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Flight attendants have seen it all. And I'm not just talking about traveling the world. This also applies to all the (unforeseen) scenarios they go through on the job.
So the next time these folks kindly tell you to return your seat to its upright position, just hit that button instead of giving them a hard time about it. Believe me, there's a reason to what they do and say. Even if you're not immediately aware of it.
Interested in taking a sneak peek at the inner workings of the airline industry, Reddit user bobbylink21 made a post on that platform, asking: "Flight attendants, what's the dirty little secrets of your industry?"
As the comment section grew, we picked the most interesting answers and found a few additional "submissions" from elsewhere on the internet. We then put everything together and ended up with this list that, I think, you'll be quite interested to see. Enjoy!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I used to be a flight attendant and when someone was really rude I’d just go to the computer we had to reset the inflight tv screens and I’d keep resetting theirs sporadically so that they couldn’t watch their movie. Very petty of me I know.
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#2
Not a secret - but if you’re nice you can get quite a bunch of stuff for free.
Example - I was on a flight home (American Airlines) and there was a baby behind us that was just nooooottt having it. Pretty much cried all the way from Phoenix to Chicago. I felt awful.
I was in the aisle, and saw that both the parents were taking turns walking around with the baby. So I asked them if they wanted something drink or a snack…I figured even the human interaction would be nice.
I ordered them something and just went back to my movie. A few minutes later - I got a tap on the shoulder and got a little 'goodie bag' with some treats, and drinks and a little voucher for 24 hour** access to the AA lounge.
Be nice people - it pays off!
#3
We won't hesitate to tape you to the seat if the situation demands it.
#4
Back pre-911 I was traveling globally for the military (not American. Canadian and Brit).
Whenever I stopped in at a major Canadian airport I would grab a mess of Air Canada luggage tags.
Alot of my American contemporaries would ask for them when flying commercial to put on their luggage, especially when flying through the Middle East and Africa.
The American luggage was targeted for abuser, theft, etc
They never touched Canadian bags.
#5
A friend of mine who works for Emirates told me this little gem. Whenever they fly into Saudi Arabia, Emirates makes the flight attendants lock the entire galley including all the food, water and drinks, all the napkins and cutlery too. This is beacuse in the past, Saudi Arabian authorities would come on board and literally take anything they want and walk out. And there was nothing the airline or staff could do.
#6
If you bring a box of chocolates for the flight crew, you will get all the free snacks (and sometimes beers) they can throw at you.
My old coworker had been a flight attendant for like 20 years and knew all the secrets. This was his best recommendation for a good flight.
June’s Very Own 2 years ago
You could also give them chocolates just for the sake of being nice too, you know
#7
The flight attendants already know what you are going to say. Every joke, come on, request, complaint. They KNOW you are going to say that thing. If this is their 3rd flight of the day, they’ve heard it 6 times already.
No one is clever on an airplane.
#8
I once overheard a phone call at the gate check-in. A flight attendant was hungover, slept-in and was going to be pretty late.
A minute later, the person at the kiosk made an announcement about how some pre-flight maintenance was going to delay the flight.
I was thinking like, 'you lying sonofab*tch'. Lol
#9
Flight attendants dont get paid on the ground. Only flying hours are paid. We are slave labor on the ground and duties are continually added to our unpaid work time because the company knows they dont have to pay us. We show up 2 to 3 hours before we even start getting paid and some days we will work up to 14 hrs and only get paid for 5 or 6 of those hours. It should be illegal.
Please be kind when you are boardng the plane and getting all pissy about your bags etc, the flight attendant is a volunteer while she is helping you on the ground, she is essentially doing you a favor.
#10
They ought to change the name "Flight Attendant" to reflect the PRIMARY responsibility instead of the incidental tasks performed when everything is going ok. I've been suggesting "Cabin Safety Officer" for years. I bet with that name, they'd have to take a lot less s**t.
Bella10 2 years ago
I honestly don’t mind being considered a glorified waitress in the sky, because I genuinely love hospitality. But if you have a heart attack, if you are hypoxic, if you need reassurance due to severe turbulence, if we need to evacuate, if there is a depressurisation, if there is a non normal situation and you need someone in control, then I can promise you, we’re highly trained. Call me a trolley dolly, and that is fine…. Hopefully it’s a good day at the office, and that’s all you think of us crew… but we have your back in an emergency 😉
#11
We have a list with every passenger’s full name and seat number. Sometimes when we’re bored we’ll Google you.
#12
Flight attendants get equally if not more annoyed when flights are delayed. A lot are paid only for the 'flight time' - meaning they aren't paid to sit at the airport to wait....or even to greet customers during onboarding...
For that reason alone, the longer the flight the better. Imagine working on a short route where your actual work is 3-4h but you're paid for 55 minutes as that was the duration of the flight.
#13
Used to work for a UK airline (non crew).
It was normal for passengers that died onboard to be kept in their seats until landing. They would be wrapped in blankets and propped up to look like they were sleeping to not freak out other passengers.
River Webb 2 years ago (edited)
what about the people next to them? but then again ig the body could be used as a headrest
Rosemary Probert 2 years ago
The person next to them is bribed to keep quiet with extra food and drinks making it look as if they are for the corpse.
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Sara Frazer 2 years ago
Uhh... So I just gotta say, this sounds like people pass on planes rather frequently..?? °~°
Busy Panda 2 years ago
Unfortunately... yeah. Being so high above the ground changes your environment significantly (like air temperature, air pressure, etc.) which although have been managed by the aircraft, still could affect the most vulnerable among us, namely pregnant women, babies, children, elderly people, and people with certain heart conditions.
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kathryn stretton 2 years ago
Well, they have nowhere to put them. Can't chuck 'em out the window!
Cathy 2 years ago
I thought I read somewhere that on every airplane there is a special place to put dead people 🤔 And a bag to put them in?
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Stephanie Wittenberg 2 years ago
On a plane in the air...what else could be done? Kudos to all the cabin crew who handle such traumas quietly and calmly. You're amazing!
Rustella 2 years ago
So if you're on a 10 hour flight and someone dies an hour after take off, you have to just sit next to their dead body for 9 hours??? I would be begging other passengers for sedatives...
Elwood Schwartz 2 years ago (edited)
Why? A dead person is far less dangerous than a live one...
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Sinkvenice 2 years ago
Dammit, I got the quote wrong. It's "Excuse me, don't disturb my friend... he's dead tired."
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Lukas-not-Luca (he/him) 2 years ago
For those wondering how many, Google says this: "A total of 577 in-flight deaths were recorded, for a reported average of 72 deaths per year."
Ece Cenker 2 years ago
HA! I just read this yesterday in Ozzy Osbourne's book (I Am Ozzy). He says this exact thing happened in the seat next to him on a Concord flight once!
Bob Standen 2 years ago (edited)
Hang on, when someone dies they lose bowl and bladder control, so you let them marinate in their body fluids seeping into the seat fabric? I'm pretty sure anyone front, back, sides would know something was very wrong in short notice.
Al Upinya 2 years ago
I had a Grayhound 1 way from AZ to L.A. with an H addict in the opposite aisle who lost his s**t in his seat, in his shorts from PHX to Kingman with it running in a river down his seat, onto the floor for 4 rows in front of him. Bus got to Kingman and had to be hosed out and the addict 86d off the bus.
Load More Replies... Mika N 2 years ago
What about cases where some quick action, like if there were any medical personnel on board, might help, but you don't know till you try? Do the flight attendants decide for themselves if the person is truly dead and just tuck them in and leave them without seeking professional assistance? It seems if you had a doctor come check them though then more people around them might be aware something happened. Just trying to figure out how that would work without flight staff being accused of neglect or something.
Scarlett Barbee 2 years ago
We have all read / heard of people on planes getting sick and passengers being asked if there is a doctor present. So no, if they know someone is sick/having a medical emergency, they try to help. This is abouy when the passenger just quietly passes away.
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GA Chic 2 years ago
As a recently retired flight attendant with 51yrs with a large USA based airline that statement is absolutely true. I had 5 passengers pass on my flights. I flew with someone that lost over 20. Of course that doesn't include the ones we were able to save with a defibrillator or those that expired on the plane while still at the gate or in the jet bridge. People need to allow extra time when flying. Between traffic, wrecks, searching for a parking space, long lines for Security, rushing to the gate - all can lead to heart irregularities and other potentially life-changing/life-threatening issues.
Faith Nicole 2 years ago
Isn't there an undercarriage for dead bodies? I mean that's kinda creepy, it's gonna be obvious to those around the body to know it's dead
FreeBird * 2 years ago
Is quiet falling asleep in your seat deaths super common or something? Otherwise, it makes perfect sense to do that, honestly.
Alicia GriffonLady 2 years ago
What do they do about the smell? When a person dies the... erm... excreitment and urine just flow out with no muscles able to keep them in.
Kevin Martin 2 years ago
If you're flying to Sydney from San Francisco, the smell might be a tipoff.
Amy Stone-Chandler 2 years ago
Easier then trying maneuver a dead body to the luggage hold. I don't think this is accurate anymore though. Dead bodies urinate, pass games and 💩. Also depending on length of flight, smell
Dorothy Nedderneyer 2 years ago
Duh!! Makes sense. Landing at an airport over the ocean isn't easy or in mid-U.S. Not to mention the family would need to make arrangements and pay the cost of transporting the body. At least being at their destination, there would be people who knew the passenger...be it family, clients, or co-workers.
Shelley Dawson 2 years ago
As cabin crew, this is a very rare occurrence. That is the procedure depending on certain circumstances but it is not 'normal' as it is so rare.
Alex Doiron 2 years ago
I'm going to call b******t on this one. How do you know they are dead? Are you a doctor. If not then you found a passenger in medical distress and refused to provide the basics of first aid. That is a criminal offence in most countries/jurisdictions.
Beth Swiers 2 years ago
As a RN I can tell you a corpse begins to smell in about a hour. I would hope a long haul flight knows how to deal with that
Amber Dobson 2 years ago
So if they die is flight instead of CPR they get a blanket? Not exactly legal. Sounds fake
Nazda Pokmov 2 years ago
No wonder some of the fellow passengers over the yeas didn't look like they were sleeping
Queen fhk 2 years ago
When someone dies instantaneously there is no smell it can only take about 48hrs for a dead body to start smelling due to decay
Load More Replies... #14
Former flight attendant here. First of all I’d like to say that everything varies from airline to airline and country to country. I worked for a Latin American airline. The environment was quite toxic, there was A LOT of harassment from the pilots and copilots.. some of them would abuse the position of power they had to make some indecent proposals to the air hostesses. Maybe this is not a secret but for me it was a shock when a pilot (aged 40+) would text me during my days off to hang out (I was 19), I don’t even know from where he got my number and I felt very uncomfortable around him. This was nothing in comparison to other things that many of us experienced.
#15
Source: my mom is a flight attendant.
When flight attendants greet you as you step on the plane, they're doing two things: 1) checking to see if you're drunk/stoned, and 2) checking to see if you're strong/buff, so in the event of an emergency they can tap you in if need be (i.e. need to pull open the emergency door or lift something, etc.)
Fried Mermaid 2 years ago
I've read this one long ago in a different thread. Last time I flew to visit my home country, when I was leaving, was crying my ass off, and remembered the scanning the attendants had to do. Many of them asked me I was ok, and many others looked at my eyes and just lowered their heads. Felt like a nice gesture, them trying to give me some privacy surrounded by a lot of people and being extra nice the rest of the flight
#16
My friend is a flight attendant, she told me they change their emergency code words every few months. Once an emergency code word (could be something like “marvellous”) is used by a crew member when speaking over PA to pilot, pilot will automatically lock cockpit and not open the door again no matter what.
#17
A significant number of them are homeless. Living out of their suitcase and the crew break room.
I was a pilot for a low paying regional airline in the US. The pay for new flight attendants is pathetically low. Since they spend 90% of their lives on the road anyway some don’t have a permanent place to live.
#18
Not a flight attendant, but used to be a supervisor for a major US carrier. We had an employee whose child had a science project about germs. She brought her kid in on an overnighted aircraft and they took samples from all over. The galley, lavoratories, seats, tray tables, just about everywhere. The area with the most amount of fecal matter was the tray tables. Yep. I also never drink anything that is never sealed because I have witnessed cleaners who clean the lavoratories then jump to the galley without changing gloves.
#19
Flight attendant here.
If someone acts like a major jerk mid flight, we will have security meet you on the ground at the destination.
We have limited resources available, so if you get b****y about wanting steak but we only have chicken left, there are literally zero things we can do about it. There is only so much space we have to stock all the goodies.
There may be major drama going on between crew members, but we do our best to hide it and give good customer service. I have literally cried behind a wall before because a crew member was being condescending and rude, and walked out into the cabin smiling afterward.
We make fun of people for being rude, being inconsiderate of others, playing videos out loud, clipping toenails, eating salt dried fish and leaving the bones on the floor.....
People will literally ask us about mileage points and why they didn’t get upgrades and why their bag got delayed and how they’re going to miss their connection. If there is a major delay flying into a city, we literally hide in galleys to avoid people asking us questions.
If a passenger is rude to our face, we will crunch up the snack mix or cookie before handing it to them, essentially giving them a bag of crumbs.
#20
I worked for the ground crew at a private airport. Flights from other countries have to throw away all uneaten food right off the plane, as it is International Waste, and needs to be incinerated.
Additionally, if flights for private planes are delayed, their food that was standing by has to go somewhere... So they gave it to us. So tasty.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
My first job was with a rental car company at the local airport. Got to know all the airline folks, and the people from the catering company that supplied flights with meals. Got a LOAD of free meals when a flight landed and the plane would be staying at the airport overnight. They can’t (or couldn’t back then, not sure about now) use the meals the next day, and were just going to throw them out, so gave away as many as anyone wanted. Remember, these were complete hot meals with side dishes and desserts, so way more filling than just snacks. I was 19, in my first apartment, and making $3.45/hour (1979, when minimum wage was $2.90/hour) when I started working there, so those free meals kept me going when money was tight. This was back in the late seventies to early eighties at a midsized airport. Probably not like that anymore—-though I’d be so happy to find out differently!
#21
Nobody is ever pronounced dead on a commercial flight. The crew will perform CPR until the body is removed from the plane. Otherwise, the coroner’s office can impound the aircraft for days, until their investigation is complete. If a physician on board declares the patient dead, well, bummer for the airline. More than once I came in to work to find a deceased passenger in the locker room, waiting for the coroner to pick up the body.
Also, dead people are transported as cargo on commercial flights. We refer to them as human remains. If you see a long rectangular cardboard box the size of a coffin being carefully loaded into a cargo bin by several rampers, it’s human remains.
Jette Wang Wahnon 2 years ago
It is not all gloom and doom though...I had a flight Lisbon-copenhagen with a stop-over in Madrid.My dog was travelling with me in his carrier.Due to his size he was in the cargo area.Whenever I travel with my dogs I make certain they are onboard before I enter and when we were boarding the plane in Madrid again I noticed a large box being carried onboard.We took off and after a while the flight attendant came back to coach were I was sitting and asked me to accompany her to first class...yuppie,I thought,I have been up-graded !!....arrive at the 1st class and see my dog lounging in a seat with a silly grin while adoring crew are feeding him goodies..??? a coffin had come on board in Madrid and laws forbid animals to travel in the same compartment as deceased...The pooch didn´t even acknowledge my presence...he was living the life of Brian !
#22
You have a set limit of how many hours you can fly, and you need 12 hours of rest between duties, i've once seen a pilot Wait 2 unnecessary minutes to turn off the engine to make the flight attendant out of hours for the next day.
Sleazy Weaver 2 years ago (edited)
this isn't phrased very well, i can see others are getting confused. let me try to explain: flight attendents have to work x amount of hours before they're required to take 12 hours of rest. otherwise, tired or not, they'll be scheduled to work more. on one flight, the pilot kept the plane on for extra long to use up the last of the flight attendants' hours so they could have a mandatory day off to rest without the airline taking advantage of them having time left (even just two minutes) & scheduling them to work another flight. the pilot was doing the flight attendants a favor; the airline industry has such thin margins for turning a profit that they take advantage of employees whenever possible. the pilot was helping combat this by ensuring his coworkers would have time to rest whether the company likes it or not.
#23
The only dirty thing about my job was the airplanes. they never wash the floors, the seats. it’s gross.
#24
The Galley!
Not a Flight Attendant but exEngineer and trust me, if the aircraft galley were inspected like any other food business it would be condemned within the first trolley!
That’s excluding the dirty water tanks and cleaning crew using one rag from ceiling lights to floor trim.
If you ask anyone who maintains aircraft, you bet they’re buying their meal at the airport.
Phill Healey 2 years ago
That's why aircraft meals are typically made at a special facility and are delivered sealed. They are then just steam heated onboard the aircraft
#25
There's a 600 page book in the cockpit with every. Single. Thing. that can possibly go wrong, from a bulb going out to an engine falling off, a biohazard or a bomb threat.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Makes sense. 99.9% of pilot, and I sure hope flight attendant, training consists of “what-if” scenarios. Everything from an unruly drunk passenger to a hijacker to a bird strike to a bomb. Only a tiny portion has to do with the perfect flight. Why do you think the crew is so calm when there’s an emergency? They don’t panic because they know exactly what to do. When you’re in a situation like that, it’s the not knowing that can make you panic. Training eliminates that, by having you concentrate on the next step instead.
#26
I used to work as a flight attendant and I've seen a lot of stupid and crazy [stuff]. The alcoholism, drug abuse and depression is common in the domain. It's hard for a lot of people to live a superficial life. It's fun at first to see new places and new destinations. But at some point rome or new delhi is just another place at work. Sound downing but I've seen a lot people complain about this and me as well.
Shelley Dawson 2 years ago
I don't know about the depression but you're right about cities of dreams being just another place to visit. When I stopped flying and returned to the UK, I'd mention placed where funny things had happened and people were so jealous. They didn't realise what it is like to wake up in the morning (or evening) not knowing where you are and what day it is.
#27
This little secret has been in the news lately, pilots and flight attendants are usually only paid when the aircraft door is closed. I am a flight attendant for a regional carrier get paid per diem, about two dollars an hour from the moment we sign in until the moment our trip is finished. However, our hourly rate is only paid when the doors closed.
While the hourly rate might sound good ($20-50+ depending on carrier and seniority) we are typically only paid 75 to 85 hours a month.
#28
I buddy of mine has been a pilot for the better part of 30 years and says that back 15-20 years ago the Russian/Soviet pilots and crew had to been watched like hawks (sometimes even being locked in a room) because there was a high chance of them getting absolutely s**t faced before when they were supposed to fly.
#29
There is an alarming amount of things that can be broken/inop on a MEL (minimum equipment list) and the airplane can still fly.
Sleazy Weaver 2 years ago (edited)
actually, this is pretty cool. the parts that make or break a plane are so interesting. most commercial jets can survive with a busted engine or two depending how many it has, but a problem with the jackscrew can take a plane out of the sky with no hope of survival. even a hole in the plane isn't certain death because they're designed with so many failsafes & emergency protocols. it's actually in a plane's best interest to be able to function on minimal equipment, but have enough onboard anyway to make flight safer & easier. problems most often arise when airlines skimp on maintenance because of razor thin margins to turn a profit. the airline industry is garbage but planes themselves are cool as hell.
#30
I was a flight attendant: we had a boiler in the back galley that provided warm water that we used to serve hot drinks (coffee/tea/chocolate).
Well, the tanks in which water is stored are rarely cleaned thoroughly.
I had that water myself every now and then (since it was the only free thing we were allowed to take from the bar -we had to pay for water bottles!!!-), but if I fly as a passenger I try to avoid it as much as I can!
I can’t even imagine the amount of germs and mold that can be forming in those tanks!!
Ah, also, the water intake for the refill of that tank is centimeters away from the waste disposal valve…
June’s Very Own 2 years ago
I’m genuinely surprised. Is there no inspectors who come in and test the cleanliness of airplanes at all? It sounds like they have free reign to be lazy.
#31
The toilets are near where we sit, and no matter how hard you try to cover the fact that you’re taking a dump. It makes a different noise than if you just go number 1.
No matter what stupid thing you see or read about getting a 'free upgrade' 99% of the time it’s all bollocks.
#32
My primary job, is 'Credit Card Salesman'.
My secondary job, is preventing people from writing letters to corporate or appearing on the 6-O'clock news.
My tertiary job is to keep us from getting sued when you run to the bathroom during turbulance.
#33
FA here... crop dusting. Basically farting whilst we walk down the aisle due to the bloating. If you fly frequently theres a high chance an fa has farted right by your head as they walked down the aisle.
#34
Flying isnt glamourous, one of my friend got spit on and cornered by a passenger and the company and the police did absolutely nothing about it. Also have heard of a few pilots trying to get sexual favors in flight, to no avail (from my knowledge).
#35
Pilots are on their phones or reading the newspaper all the time.
What do you think ?
Mr Zipperface 2 years ago
A plane has just landed at it's destination and the pilot makes the standard "Welcome to..." announcement, then thinking he has switched off the PA, he turns to the copilot and says "Well I'm going to have a s**t, shave and a shower then I'm going to f**k that new flight attendant senseless". The FA in question is at the back of the plane and upon hearing this, she starts to run down the aisle to alert the pilot to his mistake, halfway there she trips and falls flat on her face at the feet of a little old lady who looks down at her, smiling, and says "It's ok honey you don't need to rush, he said he's going to have a s**t, shave and shower first!"
Freya the Wanderer 2 years ago
Quite a few of these are worthy of being added to my long, long list of Reasons to Drive Instead.
Roald 2 years ago
A lot of the misery of the crew would be solved by raising the ticket prices, so they would get decent salaries and not get squeezed out with insane rosters. This has been going on for decades. Why? Everybody wants to fly for 29 euros to Madrid, so airlines are in a race to the bottom with ticket prices, else the likes of Ryan or Easyjet will scoop up the passenger. It is not more complicated.
Aileen Horowitz 2 years ago
Shareholders and CEO'S would just take the increase like they do now. Do you seriously think the executive suite isn't paid outrageously? The airlines needs to pay FA an annual salary or pay FA for actual hours worked.
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Mr Zipperface 2 years ago
A plane has just landed at it's destination and the pilot makes the standard "Welcome to..." announcement, then thinking he has switched off the PA, he turns to the copilot and says "Well I'm going to have a s**t, shave and a shower then I'm going to f**k that new flight attendant senseless". The FA in question is at the back of the plane and upon hearing this, she starts to run down the aisle to alert the pilot to his mistake, halfway there she trips and falls flat on her face at the feet of a little old lady who looks down at her, smiling, and says "It's ok honey you don't need to rush, he said he's going to have a s**t, shave and shower first!"
Freya the Wanderer 2 years ago
Quite a few of these are worthy of being added to my long, long list of Reasons to Drive Instead.
Roald 2 years ago
A lot of the misery of the crew would be solved by raising the ticket prices, so they would get decent salaries and not get squeezed out with insane rosters. This has been going on for decades. Why? Everybody wants to fly for 29 euros to Madrid, so airlines are in a race to the bottom with ticket prices, else the likes of Ryan or Easyjet will scoop up the passenger. It is not more complicated.
Aileen Horowitz 2 years ago
Shareholders and CEO'S would just take the increase like they do now. Do you seriously think the executive suite isn't paid outrageously? The airlines needs to pay FA an annual salary or pay FA for actual hours worked.
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