If you think you have a long commute to work, well, I have a Delta flight attendant I’d like to introduce you to…
In this post:
A New York-based Delta flight attendant’s crazy commute
A flight attendant named Princilla has a YouTube channel about her life and career, as she’s a flight attendant at Delta (for the record, she wears her Delta uniform in the video, though just identifies herself as working for a major airline).
Anyway, she uploaded a 15-minute video about how she lives in Accra, Ghana (ACC), but is based in New York (JFK), and she has been commuting for around a month. You can find the video here (unfortunately it’s blocked from being embedded).
Flight attendants can absolutely live somewhere different than where they’re based, and they can even commute on a space available basis for very little money. It’s fascinating to see how her commute works, though, as she explains it in great detail.
For what it’s worth, Princilla was initially based in Seattle, which is also where she lived at the time. But she recently made the decision to move back to Ghana, and at the same time, transferred bases to New York.
For one, she’s still very junior, so she has little control over her schedule, and often ends up on reserve (in other words, she’s assigned a trip when there are irregular operations, or when other flight attendants call in sick). In these situations, she’s on reserve for six straight days, and needs to be in New York, at her base.
Delta’s policy is that commuting flight attendants need to leave enough of a buffer with their commute so that there are two flights that would get them to their base in time to report, meaning she typically has to commute from Accra to New York two days before she’s on duty.
In terms of the cost of this, she estimates that she spends close to $1,100-1,200 per month related to commuting expenses:
- When she non-revs between Accra and New York, she has to pay over $250 in taxes and fees; those are all government fees, and most of those are charged by Ghana and not the United States
- Initially her plan was to commute four times per month, but she has so far been commuting twice per month, which makes this a bit easier
- She then has a “crash pad” in New York (essentially an apartment shared with a bunch of flight attendants, who all use it only a little), where she spends at most six days per month, and that costs $375 per month
- She then spends around $250 per month on transportation to and from her crash pad
Admittedly the cost of living is lower in Accra than in New York, so I imagine that balances out with some savings as well.
I do have to say, aspects of her narrative seem a bit much to me. For example, she wishes that her airline “at least” had positive space commuting, even if it’s just once per month. For those not familiar, “positive space” would mean that she’s offered a guaranteed seat on her commuting flight, rather than being on standby, subject to availability.
Her argument is that airlines advertise that you can live anywhere in the world, and yet she feels like they have to “jump through hoops and struggle” to actually commute. Well, I mean, that’s one of the trade-offs. You want Delta to forgo revenue and not sell a seat, so that someone who chooses to live elsewhere can commute? That strikes me as being bad for business.
She also hopes that the fees she has to pay for flights are revised down or eliminated altogether, because she points out that domestic commuting costs nothing. I mean, I get it, but these are literally the government taxes and fees related to immigration, airport expenses, etc. There’s no margin for the airline on that. If you book a Delta SkyMiles award on the same route, you’d pay $268 roundtrip, in addition to the taxes and fees.
How uncommon is this long of a commute?
The concept of airline employees (pilots and flight attendants) commuting between continents is rare, but definitely not unheard of. I know of some pilots at major US airlines who live in Europe, Asia, and even Australia, who commute to their bases in the mainland United States.
The thing is, this flight attendant has several disadvantages compared to some of the other commuters I know:
- She doesn’t have much seniority, so she has limited control over her schedule; for example, if you’re a senior United captain and can always bid on the route between San Francisco and Singapore, you could work that route just three times per month and max out your hours, which is super efficient, since you’d have 20+ free days per month
- Accra is a tricky market to commute from, with just one daily flight to New York; for example, if you commute from London to New York, there are a couple of dozen nonstop flights per day you can get on, so you wouldn’t need to leave nearly as much of a buffer
- If you’re a low-seniority flight attendant, your commuting cost as a percentage of your income is quite high; close to $15K in commuting expenses per year is a lot more if you make $40-50K per year, rather than if you’re a senior captain making $400K per year
So anyway, the long haul commuting definitely isn’t unheard of, but her conditions — the exact market she commutes from, her lack of seniority, etc. — make this setup particularly brutal, as I see it. I’m curious if she maintains this in the long run, because I can only imagine the fatigue this causes.
This is also all a different kind of commute than that AirAsia employee who commutes to work daily by plane, as she lives in Penang and works in Kuala Lumpur. I don’t think there’s anyone who commutes by plane with a higher frequency than she does!
Bottom line
A junior Delta flight attendant lives in Accra, Ghana, but is based in New York, so she commutes multiple times per month for work. One of the benefits of being a flight attendant or pilot is that you can typically commute at no cost, or a very low cost, giving you a lot of lifestyle flexibility. However, commuting between continents definitely complicates things.
This Delta flight attendant has now been doing this for a month… I’m curious for how long she keeps this pattern going, because it can’t be easy on the body.
What do you make of this commuting Delta flight attendant?
Well, years ago, a good friend of mine used to commute from Boston, MA via JFK to London, LHR where he was based and worked from ...... ................................EX PAA purser. Sadly, i´ve lost him over Lockerbie.
I know no offence was meant by the title, but in future I'd recommend calling out the country specifically (Ghana), rather than just 'Africa'.
For centuries people have treated Africa as a monolith, when it's a huge continent. If they're commuting from 'Africa', it could be Marrakech or Cape Town, which are 12,000km apart.
Not uncommon at all.
Sydney based here and some crew commute from Brazil, Vancouver, LAX, BA.
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.
"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.
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...
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.
I’m sure Delta is thrilled that she’s wearing her uniform while making her videos.
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.
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.
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.
Not that uncommon amongst Flight crew. I had a crash pad roommate that commuted from Warsaw, and another that commuted from Barcelona.
This is also most of the faculty teaching MBA in Ann Arbor.
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
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.
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...
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.
'Yowzers!'
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...
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.
"Ghana Cocoa" is the name of a cocoa ,
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.
When UA had a F/A base in Taipei, there was a F/A who commuted from Sweden.
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...
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.
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?
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.')