Category: flight attendant

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Flight Attendants Break Down Their Absolute Craziest Experiences On The Job

What is it about flying that brings out the absolute worst in people?

Take a quick glance at the last year and you’ll see a rise in assaults on the people trying to make your flying experience more pleasurable.

Perhaps it’s the nerves piling up before the passenger gets on board? Or it could be the idea, “I’m paying for this so I can do whatever I want.”

Whatever the reason, if you make a fool of yourself on a flight, they’ll make a fool out of you online.

Reddit user, THESILENTPRINCESS06, wanted to hear some horror stories from the skies when they asked:

“Flight Attendents, What Are Some Of Your Craziest Stories?”

No One Is Getting Food On This Flight

“I did a flight on New Year’s Day a fair few years ago. A older gentleman pass out and his wife thought he had died. The other crew all went to assist and there was a doctor onboard luckily. We had to stop the food service while the gentleman was stabilised which took ages.”

“Once he was stable we tried the food service again. However just as we were getting the trolly from the back galley a woman dramatically collapsed in front of it so we had to deal with her. We get her stable and back in her seat and then go for the trolly only for her to come back and collapse again in front of the trolly. It was news years day so this woman had partied too hard the night before and was why she felt sick.”

“A crew member from the front comes down and says they had to stop the food service as well because a kid had thrown up all over the front galley and the toilet. We also had a parent who kept letting their child press the call bell for fun. I had to explain twice that it was not a toy and to stop lifting your child up to press the button. The paramedics came and the guy was taken to hospital but not before his wife said that the same thing happened on their flight out. Moral of this story is don’t fly if you are very unwell and don’t fly hungover.” ~ posh-old-bird

Enjoy Your Pickles

“I was on a flight from Seoul to Jeju Island in Korea. Jeju Island is a very, very popular honeymoon destination for Koreans in the mainland. Most of the attractions are geared towards couples.”

“Some poor guy had brought a huge jar of pickled eggs wrapped (he thought) carefully. Maybe he needed to bring some of mama’s home cooked food with him?”

“As we took off and began the ascent, liquid started dripping down on the festively dressed passengers. It started in the overhead compartment in the 3rd row and dripped in everyone’s hair and shoulders. All the way back to the last row in the little plane.”

“Lots of little shrieks, then immediately angry voices. The sharp smell of pickle juice (not US style), permeated the plane.”

“An annoyed flight attendant dashed over, reached deep in to the overhead compartment, and removed a very wet, still dripping bag.”

“We could hear the broken glass pieces moving against each other. She stalked off with it, back stiff with disapproval.”

“The very, very red-faced man under the compartment stood up and faced the passengers behind him. He made an apologetic speech and bowed frequently during it.”

“I don’t speak Korean, so I don’t know what the passengers replied specifically, but it was not a great way to start a honeymoon for all the couples onboard.”

“I hope it became a funny story to tell back home later.” ~ meowhahaha

They’re Here To Help?

“The nicest flight attendant I ever had was the one that put in my grandpa’s eyedrops so my grandma didn’t have to. thank you, JetBlue!” ~ superdude311

Fun To See Board

“You come on the plane rocking your Gucci belt, Houston Street-worthy Louis Vuitton duffle, torn True Religions, a killer fade and a swagger that could make a woman’s ovaries cry… and then you take your seat in 22B and play Candy Crush on a cracked screen.”

“I’ve been a flight attendant for almost 12 years and this is a common occurrence.” ~ MSotallyTober

Everyone Making Bad Decisions In This One

“I had a punch-up kick off on a 767 over the Atlantic Ocean once whilst enroute from London Gatwick to Barbados. That was pretty fun to deal with as the only male steward.”

“The fight began following an argument after the woman broke her partner’s iPod. He wasnt happy about it so had a row which developed into a full blown punch-up. Turns out they had never met before until earlier that day when he saw her in London and asked if she wanted to come to the Caribbean on a free holiday (drug mule anyone).”

“They both began to behave once I told them that we will divert and the nearest diversion airport was in the USA, where they take that kind of sh-t seriously. Obviously had to keep them apart and we let the authorities deal with them once we’d landed in Barbados.”

“I’ve had a lot go on on my flights before and seen some sh-t before but that one makes me shake my head with a little chuckle too of course.” ~ Expo737

Don’t Wield It Like A Weapon. Don’t Be That Person.

“My best friends a flight attendant, so here’s the story From her perspective.”

“it was a pretty Normal flight. Most people were already sleeping, while the others were reading a book, but a women had her baby with her, and the baby was crying. not to big of a deal, if we didn’t have a Karen on the flight.”

“she called me over, as I was just about to go to the back, she said “ can you get that baby to stop crying“ ” sorry ma’am, it’s not under my control. I’m sure the mom in trying her hardest to keep the noise down.” She screamed “ I HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS IF THAT BABY DOESNT SHUT UP ILL DO IT MYSELF!” everyone Stared at her.”

“But, she got up. And was walking with a red face to the baby. I went infront of the baby and mom, she pushed me back, but i held myself up with the two seats in between. By that point, another flight attendant came rushing in. “ ma’am I need you to calm down.“ “ FINE. BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, I HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS.” ~ IconicDarkness

Like In The Movies, But Sadder

“Cousin is a FA. Had a VERY pregnant woman who was en route to deliver at a different hospital in the last 2 weeks of her pregnancy. Unfortunately, her baby wasn’t waiting.”

“Halfway through the trip, she starts going into labor. They move first class back one row (wasn’t full) so they had room. Luckily, the flight had a shock trauma cardiothoracic surgeon and a Navy corpsman on board. She didn’t know she was having twins(thought they were obligated to tell you?).”

“One didn’t make it. I’m guessing that’s why she went intro labor.” ~ tidytibs

Wait, It’s Allowed…?

“Former flight attendant here.”

“Funniest story always is people who are joining the mile high club. You are absolutely allowed to have sex in a lavatory and we won’t stop you. People slinking out of the bathroom with sh-t eating grins and red faces was always hilarious.” ~ TJeffersonsBlackKid

“It’s allowed? Wait it’s ALLOWED?! you’re telling me this now?!” ~ Deedum78

“Family member used to be a flight attendant. The theory is as long as they’re quiet about it and not disturbing other passengers it’s better to let them screw rather than risk a potential confrontation in a steel tube with no escape.”

“Family member also told me the US to Australia flights had the most f-cking – apparently Aussie gals are wild.” ~ EastGlencoe

…And A Merry Christmas To You

“On Christmas Day we were working the last flight of the night and it was completely full. Every seat. There was a couple in the last row window and aisle seat. He proceeds to diddle her under their coats. We notice but don’t make an issue out of it. Well when she’s satisfied she proceeded to return the favor for him. Once again we notice but don’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“When we land they were the very last two off the airplane and the grizzly senior lady I’m flying with calls out to them as they were about half way down the aisle. “Just so you know… that’s sh-t you pulled doesn’t put you in the mile high club… that doesn’t count. Merry Christmas.” They just turned beat red and scampered off the airplane as fast as they could. I looked at her like she was crazy, sure we were about to get fired.”

“She winked at me and said what are they going to do? write a letter to the company that we called them out for diddling each other on the airplane? We will be fine now come on kid let’s go get a Christmas cocktail.” ~ canthav814

Be safe up there in the skies.

A lot of misbehavior on board.

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A Flight Attendant Shared Why You Should Never Order Coffee or Tea on an Airplane

You may be tempted to get a nice, steaming cup of coffee or tea in your hands on your next flight.

Don’t.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Airplanes are very public spaces. Between people removing their shoes and clothes mid-flight to the ever present coughing and hacking, planes are pretty much petri dishes.

But even with all those germs floating around, there are other unsanitary concerns you may not have considered.

Flight attendant Jamila Hardwick spoke with Inside Edition about what you should know before you order any tea or coffee.

Photo Credit: YouTube

The water used for hot beverages is not from a bottle. It comes through water pipes on the plane which, apparently, are rarely cleaned. In fact, airlines are only required to flush and sanitize the lines four times a year.

And heaven forbid anyone clean anything more than required.

Flight attendants spend most of their time on these big birds, so they should know what’s good to order onboard. Watch the clip:

So, coffee’s out.

If you’re thinking about getting a cold soft drink instead, stay away from Diet Coke. Though it’s not any more germy than usual, Hardwick shared that the popular cola fizzes the most of all soft drinks and is a pain for attendants to pour. By the time it settles enough to pass over to you, they could’ve served several others and gone on to other duties.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Flight attendants are hard working people so a little consideration goes a long way with them.

Perhaps the least known tidbit Hardwick shared is that flight attendants aren’t on the clock until the plane doors are closed. So if you request an attendant hoist your bag into the storage compartment above your seat for you, they will probably decline. If they get injured, they aren’t covered by their employers’—the airlines’—insurance. Any medical treatment they need would be out of pocket.

The most useful tip? Bring your own pillows and blankets. The airlines do launder blankets and pillow cases but not between flights. And the pillows themselves are likely never washed.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

What about the seat trays?

Yes, absolutely disgusting.

Hardwick recommends bringing antibacterial wipes and doing a thorough swipe of your tray before using it. She says cleaning crews don’t have time to wipe down every tray when turning an aircraft, so it may be worthwhile to take a few seconds to clean it yourself.

Flying is a great convenience of the modern world, but it’s also germy. Take note of this valuable information for your next journey, and maybe you won’t get so sick the next time you fly!

The post A Flight Attendant Shared Why You Should Never Order Coffee or Tea on an Airplane appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

A Flight Attendant Shared Why You Should Never Order Coffee or Tea on an Airplane

You may be tempted to get a nice, steaming cup of coffee or tea in your hands on your next flight.

Don’t.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Airplanes are very public spaces. Between people removing their shoes and clothes mid-flight to the ever present coughing and hacking, planes are pretty much petri dishes.

But even with all those germs floating around, there are other unsanitary concerns you may not have considered.

Flight attendant Jamila Hardwick spoke with Inside Edition about what you should know before you order any tea or coffee.

Photo Credit: YouTube

The water used for hot beverages is not from a bottle. It comes through water pipes on the plane which, apparently, are rarely cleaned. In fact, airlines are only required to flush and sanitize the lines four times a year.

And heaven forbid anyone clean anything more than required.

Flight attendants spend most of their time on these big birds, so they should know what’s good to order onboard. Watch the clip:

So, coffee’s out.

If you’re thinking about getting a cold soft drink instead, stay away from Diet Coke. Though it’s not any more germy than usual, Hardwick shared that the popular cola fizzes the most of all soft drinks and is a pain for attendants to pour. By the time it settles enough to pass over to you, they could’ve served several others and gone on to other duties.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Flight attendants are hard working people so a little consideration goes a long way with them.

Perhaps the least known tidbit Hardwick shared is that flight attendants aren’t on the clock until the plane doors are closed. So if you request an attendant hoist your bag into the storage compartment above your seat for you, they will probably decline. If they get injured, they aren’t covered by their employers’—the airlines’—insurance. Any medical treatment they need would be out of pocket.

The most useful tip? Bring your own pillows and blankets. The airlines do launder blankets and pillow cases but not between flights. And the pillows themselves are likely never washed.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

What about the seat trays?

Yes, absolutely disgusting.

Hardwick recommends bringing antibacterial wipes and doing a thorough swipe of your tray before using it. She says cleaning crews don’t have time to wipe down every tray when turning an aircraft, so it may be worthwhile to take a few seconds to clean it yourself.

Flying is a great convenience of the modern world, but it’s also germy. Take note of this valuable information for your next journey, and maybe you won’t get so sick the next time you fly!

The post A Flight Attendant Shared Why You Should Never Order Coffee or Tea on an Airplane appeared first on UberFacts.

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10+ Flight Attendants Dish on the Most Ridiculous Passengers They’ve Ever Dealt With

From the outside, working as a flight attendant might look like a pretty cushy gig. You get to fly to exotic locales, meet interesting people and eat all the peanuts you want. But, in reality, they have to deal with a whole lot of nonsense and interact with folks at their absolute worst.

In these AskReddit stories, flight attendants (and people who’ve witnessed flight attendant horror stories) shared the most ridiculous and wildest passengers they’ve ever come in contact with.

Next time you fly, give them a break, huh?

1. Another slap in the face

“A lady with a very fake British accent basically behaved the same. And then she touched the female flight attendant who was probably half her weight. Next thing was the French flight attendant and her colleague tackling her and restraining her (with the rest of the crew helping). I got a bit involved (and almost spat on) as they called for medical personnel to make sure she wasn’t hurt or psychotic (she wasn’t).

Once landed she was released from her seat by a cop. Who she directly slapped across the face. Which is never a good idea. But a really bad idea in a predominantly muslim country. She got dragged out of the airplane.”

2. Drug mule

“My wife used to be a flight attendant.

They were coming back from Brazil and some dude had swallowed a bunch of drugs to smuggle. They ended up popping inside his stomach and when he realized it he was sticking his whole hand down his throat to try and claw it out. She said she still has nightmares to this day about his eyes and him screaming to save him. They had to restrain him and cover him with a blanket.”

3. He started crying

“Not a flight attendant, but last Christmas I was flying from Amsterdam to Seattle, and you know how you have to “have your window shades open, have your tray tables locked, your seat in an upright position and the arm rests down for take off and landing” ya, well this 50ish year old grumpy face of an old man literally did the opposite of all those things. (Was being a complete boob the whole 9 hour flight)

So when the attendant came by to tell him to get his stuff together, he pretended to be asleep and ignored her, so she shoved his seat forward and slammed his try table up. This guy starts screaming at her, flailing his arms, and STARTS CRYING, yes, crying because she was “rude.”

I’m literally just staring at this dude in pure disbelief.

Then when we finally land, they were like “please stay seated until the seatbelt sigh turns off.” This idiot stands up while we’re taxiing and starts to get in the overhead bin. So the same flight attendant comes by and in the sternest and most pissed off voice, says “sit. Down. Right. Now.” She slams the overhead bin closed and just returns to her seat.

That woman needs a raise.”

4. No more booze

“I was working on a return flight from Moscow to New York at the back of the plane. One of the guys smuggled on a 5th of jack Daniel’s and was drinking that along with the free drinks we passed out on international flights. None of us really cared that he had smuggled on the bottle and was drinking it with his friends but we thought it was stupid since we offered free booze.

Everything was fine until he asks the flight attendant for another drink and when she leaned over to put it on his tray, he licked the side of her neck. We confiscated his alcohol and shut down drink service for the rest of the flight after that.”

5. Outburst

“Not a flight attendant, but I’ll share. You know how as soon as you get to the gate and the seatbelt sign turns off people leap out of their seats to stand around, this takes it to a new level.

A man in his 50s or 60s is at the front of the plane with his elderly mother. As soon as the seatbelt sign turns off, he jumps up, unbuckles his mother and lifts her up.

Man: I NEED A WHEELCHAIR NOW!
Attendant: Sir, we just got to the gate, there isn’t a wheelchair here yet. Please put your mother down until the wheelchair comes.
Man: I NEED A WHEELCHAIR NOW!
Attendant: Sir, they are bringing the chair to the gate now, but it isn’t here.
Man: WHEELCHAIR!
Attendant: Sir, please put your mother down.
Man: WHERE IS THE WHEELCHAIR!

This continues on for another minute until the man finally loses his strength and breath.”

6. A veteran

“Getting ready to board a flight from California to Vegas (Vegas flights were notorious for being “eventful”) and we didn’t have a jetway. So this was a flight that had passengers come outside the terminal and board up the stairs. Lady comes out the door, puts down her bag, and starts pretending to be an airplane zooming around with her arms outstretched. Mmmmkay. Keeping an eye on her at this point. She comes on board, and has a cat with her in its carrier.

While we’re taking a seat count (for weight and balance before takeoff), the other FA and I notice she took the cat out, which isn’t allowed. We tell her to put the cat back and keep it secure for the flight. She complies, we take off, and before we’re even at 10k ft I see a cat head poke out into the aisle from her seat area. You fucking kidding me? I have to get up, while still in a very steep angled takeoff, and tell her to put the fucking cat back in its crate. Poor kitty was clawing at the seat and terrified. Luckily she behaved after that.

Another time I had a pair of sisters who started drinking, no big deal. First sister said the other was a nervous flyer. They were behaving so I let them order more drinks. They each had four, but still seemed fine. Come to find out the nervous sister had also taken Xanax before the flight – great. She comes to the back lavatory and has already wet her pants. Oh god. She asks if I can make her another drink, “but this time it needs to be Christmas tree!” Uhhhh, I think you’ve had enough for now. Rest of the flight is fine. We land and start to deplane and as I’m saying goodbye to passengers I hear a WHOMP. The hell?!

It was her. She totally ate shit and face planted in the middle of the aisle right before the galley. She gets up and there’s blood on her mouth, so I tell the captain to call medics down. They get her into a straight-back wheelchair and as they’re strapping her in she starts asking, “Are we in Denver?!” over and over. The medic goes, “No, were in Omaha and you need to hold still!” (And no, Denver was not where we left from either.)

I also had a mother and son who boarded, and our plane had a seat that was MEL’d. (Minimum Equipment List is for things that are broken but not anything that’s bad enough to keep you from flying the plane – so this seat would be fixed when we got back to our base that had maintenance workers.) This seat literally had no seat cushion, and had bright green tape over the armrests with a sign saying it was out of order. While I was still boarding passengers, the mother had taken the tape off, sat her son in the seat, and put the tape back on the armrests on top of his arms.

I looked at him, looked at her, and said, “Ma’am, he can’t sit there, the seat is out of service.” Of course I helped them find seats together somewhere else, but man, that was weird.

I have a million of these stories, lol.”

7. Annoying

“Not a flight attendant.

Was on a flight from the UK to Japan. As soon as we were cruising the guy diagonally in front of me reclines his seat. That doesn’t bother me: we all need to relax. But it’s a personal insult to the woman beside me (directly behind him). She immediately attacks his seat, quickly growing increasingly violent while the guy ignores her. Flight attendant gets involved. Somehow it’s this guy’s fault that the lady had cancer. She argued with the flight attendant for at least 30 mins before loudly giving up.

It was a long flight.”

8. Nice to meet you

“I was sitting next to a couple with a baby that was nursing who unlatched suddenly causing me to get squirted in the face with breast milk.

It was definitely an ice breaker.”

9. Weirdo radar

“I am a flight attendant for a major airline, have been with current airline for 7 years. I gotta say – over those years, my “weirdo” radar has gotten considerably more lenient.

you get a lot of run of the mill odd balls, or just people from different cultures who have different ways of doing things.

there is one person who sticks out in my mind as being absolutely a nutball. she was traveling with her ~8 year old daughter. to this woman everything was the end of the world. out of a certain drink? oh god how will I go on! the straw that broke the camels back was when our wifi was down momentarily and she got in my face screaming at me (we had two hours left until landing, and it was an overnight flight so she was definitely disturbing other passengers who were just trying to sleep) about how her life was ruined and it was all my fault the wifi was down.

her daughter started crying because the mom was being obviously psycho and the moms response was to slap her daughter, turn to me and threaten to have me fired. while she was screaming that I was going to “never have a job again” she started poking my shoulder. if there’s one thing you don’t do on an airplane, it’s touch the flight attendant especially in an aggressive manner. from then on we straight up ignored her, and told her only to ring her call button if there was a medical emergency.

we got to our destination, had the cops meet her just to escort her out of the airport so she didn’t stick around to yell at us any more. she decided not to go quietly. SHE SLAPPED THE COP ACROSS HIS FACE and from then on it was out of my hands. mostly I just felt bad for the daughter.”

10. How to get banned

“Had a flight get f-ed up so the airline upgraded my next flight to first class. It was a pretty long flight so sweet. I happen to sit next to a retired flight attendant and, being the pro she is, she orders us a bottle of Champaign. I didn’t know you could get the bottle on a flight but I’m not asking any questions.

Obviously I ask her for her horror stories. She’s like, “I can’t tell you names, but I’ve seen some very famous people get banned from airlines.” Not off the flight, from the whole airline.

How to get banned from an airline (drugs and booze help, but apparently some people don’t need those):

climb the food & beverage cart while it’s in use
accost flight staff repeatedly
let your kids climb on other passengers and blame the other passengers
DIY medical emergency via drug / alcohol abuse
incite a riot mid-flight
We had a blast that flight, she was lovely.”

11. Probably shouldn’t do that

“My sister in law is a flight attendant. And a very sexy one at that! She had a drunk guy offer to buy her pantyhose for $500. He wanted her to go in the bathroom and remove them and give them to him. She said she would have done it but didn’t want anyone she works with to notice her pantyhose were no longer on.”

12. Classy

“My fellow flight attendant had the pleasure of kicking Lil Pump off her flight last year (for those of you who are blessed enough to not know him, he is an obnoxious mumble rapper). Him and his whole entourage were screaming and throwing money during the flight and were super drunk and taking percocets. They diverted the flight and kicked them off. He so thoughtfully dedicated a verse about it in his song Gucci gang.”

13. Up to something

“Flight attendant here. Quick one hour flight, we board, uneventful. We get in the air and this guy is paranoid. Edge of his seat, looking around. He’s either on something or is a schizophrenic who didn’t take his meds. We (the crew) are doing our service thing, but watching this guy.

He calls me over several times, points out a different passenger each time and mumbles about them being “up to something.” I assure the guy everything is fine, make small talk with him, and try to land without incident. He keeps up the paranoia, this time grabbing a young girl who is trying to walk past him to go to the lav. Now he has to be supervised non stop since grabbing a teenage girl is a no no.

The Captain has been filled in that we’re keeping an eye on this guy, and it’s getting close to landing time. Just prior to touching down, he jumps up and rushes the exit. Me and another passenger, an off duty pilot who is quite buff, rush over to what we assume is a guy trying to pop the exit doors. All the passengers who have been watching the shenanigans go into f**k this s**t mode, and physically restrain the guy, while the plane is landing and taxiing.

Meanwhile the guy is yelling about some other passenger having a gun. We get to the gate, cops come on, and the guy attacks a cop and tries to flee across the tarmac, meanwhile I’m watching this happen in the galley from the galley. I google the guy’s name and of course he has a history. The gate agent I find out later had a problem with him at the originating airport too but never bothered to inform us about him. Company sent me a $25 gift card for dealing with all of that.”

14. A little unstable

“There was one guy who kept insistently pressing the help button before we even took off. “Just making sure it works,” he said. Then, during the presentation, he kept insisting I repeat myself. At once point, he shushed the women behind him that were talking to each other, supposedly because he couldn’t hear. Then, he asked “how do we know that the best people possible are in the emergency rows?” Yeah. Yeah, he did.

Oh, and I’m pretty sure that he suspected one of the passengers had murdered his wife. Never mind the fact that his wife was sitting right next to the man. Weirdo.”

15. Keep your mouth shut

“A little off topic but I felt the most ridiculous I’ve ever felt. I was flying from ATL-CDG on Delta. I like sitting in the last row especially on the 777. When I got to my seat I noticed the armrest between the two seats was broken and flopped around. As I worked in law enforcement it was my habit to let someone know if something was broken so I showed it to the flight attendant behind me.

Everyone boarded but the plane stayed at the gate for a while past departure time. About then the Captain of the plane came back to look at the seat. He asked me if I was ok sitting there. I was so embarrassed that I had been holding up departure. Staff was very kind and courteous. In the future I’ll keep my mouth shut unless it’s something that could endanger someone’s life.”

 

The post 10+ Flight Attendants Dish on the Most Ridiculous Passengers They’ve Ever Dealt With appeared first on UberFacts.