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!
