Side hustles that actually work for crew: what people do with the days off, honestly, including the ones that failed
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#1 Ten days off a month, unpredictable, and a low basic. Every crew member has thought about a side income and most have tried one. This is the honest inventory: what works, what does not, and what got someone in trouble. No links, no selling, just the experience.
What works, from crew I know
Language teaching online. The hours flex, the layover time zone can be an advantage, and crew already speak the languages. Three people at my base do it and it pays a real amount.
Translation, same reason.
A small trade from before flying: a hairdresser at my base does crew hair on days off and has a queue. An electrician at another base does the same with sockets.
Property, if you had the money first. A few senior crew have a flat they rent. Not a side hustle exactly. Their side hustle is the flying.
Crew specific things: uniform alterations, the good shoes resold, tights in bulk. Small money, real money.
What does not work
Dropshipping. Everyone tried it in 2021. Nobody is still doing it.
Crypto. See above.
Influencing, unless you are already famous. The crew who post the layover photos have 800 followers and a lot of hotel room photos. The ones with 80,000 got there before flying.
Anything that needs you at a fixed time on a fixed day. The roster will eat it.
What got someone in trouble
Selling things on board. Do not. It is in every contract and it ends careers.
An Instagram account in uniform that mentioned the airline. Grooming and social media policies exist and are enforced. The account is gone and so, nearly, was she.
A second job that clashed with duty rest rules. The airline found out because she was too tired to work a flight and said why. Rest rules are legal, not advisory.
The honest conclusion
The side hustle that works for most crew is the one that uses a skill you already had, fits in a bag, and never touches the aircraft or the uniform. Everything else is a story for this thread in two years.
What has yours been?
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#2 Krakow, and English tutoring online for Polish teenagers, two evenings a week when I am home. It pays a noticeable amount and the students find the 'my teacher is in Manchester tonight' thing exciting.
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#3 New York, and I did the dropshipping. In 2021. Along with everyone. I made 60 dollars and lost 400 and the boxes are still in my mother's garage.
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#4 Delhi, and mine is mehndi at weddings on days off, which I did before flying and which the crew now book me for. The rule about a skill you already had is the whole answer.
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#5 Dublin, and the second job with duty rest rules is the one I want to underline. A colleague did bar shifts on days off, was too tired for a 5am, and it became a formal thing. Rest rules are the law. The company did not have a choice.
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#7 Ex crew, now ground ops, and I would add the one that worked for me: studying. Not a side income, a side investment. A distance degree over four years on layovers. It is why I have the job I have now.