - you should have the same standard here especially since you've got African readers too.
@ KB -- I can see where you're coming from, but that's not my intent, and I also absolutely *would* have written "commutes from Asia," "commutes from Europe," etc.
Not entirely related, but I would have to guess she is in violation of a social media policy. She really shouldn't be wearing her Delta uniform. Or complaining. This really does not seem wise at all. It's hard to feel bad for her since this was a very deliberate choice. Let's hope she keeps her job but she doesn't seem very bright for posting this.
Not entirely related, but I would have to guess she is in violation of a social media policy. She really shouldn't be wearing her Delta uniform. Or complaining. This really does not seem wise at all. It's hard to feel bad for her since this was a very deliberate choice. Let's hope she keeps her job but she doesn't seem very bright for posting this.
I’m sure Delta is thrilled that she’s wearing her uniform while making her videos.
It's actually not that uncommon. Sometimes, depending on the base, different contracts are offered, and cost of living is also a big factor obviously. In one of the airlines I've been working for, there was a relatively large share of cabin crew commuting from Asia to Europe to start their trips.
A point worth mentioning here, commuter contracts do exist, and those do give you positive space seats on your commute. It's a bit less common nowadays and primarily offered to flight crew, not cabin crew. Pre-covid, there were many contracts like this around. Sometimes one month on / one month off, etc.
"She also hopes that the taxes she has to pay for flights are revised down or eliminated altogether".
This tells us a lot about the IQ of that person...
I didn't watch the video, but I guess she wants the taxes to be covered by Delta, not that the goverment reduces them.
Yes, thats why US flight attendants are so moody sometimes. They already did a 5 hour flight in economy as a passenger a few hours before operating a 10 hour flight to Europe... Insane.
Not uncommon at all.
Sydney based here and some crew commute from Brazil, Vancouver, LAX, BA.