Tips From a Flight Attendant

Flight attendants are the face of the airlines. It’s their job to ensure that your flight is as pleasant as possible. They go out of their way to ensure our travel is uneventful. (By the way, uneventful is preferred. Incidences, delays, and other events before, during and after flights make for a miserable experience.)

But are we doing our best to treat our flight crew well?

In a recent chat with one of my favorite airline attendants, Typhanie King shares her best tips and insider secrets about the friendly skies.

1. Be mindful that not all travelers are going on vacation.

Many travelers are in transport for care for medical conditions and others are on their way to bury family members.
“I see a lot of tears. Nearly on every flight. Many people are sad, and I go out of my way to make the flight as easy as possible for them.”
So, though you may be on a honeymoon Jamaica or a girls trip to Italy, there are those passengers who do not want to “turn up.”

2. Flight attendants are not overpaid waiters or waitresses.

Their primary duty is for safety, mandated by the FAA.
“A big misconception is that we are there to hand out snacks and drinks. That is apart of our job. But there are Federal Rules that require a certain number of cabin crew members, depending on the flight size and length of the trip. We spend months training and learning all of the rescue procedures and rules of aviation.”

3. The most critical parts of the flight are during takeoff and landing.

So if your instinct is that those are the scariest moments of a flight, then your fear should be validated with this info. This is also the reason why everyone, including the in-flight crew, is required by law to sit down and buckle-up!

4. The many rules you hear before and during flight are created by the federal government.

So it is pointless to try and negotiate them with the flight crew. It is actually illegal for the flight staff to break any rules on your behalf. The consequence will be fines and even jail.
“When we say sit, you must sit. That’s not trying to be a grade school teacher. It’s the law. The same goes with turning off cellphones, elevating seat backs, arm rests, and more. We didn’t write or create any of these rules. But we are obligated to uphold them.”

5. You can ask for the whole can of soda!

“The reason we pour it in a cup goes back to the old days of service. It’s just good customer service to pour your drink in a cup. Many people prefer to drink out of a cup. But you can certainly ask for the entire can of pop.”

6. Please don’t side eye the mom’s with screaming infants on the plane.

In fact, our flight attendant says that you can even offer to lend a helping hand.
“I promise you that most times is not the mother’s fault that the baby is losing its mind. Adults are the ones who can decide to board the restricted areas of an airplane. But babies, who are used to being free, sometimes just can’t take it. Add to that their ears popping and other factors like being too hot or too cold – the little ones are just uncomfortable.”

7. Don’t fly while congested.

Believe me, it’s painful. But not only that, it can actually result in permanent damage to your eardrums. Sometimes it is not always an option to change a flight if you get a cold, so to protect yourself from hearing loss and other side effects use earplugs, which will help your ears adjust to the pressure changes. Also try taking medicine like Mucinex or a nasal spray, that will liquefy the mucus, which will reduce risk of pain.

8. Did you know that the pilots can control the air temperature on the airplane?

Most flights are chilly when airborne. A myth is that the temperature is because of atmospheric pressure.
“That’s incorrect. The pilots actually control the air in the cabin. Unfortunately, when in the air, the cabin door is locked so the only way to reach them is by calling. We’ll do it if there are enough complaints from passengers or if we’re uncomfortable.”
So speak up if you’re too cold!

9. Warning for barefoot passengers.

“That’s just disgusting; even in socks. The restrooms are used by hundreds of people, and believe me, most people have bad aim! I can’t take it when people walk to the bathroom barefoot. That floor is not something you want to step on without shoes!”

10. The biggest difference between Economy comfort and Economy?

It’s simply that there is more leg room. The seat sizes are the same.

11. You can change your seat once you board.

“But only before the cabin door is closed. Once you are seated, make your request to the flight attended for the desired seat. When the coast is clear, we’ll move you up!”

12. Flight attendants have good memories.

Whether you treat them well or very poorly, flight attendants will remember your seat number when it comes time for the payoff.
“Most people are indifferent. Traveling can be a hastle and a pain. We get that. But if someone goes out of their way, looks us in the eye, and asks how I am doing, I will go out of my way to treat them extra special. That may be a free drink, extra snacks. However I can help.”

Watch the archived Periscope of our flight attendant chat here.

Which tip did you find the most insightful?

Also on HuffPost: 

• 19th January 1950: Trainee air hostess, Claire Swan, during a training session in a BOAC mock aircraft.

• A BOAC air stewardess collects equipment from the aircraft catering store before a flight from London Airport.

• Stewardess in Le Bourget (Seine-Saint-Denis), about 1945.

• A male flight attendant walks with his arms linked with two female flight attendants in front of a small plane in the 1940’s.

• Inside the cockpit of a de Havilland ‘Comet Inside the cockpit of a de Havilland ‘Comet’, 16 May 1962. ‘This is what it is like at the controls of a Comet 4 aeroplane. On the left is John Cunningham, chief test pilot for de Havilland.

• English model and actress Twiggy (left) with Christopher Gable (1940 – 1998) in the cockpit of a biplane laden with chorus girls in a scene from the fim version of Sandy Wilson’s musical ‘The Boy Friend’, directed by Ken Russell, 1971.

• NBC News’ Foreign Correspondent James Robinson in Ocotber 1958.

• An elderly couple waves and smiles from an airplane ramp.

• Kukla the puppet, Burr Tillstrom (puppeteer), Ollie the puppet on a Northeast Airlines air mail plane.

• Preparing lunch on the Imperial Airways aeroplane ‘Scylla’, 19 November 1936. Photograph by James Jarche showing the galley on the Imperial Airways aeroplane ‘Scylla’. Built by Shorts at Rochester, the 39-passenger ‘Scylla’ flew for the first time on 26 March 1934. Together with its sister aeroplane ‘Syrinx’ it was delivered to Croydon in June where it entered service almost immediately on the London to Paris route, setting new standards of comfort. Imperial Airways Limited was formed by the British government on 31 March 1924, after a government report recommended that Britain’s interests in commercial air transport would be best served by merging the larger existing aircraft companies. The governments primary motivation for the merger was the need to carry mail throughout the empire.

• Waiter service aboard Imperial Airways ‘Scylla’ during its flight from London to Paris, circa 1935.

• Passengers enjoying a drink and a game of cards in the cabin of an Imperial Airways plane in 1936.

• Day cabin of an Imperial Airways flying boat, most likely of the Short Empire class, in August 1936.

• A sleeping berth on an Imperial Airways aircraft in March 1937.

• Baby travels by plane in New York In July 1945.

• A Douglas DC-3 airliner of Eastern Airlines (‘The Great Silver Fleet’) seen through the window of a viewing gallery at an airport, circa 1945.

• Air hostess Patricia Palley attends to passengers in the decorated cabin of a Pan-American air liner over the Atlantic on December 23, 1946.

• High angle view of passengers boarding an airplane, date unknown.

• A stewardess serving drinks whilst passengers have lunch aboard a BEA Vickers Viking passenger plane, date unknown.

• A man and three women wait to board a ramp at the tail of a Northwest airplane as a stewardess looks on; undated. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Cabin crew adjusting seats in an airplane, date unknown.

• A female instructor stands at a chalkboard, pointing to a chalk diagram of an airplane while female students take notes at their desks during a stewardess training school, 1950. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Luggage being unloaded from airplane, circa 1950s.

• A projector being fitted into a United Airlines plane for the benefit of passengers who will be shown in-flight movies, circa 1950s. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

• Stewardess serving passengers, date unknown.

• An Aer Lingus passenger plane at Dublin Airport at Collinstown near Dublin, date unknown.

• Man refueling a propeller airplane, date unknown.

• Passengers relaxing on an airline flight, circa 1950. (Photo by Keystone View Company/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

• American magazine publisher Hugh Hefner and his companion, American model and actor Barbi Benton, relax on a bed while a stewardess attends to them in the private quarters of Hefner’s DC-9 jetliner, ‘The Big Bunny’ en route to Heathrow, date unknown. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Hugh Hefner, American editor, publisher and founder of Playboy magazine, and his girlfriend Barbi Benton are welcomed by ‘Bunny Girls’ from the London Playboy Club, on their arrival at Heathrow Airport aboard his private DC 9 jetliner, which bears the Playboy logo. One Bunny Girl is wearing a Union Jack costume. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

• BOAC stewardesses peering through the port holes of the mock-up Jumbo Jet 747 at London’s Heathrow Airport during training for the introduction of transatlantic Jumbo flights, date unknown.

• Aerial view of five airplanes at an airport, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, date unknown.

• A Pan American World Airways flight attendant preparing in-flight meals in the galley of an airliner, circa 1950. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

• Passengers boarding an airplane, Pittsburgh International Airport, date unknown.

• New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal, which has 15 bus docks to take passengers to the city’s various airports, circa 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• A bus in the bus docks at New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal. The docks are open on one side to permit exhaust fumes to escape, circa 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Passengers checking in at New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal, circa 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Signs for New York’s three major airports, International (Idlewild), Newark and La Guardia, at New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal, which provides rapid transit between the airports and the city, circa 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Passengers checking in their baggage at New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal, circa 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Passengers checking in their baggage at New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal, circa 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• New York’s East Side Airlines Terminal which operates on a 24 hour basis to provide transportation to every flight leaving from the city’s various airports, around 1955. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly coming off the plane from Los Angeles at Idlewild Airport, near New York, between 1950 and 1955. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

• Some of the TWA (Trans World Airline) air hostesses selected to attend a course at the TWA headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. They have been instructed in grooming, charm and poise, reading, conversational French and entertainment, and received vital inoculations, date unknown. (Photo by Bert Garai/Keystone Features/Getty Images)

• A TWA pilot and stewardess greets the passengers coming off the plane, ca.1950s, Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Marsh Photographers/Cincinnati Museum Center/Getty Images)

• A portable altar used to deliver mass to passengers and crew who may have missed mass at church at Idlewild Airport, date unknown. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Lufthansa flight attendants Jutta Kaemmerer (seated left) and Mascha Junge being served by Pan Am’s Jerry Rand and Gertrude Vasel at the Pan American World Airways stewardess school in Long Island circa 1960. (Photo by Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

• Flight attendant serving coffee to passengers seated in a lounge aboard a Braniff International airplane, late 1960s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• American singer Tony Bennett serenades TWA air hostess Gabriele Lehman prior to flying from New York to London on April 14, 1961. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

• Heathrow Airport in London, July 1967. (Photo by Tim Graham/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

• An Esso truck refuelling a Pan-American aircraft, July 1967. (Photo by Tim Graham/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

• Faye Dunaway posing on the boarding dock of a Pan-American plane before departing for London for a vacation, John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City in November 1967. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• The interior design of the new L-1011 jetliner passenger cabin with overhead luggage compartments, August 1968. (Photo by Alan Band/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

• Stewardesses on Southwest Airlines in Texas stand in front of planes belonging to the airline. (Photo by Alan Band/Keystone/Getty Images)

• Stewardesses working for Southwest Airlines of Texas must be able to wear hot pants and kinky leather boots or they don’t get the job. In accordance with the airline’s motto, ‘sex sells seats’ interviewees are selected on the strength of their legs and their face. Drinks served during flights have names such as ‘Passion Punch’ and ‘Love Potion’. Photo circa 1972. (Photo by Alan Band/Keystone/Getty Images)

• Muslim passengers waiting for flights at Terminal 3, Heathrow Airport, London, facing Mecca for prayers, March 1977 (Photo by Graham Morris/Evening Standard/Getty Images)

• A line-up of some of the air stewardesses who attend to passengers on board the supersonic jet the ‘Concorde’, each one from a different airline. They are standing in front of a scale model of the aircraft. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• A Pan American (Pan Am) airhostess serving champagne in the first class cabin of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, date unknown. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

• A steward and stewardess serving first-class passengers with drinks and refreshments on board a Boeing 747, date unknown. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

• Passengers relaxing on the sleeper seats in the new Comet 4 during a demonstration flight at Hatfield. The plane, which is fitted out in accordance with an interior decor scheme designed for BOAC aircraft by Gaby Schreiber, flew from New York to London in under six and a half hours, date unknown. (Photo by Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)

• British European Airways latest commercial air liner is the Vickers V 700 Viscount, seen here at Northolt airport, date unknown. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

• A lounge compartment on an airliner, designed by Henry Dreyfuss, date unknown. (Photo by Orlando /Three Lions/Getty Images)

• A passenger in the ladies’ powder room on board the world’s first jet airliner service. The Comet flight is bound for South Africa; date unknown. (Photo by PNA Rota/Getty Images)

• Stewards serving passengers on board an aeroplane, date unknown. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)