What Every Flight Attendant Wish you Knew!

Okay – so who better to go to for travel tips on flying than going straight to the source – your friendly travel professional – the flight attendant!  I have some amazing friends who are flight attendants and I thought what better wisdom to bring to my favorite traveling readers – that’s you reading this right now (thank you for tuning in!) – than to share the inside scoop from these flight attendants.  I figure this article may make their jobs a little easier, but it will also help you have a better, safer, and more relaxed air travel experience!

Now at first a few of the flight attendants I spoke with were hesitant to share as they did not want their company to be discussed or want to be known to complain, but I promised them they would all be submitted anonymously.  These tips come straight from the mouth of several travel agents –and verified by other agents who say that there is much validity in all these tips! If you are a flight attendant and have more wisdom to impart – please comment or message me!  I want to share your wealth of knowledge too!

Some tips I found are specific to specific airlines (like about certain types of airplane models, different meal tips, layout of seats, etc), but here I am just sharing more “general” flying tips with you to get the most bang for your buck in reading these tips!

MAIN CONCERN:

Flight safety and authority. This issue was the most requested topic I share with you reader – WHY OH WHY do many passengers feel they know better than flight attendants and disregard safety instructions. Staying seated means staying seated!  Other ignored safety concerns are standing up during turbulence, ignoring seatbelt signs, and staying in galleys when asked to leave.  The galleys are not a hangout place. It is not a power play when a flight attendant asks you to step out. It’s not just because they don’t want to talk with you. Don’t take it personal. It’s a federal regulation and you know they’ve go to follow the rules too!

*What I learned from the attendants is that disregarding safety instructions CAN actually be punishable by fines in the thousands and jail time but luckily most attendants are just nice and don’t want to do that to people! So be considerate and listen when your flight attendant gives instruction.

FREEBIES:

Please do not demand free food or upgrades.  They are not allowed to give them out and do not have that discretion – BUT if you are super nice and courteous to your crew, they may just forget to come back and take payments for your meal or drinks.

DO NOT LIE:

Stop lying about your status or seat price. See that handy dandy “phone “in their hand?  They have all your information including your status, seat price, and what problems you may have endured or created on previous flights. *Notes are kept on passengers and if there is a pattern of bad behavior, you may find yourself banned from the airline.

KIDS FLYING ALONE:  DO NOT DO IT! 

As I was writing this draft last week I saw the article about the 9 and 7-year-old kids who were sent with a stranger employee to a hotel when their plane was delayed overnight! Eek I have a child this age and that would worry me to no end!  Please reconsider if you can!  Too many of my flight attendants’ friends have told me about kids being next to grown men and with the increase of sexual abuse on airplanes, I would not risk it unless you knew an adult that was flying with them.  Also, one thing for sure is people think the fee they pay is ensuring a “babysitter” on the flight and that is not the case. Kids are just escorted from agent to agent. It is not in their description to watch the child during the flight but a lot of the agents who are parents will go the extra mile and try to keep them taken care of.

DON’T ASK: 

Please do not ask where they will be staying when they land.  They are not allowed to share that information and there are major safety concerns and big violations if they share that info.

OTHER THINGS THE CABIN CREW WISH YOU KNEW

FORMS:

When they are handing out forms on the plane, please don’t declare you being American means you don’t need it. If you are given a form, you need to fill it out. When they try to explain please listen. PLEASE travel with a pen too! It is not your cabin crew’s responsibility to supply them. If you don’t get a form filled out, you may be held up in the customs hall or in the case of the Hawaiian agriculture forms fined upwards of $2500 for not filling the form of that flight gets audited.

TEMPERATURE:

They have set levels to maintain comfort for all not for individuals. Coming from a hot destination? More than likely while they were backing out of the gate and heading to the runway, you felt the cabin get warm and saw all the hands reach for the air vents, right? The plane was temporarily powered down and will soon really start cooling off the plane. Give the crew a moment to equalize the cabin temperature before panicking and hitting that call button.

HUNGRY?

Don’t depend on a certain meal on the aircraft. If you didn’t order special meals, then they won’t be able to ensure it. If you have dietary concerns, then please bring a meal onboard. If you did order a special meal, PLEASE call reservations 48 ahead to reconfirm the order and then let your flight attendant know BEFORE you board. They get a list of the special meals that were boarded, and they can make certain it is on our aircraft. Once they are in the air, they can’t do anything about it.

TRAVEL TIPS:

Ask your agent about your destination and some fun things that may be off the beaten track. Your crew probably flies to these spots day in and out and have experienced the tourist’s attractions and more local hang outs.  They can give you some insight differing from the tourist sites and blogs including the easiest and cheaper way to get around town!

AND MY FAVORITE TIP I STRONGLY AGREE WITH:

PLEASE KEEP YOUR SHOES ON – No bare feet on the plane!!!

This is one of the grossest things you can do. They have seen everybody fluid come in contact with the plane floors and they know how often (read: rare) they are sanitized. That is cringeworthy behavior. Bring some slippers if you can’t bear to wear shoes in flight unless you are a baby – then we won’t mind your cute toes! And for my sake and others I would add – please shower and wear deodorant before a flight!

AND A LAST FEW TIPS COMING TO YOU FIRSTHAND 

“Be nice to your cabin crew. Often saying hello back when we greet you, making eye contact when we speak to you and generally being polite can be enough to warrant us to want to treat you to a special treat. You’d be surprised how little people treat each other well. Most of the time we can “forget” to come back for a charge or pretend to swipe your card.”

“Check the menus. Sometimes we have lovely little treats available for your little ones. Duty free onboard can offer some great deals that you can’t find in the terminals or even special items only available from the plane.”

“Don’t be afraid to ask us if you need something. We carry sanitary napkins, first aid supplies and medications, some carriers still have diapers available. We understand that you may have ran out and are now trapped on the plane. We will give you whatever we have in supply or try to figure something out. We really do have enough medical supplies to provide emergency surgeries if need be but that’s a whole different subject on its own.”

“Let us know if you are celebrating something special! I always go out of my way to help you make this trip something to remember. We don’t often get supplied with anything specifically for these celebrations, but your flight attendant is used to making things out of nothing.”

“Please pay attention to all the warnings you get during the process. No airlines will allow you to make connections less than an hour without giving you a warning that it is too short. Please don’t get frantic and start yelling at your crew. Telling us you never got this warning cannot make us magically get to your next plane and we know you got the warning even if you ignored it!  So, a great tip is to give yourself the extra time between flights and grab a snack or drink in between instead of rushing and stressing out!”

“Remember your crew are people too. I’ve had coworkers arrive to flights with devastating situations occurring at home, but they always come with a smile on their face. Regardless of being the public’s punching bag at times, they love their jobs and find solace in the company of their fellow cabin crews. “

I know I am so grateful to the dozens (or maybe hundreds!) of flight attendants I have been lucky to have on my flights over the years and am grateful that they are there watching over us and keeping us safe and sound on our travel adventures!

DON’T FORGET TO TELL THEM “THANK YOU!”