Flight Attendants...Slave Wages

You know all that pre-flight time that flight attendants cram bags into overhead bins? Well, none of that time is compensated. Flight attendants get paid for "flight hours only." Translation: The clock doesn't start until the craft pushes away from the gate. Flight delays, cancellations, and layovers affect attendants as much as they do passengers.

But airlines aren't completely heartless. From the time an attendant signs in at the airport until the plane slides back into the gate at its home base, they get an expense allowance of $1.50 an hour.