When you board a airplane, you expect a pleasant flight with as much comfort as you could get.
But your comfort — and safety too, for that matter, — heavily depends on your friendly
flight attendants. Of course, they won’t say anything, but there are things they frown
upon —[no!] and one that they just loathe. But I’m getting ahead of myself. So, if
you really want a nice journey, you should keep in mind not to do those things that earn
you the wrath of the flight attendants. Starting with…
#1. Going to the airplane bathroom while boarding It may sound like common sense not to do so,
but you’ve probably seen people doing it anyway. Reasons might be different, the most
common one being the passenger running awfully late and not having had a chance to use the
bathroom beforehand. That’s understandable for sure, but still, if you’re not in a
hurry to board a plane, it’s best to do your business in advance.
If you wonder why flight attendants care about this, it’s quite simple: they get punished
if a boarding takes too long. Say what?! Yep, they can be fined for time not well-spent,
even if it’s not their fault at all! And when there’s a line of passengers waiting
to use the bathroom while everyone else is looking for their seats, delays are guaranteed.
Let’s be people, people!
#2. Taking too much carry-on There are airports that don’t really check
how many bags you take on board, granted. But this doesn’t mean you should smuggle
two backpacks and three handbags the size of that blue IKEA bag. The overhead bins on
board the plane are limited in size, [A B C] and you share them with other passengers,
remember that? So when [IKEA] you take too much carry-on with you, two unpleasant things
happen at once: one, you make other people wait while you put all your stuff up there,
and two, those people who’ve been waiting for you can’t put their own bags into the
bins because you’ve hogged them. I’d be upset, you know.
On top of that, it’s flight attendants’ duty to help those unfortunate passengers
cram their belongings inside. Doesn’t sound cool, and it’s not. They waste precious
time — yours too, by the way! [Departures Time Destination Flight Gate Status 12 30
Paris 20401 D4 Delay] Imagine your flight delayed just because someone has taken too
many bags with them? Hmm, I’d rather not be that person.
#3. Bringing sources of strong smells That includes food you take on board with
you, heavily perfumed items, and those socks you’ve been wearing the whole day, uh…whole
week. The plane’s cabin is airtight, and the air [recycle] inside is constantly recycled.
I’m sure you’ve noticed how different it feels to breathe when you’re high up
in the air. And now picture someone unwrap a lunch box with boiled fish inside, still
almost hot. Ugh… The whole cabin will soon know there’s something fishy going on. Flight
attendants are not an exception, and even more, they are working, and will have to stay
and get rid of the smell after the flight is over. Enough to ruin your day for good.
But even pleasant smells can get on your nerves when there’s just too much of them. That
perfumed piece of handmade soap you carry on with you has a wonderful aroma, but only
for the first few minutes. When it gets more intense, you’ll probably get dirty looks
from your fellow passengers, and your flight attendants might ask you to stash that fragrant
thingy someplace safe. Or just to step outside… The most impolite thing to do with smells,
though, is perhaps taking off your shoes. Oh, I know that feeling when you’ve just
spent several long hours in the terminal, and then you’re finally aboard and just
itching to let your feet relax a bit. But hey, when you take your shoes off, everyone
else has to smell them. No one can stop you from doing that, of course, but that’s just
about being a good neighbor.
#4. Leaving your headphones on This boils down to respect, pure and simple.
When a flight attendant approaches you to ask a question, it’s polite to take off
your headphones and pay them your full attention. With this simple [rec] gesture you can make
their day. It’s always nice to feel you’re not invisible to the passengers! After all,
you’re not listening to music or watching movies when a waiter approaches you at a restaurant,
right? So why should flight attendants be any different?
Anyway, besides being polite, by taking your headphones off, you let them do their job
fluently. And that, as I mentioned earlier, is something they’re always thankful for.
#5. Asking to switch seats Flight attendants confess that one of the
most frustrating things is when passengers start trying to persuade them to change their
seat assignments. The thing is, they simply can’t do that. [ticket 27A] You have your
seat assignment in your ticket and boarding pass, and changing it on the spot may create
a mess. And once again, it also makes flight attendants waste their time on explanations
when they could be actually doing their job, which is, honestly, a lot of things.
By the way, the key one of those things is ensuring your safety during the flight, so…
#6. Getting up while the “Fasten your seatbelts” sign is on
This flashing sign isn’t there just for decoration. It’s actually more of an imperative
to make sure you stay safe. When taking off, taxiing, and landing, as well as during turbulence,
you should stay seated and fasten your belt in case anything happens. Even flight attendants
themselves follow this rule! So when you get up to stretch your legs or use the bathroom,
you create a potentially dangerous situation both for yourself and your fellow passengers.
It’s not cool to find yourself kissing the floor when an especially unpleasant shock
goes through the plane during turbulence.
#7. Constantly pressing the call button Okay, flight attendants are there for your
benefit and comfort. But there are a couple hundred of other passengers with you and only
several attendants to serve them. If you insistently press the call button for no good reason,
chances are you’ll be asked to stop doing that — or even ignored completely. Their
job is not all fun and games, and if they realize you’re abusing the button, they
might pretend they have more pressing concerns at hand. Usually, though, those concerns are
more pressing. Of course, they risk being reprimanded for not attending your call if
it’s something serious, but they’re people too, give them a break!
#8. Asking about the menu “What do you have?” is on the list of
questions no flight attendant would like to hear. That’s because the menu is normally
in the pocket right in front of you, and you have plenty of time to choose what you want
to eat and drink before the meal is served. When you ask a flight attendant what they
have, you make other passengers wait longer and get edgy — consider this when you take
your time ordering your food and drinks. For me, it’s enough to imagine that someone
does this while I’m waiting for the flight attendant to arrive with that deliciously
smelling cart.
#9. Not giving your trash to the flight attendants One of the downsides of working as a flight
attendant is that you only get paid for the hours of actual flight. All the work you do
while on land is free. [thanks for your work] I know, it’s terribly unfair, but that’s
how it is. And who do you think keeps the airplane clean after the flight? Yep, it’s
them too. It’s never fun when someone adds to your workload without adding to your paycheck
as well, right? So, out of respect for your flight attendants, please hand in your trash
when they walk along the rows with the bin. Don’t stash it in the magazine pocket or
let it lie around somewhere else — it takes too much time to fetch it afterwards.
It’s also good to remember that you should only give your trash when the flight attendants
are collecting it specifically. It’s a bit weird to do so when they hand out meals or
drinks. After all, they don’t even have any bin to throw it into. You expect them
to put your used napkin into their pocket or something?
#10. Not listening to the safety presentation If you travel by plane a lot, you might think
you know it all already and simply relax while the flight attendants are presenting safety
instructions. Some people even turn on the music in their headphones or start talking
to their friends. [united KLM] Well, okay, granted, safety presentations are really similar
on most airlines, but it’s still worth it to refresh them in your memory before the
flight. Hopefully, you won’t need them, but things happen, and you need all the knowledge
you can get in case they do. Flight attendants know it better than anyone, so they get really
frustrated when passengers ignore the instructions.
#11. Touching flight attendants to get their attention
Remember I told you about one thing all flight attendants loathe? Well, this is it. We all
agree that touching a complete stranger in the street or on public transport is out of
the question. Same goes for any other public place, including cafes, for example. You don’t
grab your waiter by the arm when you want them to listen, do you? But on the airplane,
many people seem to forget about this rule. It’s absolutely not fine to poke or grab
a flight attendant for any reason, just like any other person. Some attendants say, though,
that there are people who find it okay to touch them by the knee or ankle when they
pass by. I don’t know about you, but for me that’s just creepy.
Well, Bright Siders, what are things you don’t like that passengers do on board airplanes?
Let me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give this video
a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don’t go touching the flight
attendant just yet! Didn’t you hear what I just said? Anyway, we have over 2,000 cool
videos for you to check out. All you have to do is pick the left or right video, click
on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side of life!