Curated Snowboarding Experts Mike Leighton & Will Cabral got their hands on the 2024 Burton Flight Attendant Snowboard this spring. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every rider is different; if you have any questions about the Flight Attendant or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboarding Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Burton claim about this board? [Mike] The Flight Attendant is a board renowned for its ability to carve and find time in the air. Thus, the name “the Flight Attendant.”

[Will] Burton Flight Attendant is a board that makes waves for being able to carve and catch air.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? [Mike] I’ve spent a lot of time on this board. This was my daily driver for a long time. I absolutely love what this snowboard can do. It has a bit of metal in there. It has a WFO base. They rate it as a 6 out of 10 flex, so it’s a bit on the more aggressive, stiffer side, but it’s not also going to try and kill you.

[Will] I think this board is awesome for going all over the mountain. It has a slight setback on the insert, which places the rider directly centered over the predominantly camber section on the board. So, we’ve got a bit of rocker in the nose and then mostly camber with a bit of a shorter tail. This was something that we straightlined and felt super stable. It’s a great all-around board.

Carving

How does it turn? [Mike] It’s an active ride. But with the directional camber, you’re still centered on the camber on the snowboard, so it’s going to feel almost like you’re riding more of a twin board when you’re turning it, but you get that added benefit of that float and that little bit of nimbleness with the taper.

[Will] This board has a wider nose and a shorter tail, which helps to initiate turns, and then you’re centered over that full camber.

What is the edge hold like? [Mike] One thing I will note is to double-check the waist width on it. Make sure you’re on the right size width-wise because this board will hold on as high an edge angle as you want to get it.

How damp is the board? Do you feel any underfoot chatter? [Mike] You don't get a ton of chop and chatter when you get it up on edge or you're trying to slow down.

[Will] This board has metal inside the core to really eat up a lot of the chatter.

How does it perform at speed? [Mike] This board is fantastic at high speeds. You can straightline, rail over, and lay over carves on this thing. In terms of straightline speed, this thing is a rocket ship. It kind of plays a game of chicken with you. Are you going to turn first, or is it going to chatter? It won’t chatter, so you’ll be the one turning.

[Will] This board really wants to go fast. It has Burton’s sintered WFO base, which really flies.

How is its energy/acceleration? [Mike] It's quick edge to edge.

[Will] It just wants to fly.

Freestyle

How is it for freestyle snowboarding? [Mike] It's not going to be a great freestyle board if you're spinning. It will take some lines to the park. It will go upside down.

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? [Mike] With the pop it has and more medium-aggressive flex, it's going to be stable.

[Will] You get all that great full camber feeling in turns and being able to lay into carves, feel yourself pop in and out of the turns, and get bouncy and pop in off rollers.

Is it good for riding switch? [Mike] Riding switch on this board can be a bit scary sometimes, so if you’re someone who occasionally rides switch, this is a good option for you. But if you ride 50/50 switch in regular and spend just as much time popping off things switch, regular sidehits, and landing, you might want something that’s a little bit more twinned out.

[Will] Even though it has a bigger nose and shorter tail, you’re centered on the camber, so riding it switch felt like no problem.

How is it on jumps? [Mike] You'll have fun if you’re just straightlining, throwing in some big methods, and jumping lines. But if you’re looking to spin, take off, and land switch, this will not be a great board for that.

[Will] It’s got good pop, and everything felt super stable when it came to jumps.

Freeride

How is it for freeride snowboarding? [Mike] It's predictable. It's reliable. It’s also really stable. It will be great at popping off sidehits, dropping cliffs, and in and out of the trees.

[Will] It’s got a bit of a stiffer but more mid-flex. Burton rates it in their mid-to-aggressive range for the flex, so this was just at home all over the resort.

How is it in powder? [Mike] This board is fun in powder. On pow days, you don’t need to set the board back because it just sits up and will float with that directional rocker shape and the taper. This is a great board if you’re going up hiking, and you're getting some fresh snow, and you’re looking for great shots.

[Will] With its bigger nose, you get what is like an all-mountain setup, which can plow through things.

How is it in uneven terrain and chunder? [Mike] What’s cool with Burton’s directional camber is it has this longer nose with rocker in it, so it will eat up chop and chunder and float over things. And then also, with that taper in the tail, it will perform well when the snow gets soft or choppy.

[Will] Riding through uneven terrain, this thing was super good and also pretty maneuverable.

How is it riding in the trees? How is its maneuverability? [Mike] It's also great in the trees and in the bumps.

[Will] It’s able to get around and be maneuverable in the bumps and in the trees and just a sweet spot for most conditions you’ll get on the resort.

What terrain is this board good for? [Mike] This board is excellent for all-mountain resort riding, even hiking, some steep and deep stuff. It will be with you if you’re carving a blue groomer up to the steepest and most technical terrain.

[Will] This board is at home in a lot of different terrain conditions. I had a great time straightlining and going fast on groomers, and I felt super confident going fast. Maybe you hit a bump; this thing's heated up. No problem.

What kind of terrain should riders avoid with it? [Mike] The only place this board is not going to be ideal is if you're riding a ton of park. It’s not gonna be a great rail board.

[Will] This might be not exactly the board I would go for in really tight trees.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? [Mike] Flight Attendant is a great option for an intermediate-and-up rider looking to ride the whole resort and focus more on the freeride side and a little bit less freestyle but still likes to get in the air every once in a while.

[Will] I would say this board is suited for a strong intermediate-to-advanced rider, somebody who wants one board to be able to do it all and wants a quality board.

Who should avoid this board, are there other better options out there for them? [Mike] I wouldn't recommend this board to a true beginner. I think it's just a little aggressive.

[Will] This may not be approachable for a beginner rider, but it is something that somebody who feels confident as an intermediate rider would like.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you want help finding the right board for you, reach out to Mike, Will, or any other Snowboarding Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations on the best board for you.