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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Flight Attendants?
Task-level automation exposure for Flight Attendants: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
35%
weighted task index
25 of 25 tasks scored
Median Salary
$63,580 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
131,650 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+8.8%
employment change
18,500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 19 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$39,520 – $126,650
Highest medians
New York $126,650
Utah $82,730
California $82,170
Georgia $78,320
Connecticut $78,180
Lowest medians
Pennsylvania $39,520
Florida $47,320
Nevada $51,800
Texas $58,220
Colorado $59,500
State figures come from the 53-2031 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 35%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 8%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 35%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 4%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 63/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
25 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 12%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 38%
9 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 50%
13 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#9639 · Core · 18% automatable
Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
visual inspection — Physical aircraft inspection needs hands-on access and judgment
Inspect aircraft or aircraft components.
#9637 · Core · 55% automatable
Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
#23942 · Core · 36% automatable
Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
situated mobility — Live monitoring of people in physical settings
Monitor patron activities to identify problems or potential problems. Monitor activities of individuals to ensure safety or compliance with rules. Maintain surveillance of individuals or establishments.
#9638 · Core · 38% automatable
Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings.
situated mobility — Live monitoring of people in physical settings
Monitor activities of individuals to ensure safety or compliance with rules.
#9636 · Core · 10% automatable
Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
situated mobility — Assisting during emergencies requires physical presence
Assist others during emergencies.
#9642 · Core · 55% automatable
Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
#9640 · Core · 5% automatable
Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
physical manipulation — First aid and rescue are hands-on emergency actions
Provide first aid or rescue assistance in emergencies.
#9643 · Core · 42% automatable
Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.
decision support — AI suggests fixes; human resolves in operations
Resolve issues affecting transportation operations.
#9641 · Core · 62% automatable
Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
information retrieval — Receiving instructions is passive; AI can parse and relay
Receive information or instructions for performing work assignments.
#9645 · Core · 15% automatable
Reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered.
interpersonal — In-person comfort and safety assurance
Assist customers to ensure comfort or safety.
#9644 · Core · 55% automatable
Check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are in adequate supply.
information retrieval — Digital tracking automatable; physical stock checks need humans
Monitor availability of equipment or supplies.
#9656 · Core · 82% automatable
Prepare reports showing places of departure and destination, passenger ticket numbers, meal and beverage inventories, the conditions of cabin equipment, and any problems encountered by passengers.
text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info
Record operational details of travel.
#9646 · Core · 55% automatable
Announce flight delays and descent preparations.
information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
#9651 · Core · 30% automatable
Greet passengers boarding aircraft and direct them to assigned seats.
information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers. Assist passengers during vehicle boarding.
#9649 · Core · 5% automatable
Assist passengers entering or disembarking the aircraft.
physical manipulation — Physical boarding assistance
Assist passengers during vehicle boarding.
#9652 · Core · 15% automatable
Conduct periodic trips through the cabin to ensure passenger comfort and to distribute reading material, headphones, pillows, playing cards, and blankets.
interpersonal — In-person comfort and safety assurance
Assist customers to ensure comfort or safety.
#9650 · Core · 14% automatable
Inspect and clean cabins, checking for any problems and making sure that cabins are in order.
visual inspection — On-site standards inspection needs physical presence
Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with safety, quality, or service standards. Clean vehicles or vehicle components.
#9654 · Core · 30% automatable
Operate audio and video systems.
physical manipulation — Operating comms hardware needs hands-on setup and tuning
Operate communications equipment or systems.
#9648 · Core · 55% automatable
Answer passengers' questions about flights, aircraft, weather, travel routes and services, arrival times, or schedules.
information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human
Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
#9657 · Core · 20% automatable
Collect money for meals and beverages.
physical manipulation — Collecting fares physically from customers
Collect fares or payment from customers.
#9658 · Core · 15% automatable
Heat and serve prepared foods.
interpersonal — In-person comfort and safety assurance
Assist customers to ensure comfort or safety.
#9647 · Core · 80% automatable
Inspect passenger tickets to verify information and to obtain destination information.
information retrieval — Spec verification against references, human confirms edge cases
Verify information or specifications.
#9655 · Core · 5% automatable
Assist passengers in placing carry-on luggage in overhead, garment, or under-seat storage.
physical manipulation — Physical boarding assistance
Assist passengers during vehicle boarding.
#9653 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Take inventory of headsets, alcoholic beverages, and money collected.
information retrieval — Digital tracking automatable; physical stock checks need humans
Monitor availability of equipment or supplies.
#9659 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Sell alcoholic beverages to passengers.
interpersonal — Closing sales requires persuasion and accountability
Sell products or services.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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