Bases, pay, training, hiring windows and the interview process — from dated sources.
Last updated August 2026 — dated facts carry their own as-of dates below.
United is a legacy global carrier in its centennial year (it traces its roots to Varney Air Lines, 1926), mid-way through the "United Next" growth era. For flight attendant applicants, the defining fact of 2026 is the new contract: after roughly five years without raises, United's ~30,000 AFA-CWA flight attendants ratified a new agreement on May 12, 2026 (82% yes on 88.85% turnout) — about 31% average wage increases, boarding pay for the first time, $741 million in retro pay, and top-of-scale reaching $100/hour by the end of the agreement. New pay scales took effect May 31, 2026. Any prep material describing United FAs as "in negotiations," "without boarding pay," or "may strike" is now stale.
Hiring-window status (as of August 2026): OPEN — but United windows slam shut. United reopened the general flight attendant application on July 14, 2026, with a posted window through roughly August 14, 2026, subject to early close on applicant volume. History says take that seriously: the October 2024 window closed in about 7 hours after ~7,000 applications. Language-qualified (bilingual) postings open separately with their own caps. United never fully froze FA hiring during the 2024 Boeing-delay period — it throttled to short burst windows — so frame United as "burst windows on applicant caps," not "continuous open req" and not "hiring freeze."
Published requirements (verbatim from careers.united.com, checked August 1, 2026): 21 or older at time of application; high school graduate or GED; at least one year of customer service experience; ability to speak, read, write, and understand English fluently; valid passport; 10-year background check. There is no height or weight requirement — the physical gate is a functional reach spec: a combined "76-inch vertical and 43.5-inch horizontal reach and hold (simultaneous), without shoes on," plus fitting the jumpseat with seatbelt and shoulder harness fastened. A college degree is not required (it helps competitiveness; don't let old content tell you otherwise).
New hires are assigned to domestic hub bases only — the seven hubs are the canonical new-hire set: ORD, DEN, IAH, EWR, SFO, IAD, LAX. United also maintains satellite and international FA bases (e.g., GUM, HNL) that are not new-hire assignable because they lack on-site supervisors. Re-verify the exact assignable-base list from the live posting before you count on a city.
The part most applicants underestimate: your base is revealed during the first week of training, assigned by company need — there is no guarantee of your preferred city. Transfers open only after the 6-month probation period, by seniority and company need.
Current intel that matters for base planning (2026): since February 2026 United has interpreted reserve policy as requiring FAs to be physically in base or reachable within 3 hours of reserve duty start, and July 2026 trade press reported a crackdown on new-hire FAs missing reserve obligations. Translation: commuting while on reserve at United is genuinely hard right now. Plan to live in or near your base for the first years.
All figures reflect the contract ratified May 12, 2026 (effective May 31, 2026) and will step annually — verify current-year rates against the union scale, not blogs:
Reserve reality: new hires go on reserve after training — on-call, no fixed schedule — and junior FAs typically spend roughly their first 2–3 years on reserve depending on base seniority. The ratified contract did not magically fix reserve life: the 3-hour-to-base interpretation and the 2026 reserve-compliance crackdown are concurrent reality. Go in with eyes open.
United Airlines requires flight attendants to be at least 21, hold a high school diploma or GED, and meet a simultaneous 76-inch vertical/43.5-inch horizontal reach-and-hold test without shoes — no separate height or weight requirement is stated.
Requirements change between hiring windows — confirm them on the United Airlines careers page before you apply.
Data compiled from airline careers pages, union publications, industry press, and candidate-reported interview intel — wave-dependent facts carry as-of dates. Candidate reports are unofficial; confirm requirements on the airline's own careers site.