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Flight Attendant Confesses Ups And Downs Of Job
An anonymous woman who said she is a 22-year-old flight attendant for a major airline urged Reddit users to ask her anything in an open forum over the weekend. The candid Q&A session turned into a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a flight attendant, including a tell all on the weird things passengers ask for, a discussion on how many people really try to join the mile high club and a confession about the kind of shenanigans that really happen between lonely crew members at outposts. Keep reading to learn more about the ups and downs of the job, including why you should be nice while on board a plane. Just be warned this post is most definitely NSFW (not safe for work).
Q: What is the most crazy request you have been asked by a passenger?
Q: What is the most crazy request you have been asked by a passenger?
A: Crazy? Goodness.
- A bag to spit in. I had to confirm several times the word spit
- A lady with a neck brace "I need soft food I will have rice" (The menu items did not include rice even after explaining she kept ordering things that just didn't exist)
- Hot fried chips
- Nappies
- Ice cream
- My number
- On a Lagos flight a passenger told me he wanted to masturbate. I directed him to the on board toilet.
If it exists a passenger has asked me for it. They ask for EVERYTHING.
Q: What is the best thing about being a flight attendant?
A: Best thing? I feel obvious but new destinations, I get a small taste of EVERYTHING I love it so much, I get to see smell and taste so much. I meet friends all over the world and party like a rockstar everywhere I go because I know I wont be there for long.
Q: What is the pay like? Besides being able to travel all over the world, are there any other benefits, either monetary or otherwise?
Q: What is the pay like? Besides being able to travel all over the world, are there any other benefits, either monetary or otherwise?
A: About 38k US a year, free rent transport and bills, all I pay is internet and taxi. 90% off tickets.
Q: Are there as many people joining the mile high club in the bathroom as television portrays it?
Q: Are there as many people joining the mile high club in the bathroom as television portrays it?
A: Yes people try to join the mile high club. Let me tell you something, those toilets are FILTHY. Absolute FILTH. People shit in the sinks.
Moving on, I caught a lesbian couple in the toilets we had to get three crew to bang open the door and make them come out. She responded with[,] "We were trying to piss[.]"
A crew was fired for getting drunk while she was a passenger flying somewhere and joining a gentleman in the lavatory.
A women had TWO men going at it on a flight from Manchester. Crew opened the door on them and the female tried to assault the crew. When the men went to their connecting flight they were arrested. Not sure what happened to them!
Q: Do people really get bumped to first class if there is a conflict with another passenger?
A: With the question of bumping people yes we move people but generally not for conflict. A month ago on one of my flights economy was full and this gentleman had changed seats several times to accommodate couples, families etc who needed to change seats. He didnt care where he sat and was so gracious. So we moved him to business class. Lesson, be nice!
If you are ill (severely) you will usually be moved to business or first if there aren't many people in those cabins to recuperate and lie down at the discretion of the seniors.
Q: What's something a passenger has done that you've really appreciated, or was just really nice?
A: I've had passengers write comment cards about me, they get given to me via emails from my manager, which is so nice ... i love them[.]
Q: When do you plan on settling down? This job doesn't seem like the type where you can keep a stable relationship.
Q: When do you plan on settling down? This job doesn't seem like the type where you can keep a stable relationship.
A: I know :( I hope it's around 25 ... I am 22 now and I love the job so I think two or so more years before I move back home and find love ... I will never find a stable relationship in the industry, it is unstable. I want a stable relationship but I wont find it here[.]
Q: Since you fly so much, do you happen to have any sexual urges while in a different country? Do you get off to hooking up with passengers or do you go somewhere to get some?
Q: Since you fly so much, do you happen to have any sexual urges while in a different country? Do you get off to hooking up with passengers or do you go somewhere to get some?
A: Yep! I um see friends in outstations. I have had some encounters in Hong Kong and I have a few 'friends' in Dubai. It's really hard and you get really lonely so you look for any guy to meet you after flights. All the crew sleep with each other in outstation. It's a big problem, the cabin crew are desperate to sleep with pilots and senior crew. You have crew call you in the middle of the night in your room, especially pilots!
Q: How long do you stay in each city?
Q: How long do you stay in each city?
A: Usually 24-72 hours[.]
Q: What's your favourite city in the world?
Q: What's your favourite city in the world?
A: I cannot name one but I will try to do it region wise
1) Hong Kong (The most fun)
2) Vienna (Amazing food, people, scenery)
3) Moscow (Fascinating, so closed for so long)
4) Melbourne, Australia (Diverse, charming filled with character)
I find some redeeming quality in every city I visit.
Q: What are your thoughts on flight etiquette (e.g. when it's okay to put your seat all the way back). Is there a classic faux pas we should know about?
Q: What are your thoughts on flight etiquette (e.g. when it's okay to put your seat all the way back). Is there a classic faux pas we should know about?
A: Seat back if your legs are too long and when not eating. During the meal seats up and if you're short, it's not really necessarily. But otherwise seats up for everyone when eating, you can do whatever you want after service.
Q: I'd like to be a flight attendant to see what it's like to travel and interact. Would I have to go through an exorbitant amount of training before I can work?
Q: I'd like to be a flight attendant to see what it's like to travel and interact. Would I have to go through an exorbitant amount of training before I can work?
A: I did 7 weeks! So worth it... I felt so ready. The training is hard but it paid [off] for me[.]
Q: How do you adjust being in the air so often, and with different time zones and all that? When I fly from the US to Singapore, by the time of the end of the trip I want to actually throw up. Air gets so thin, and the airline food is pretty bad even on Singapore Airlines. I literally need to have a can of sprite when flying on long flights next to me once every hour, slowly sipping until the soda is done to keep sane.
Q: How do you adjust being in the air so often, and with different time zones and all that? When I fly from the US to Singapore, by the time of the end of the trip I want to actually throw up. Air gets so thin, and the airline food is pretty bad even on Singapore Airlines. I literally need to have a can of sprite when flying on long flights next to me once every hour, slowly sipping until the soda is done to keep sane.
A: You never really adjust. I just did three middle of the night flights and I can't stay awake in the day, so I have been nocturnal for a week. Some things that I do to keep myself sane is as soon as I get on board I get a bottle of 1.5L water and make myself drink it all. Then I brew a big pot of mint tea after the service and make myself drink that throughout the flight too. Keeping hydrated is valuable to my sanity and mood. We have one trip that is four days long and you have 24 hours in each port but the whole flights are nighttime only. It is TORTURE. Key points 1) Stay hydrated 2) Stay rested (sleep whenever you are tired) 3) Eat smart (this means no business class cheese boards or first class caviar, stick to fresh food only) For me eating right is the hardest, you're so tired you just want to SHOVE chocolate in your mouth. If I follow the above I am totally fine on board. On flights over 10 hours or so we get rest (sleep) in the crew bunks[.]
Q: What airline/flight benefits or perks do you get as a result of your job?
Q: What airline/flight benefits or perks do you get as a result of your job?
A: 90% [Off] Flights
Hotel discounts
Event discounts
Free tickets to events
For more adventures in the sky, be sure to follow our resident flight attendant, Heather Poole, in her "Galley Gossip" column.
Please note: These questions and answers have been edited slightly to fit an interview format.
[Photo credit: Flickr user laszlo-photo]
For more adventures in the sky, be sure to follow our resident flight attendant, Heather Poole, in her "Galley Gossip" column.
Please note: These questions and answers have been edited slightly to fit an interview format.
[Photo credit: Flickr user laszlo-photo]
Filed under: Airlines, News, Airline Reviews
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Les Dec 5th 2012 10:22AM
Exactly after the colgan crash you would think something would change but it hasnt. The flying public is clueless about the pilots being "fit" to fly or the germ, bacteria infested unclean aircraft they walk around barefoot on to the lav! Hello that is not water on the floor and no ceo is gonna give his bonus up to get the aircraft a decent cleaning crew. All they do is pick up trash and cross seatbelts. There is no cleaning involved i recommend carrying clorox wipes and wiping your area down esp before eating on that tray table were some mom just changed a diaper instead of doing it in the lav...
Barry A Clarke Dec 5th 2012 1:20AM
Hmmm, it seems the easiest way to become part of the "mile high club" is do in in Denver or Mexico City where elevation is above 5,280 feet MSL. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the airline crew opening the lavatory door to join you...............
Florencebrady Dec 5th 2012 1:53AM
Oh for the good old days! In 1974, my job sent me to Alaska. The late night flight home was a wide body plane, (configuration: 2seats on each side and 4 in the middle) and almost empty. We were told to sit wherever we wanted so of course, first class filled immediately.
A coworker and I had developed an attraction to one another, but hadn't acted on it. Totally out of character we both decided to have an adventure to remember!
We went into the huge coach section. We chose seats in the middle and there was literally nobody within ten rows of us. The arm rests lifted so we could have the length of four seats to stretch out.
Airplane blankets back then were just as small as they are today, so we grabbed
half a dozen of them. A half hour into the flight when everybody else appeared to be sleeping, we hid under the blankets and had sex.
I didn't hear the term "mile high club" until years later. (And my response to doing it in the bathroom was yuck)
Mike Dec 5th 2012 1:51AM
Why would anyone not believe her comments about lots of sex during layovers? Her generation has come of age during the time of the casual hook-up. Of course young flight attendants have sex with passengers, other crew, and other guests at hotels. In the same light why would anyone BELIEVE the the 40-60 year old flight attendants who claim sex never happens. Maybe not now for them because they are too old or overweight to get any BUT when those 60 year olds were young fa's, they were the ones dressed in hot pants and mini-skirts advertising their airlines with sex appeal. It is silly to pretend that those members of the "pill generation" didn't have rampant sex.
Mary Dec 5th 2012 2:25AM
I hate flying and if I can drive there in two days I will drive. That being said, flight attendants make the ordeal bearable. The really bad things are airports and navigating them with arthritic feet, short layovers and, as this attendant said, those FILTHY lavatories. I try to take my "casino purses" that can be worn cross body with essentials in them so I don't have to even hang them on the door.
Steven R. Russell Dec 5th 2012 3:26AM
Praise God, the Bible tells us that every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Randy Dec 5th 2012 3:48AM
I'll never forget an attendent name Kathy, on United, I was young GI going to Vietnam, scared to death....and on a really rough flight to CA, She up graded me to first class, and since it was a night flight, she spent a fair amount of time sitting on the arm of my seat tallking to me...even offering to show me around San Francisco. Alas, I never got off the post to meet her, but I still remember that beatiful older woman...LOL of about "22" with the heart of gold, I only hope she knew how much her attention ment to me! An average looking scared GI
So, give the attendents a break, and if Kathy reads this...I made it home OK
Adam Dec 5th 2012 7:08AM
I'm a flight attendant. I'm Male. Straight. And have an at home girlfriend. I've been a flight attendant for over 6 years now. Never ONCE did I hook up with a fellow crew member. Sure I've lined up dates in outstations before, but only once in 6 years have I ever met a passenger from one of my flights, and it was after 2 years of texting, and facebooking. In the end nothing happened with her either.
My rent isn't paid for me. I made almost 50 thousand this year and most of that went twoards rent and food. Took me 6 years to make that much and I had to forgoe alot of spare time flying on my "off" days to do it.
I fly for free on most domestic airlines, but with the state of the industry today it's NOT easy. Flights on my airline are always so full I have to take the jumpseat (if there happens to be an opening for that as well) to get places.
This 22 year old is in for a rude awakening when she returns to the "Real" world.
Goose Dec 5th 2012 1:03PM
How do they get two people in a lavatory? I can barely fit myself in there and can't even stand straight up. Unless you are midgets; you cannot get two people in a lavatory on a Boeing 737.
Flygirl Dec 5th 2012 11:44AM
Kristen where are you hearing about crashes all the time? Cable tv movies?? There has not been a a major crash in years. Listen to the mechanic above. Its much more dangerous to drive everyday than to fly. Actually its crazy to use cell phones on the plane during taxing. That's the most dangerous part of your airline experience!!! It sounds like you should not be a flight attendant if you are worried about crashing. Most of us dont worry about that. We are highly trained individuals. Unlike that 22 Emirates girl who does get free room and board. Only one US Airline back in the 80s was out if control sleeping around. A Small Tx Airline-I knew people there but they got over it...Professional now. Also the stories about 747 I have heard them too. Capt Dave I believe you. I was not flying then but people told me about them/ times have changed THANK Goodness. 70's are gone too. We are in a new safer era/ I fly with an airline where you would get fired if you did any of the mentioned stuff she wrote about. Shame on AOL for highlighting her article and setting flight crews back 30 years!!
Andy B Dec 5th 2012 1:49PM
Wow, I am a retired male flight attendant and let me say this new hire is blowing smoke. First of all she is on reserve and has no idea where and when she is flying. Most of her flights are done as a last minute so if she is hooking up it is with strangers.
Most of the crews are married and have been flying for more years then she has been on this Earth so she is along for the ride. Take a look at the next crew you fly with and see if they are ready to go out partning after a 14 hr duty day.
Her perception is about 50 yrs to late.
joe Dec 5th 2012 10:28AM
Well I am a straight male flight attendant for 20 years for a domestic carrier. And I can tell you that you better believe hook-ups happen all the time, which is why I originally got the job as a F/A in the first place. Although now I am happily married and faithful to my wife. Before that I lived the life. Lots of layovers and alot of crazy nights. Whover these 60 year old plus F/A's who say it is the exeption not the rule must either have amnesia when they were 22 or that they themselves are the exception because let me tell you it happens all the time. The first few years of a F/A's career is about going crazy and hooking up. That is just a fact. After a few years or more we then start to calm down and settle down to a normal family life. But you never forget those first few years.
thomas peters Dec 6th 2012 2:22PM
The " Mile high club" is for Pilots only ! You have to have a willing partner ( Female) and a plane with the auto pilot off while in the process of having intercourse above 5,280 above the ground ! LOL Been there,done that ! LOL,LOL,LOL
Koz Dec 5th 2012 12:22PM
I am in the mile high club, three time.
kikijan Dec 5th 2012 2:26PM
I am a 23 year Flight Attendant with a major US commercial airliner and I have traveled the world. Although, some crew members do 'hook ip' with one another, it's few and far between but, I can say that there are many make pilots and make flight attendants alike who work trips to South America for the express reason of seeing particular 'hookers' they see there on a regular basis. -no strings attached relationships. Those of us that know who these crew members are and what they do when in Sounth America thinks its disgusting. Otherwise, I absolutely love my career choice and I have had the amazing opportunity to see the world one layover at a time. :)