Wow, this job is giving me a different perspective on the people out there! Can you say crazy? First of all, I must put in my two cents about flying and the etiquettes to follow.
From the mouth of THE Flight Attendant and what we wish we could really tell you:
There are some things that flight attendants are responsible for, SAFETY is number one on that list. That is why you MUST have your seat back and tray tables in the FULL UPRIGHT and LOCKED position for taxi, take off and landing! That is why YOU MUST have your frappin' purse or backpack or sack of food, or dog or whatever is at your feet, UNDER the seat in front of you! That is why you must not have your cell phone on! We do make fun of stupid people who do not follow these rules, because we make an announcement telling you to do these things at least 5 times before you are even settled in your seat. The rules are not different from airline to airline, so why do these people fail to follow these rules? These rules are set forth by the FAA- the seat back rule for instance, it's not because you might get hurt leaning two inches back in your seat- it is because the passenger behind you can not evacuate as easily if your seat is reclining two inches. Have you ever tried to get up and go to the lavatory with the seat in front of you reclined? Or what about the Dad who is mad the ENTIRE flight because we asked him to push his backpack under the seat in front of him? He glared at us and spoke ugly to us from Atlanta to Houston and THEN got off the plane and complained to the gate agent about us- Hey, Stupid- your wife and son could not get off the plane as quickly in the event of an emergency if they had to step over all your s**t!!!
Other things are simple too- your cold, wear proper clothes on the plane! The 10 year old boy sitting with his dad, doesn't want to rub up against your naked butt! I understand you may have a career that encourages you to dress that way, but on the plane you WILL be cold, and oh by the way....WE DON'T HAVE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS!
In addition, you are all bringing too much stuff on the plane, so please don't complain to us when your HUGE suitcase won't fit in the overhead bin or we don't have anymore room. Don't ask us to lift that 70 pound bag and then get mad when we won't. THAT IS NOT OUR JOB!
Don't call us racist when we ask that you follow our rules! Just because you are Asian or White or Black- we are all created equal and we are ALL asked to follow the same rules!
If there is a mechanical problem and a delay because of it, do you want to fly with a broken plane? I don't, and neither do the pilots! So don't complain.
If there is weather and we are delayed, do you want to take off in a thunderstorm? I don't and neither do the pilots! So don't complain.
Do you realize what these delays mean to Flight Attendants? We are working on the average 10-14 hours a day- (many of which your average reserve flight attendant is not getting paid for)we usually have between 9-12 hours of rest, so if the flight is delayed we work longer hours and our rest period is reduced. You however will be on vacation or to your own bed as soon as we get you there. We will be the ones hurt the most with the delay. So please don't get an attitude with us, we are on your side.
Some other quick do's and don'ts we have experienced, and my f/a friends can add more:
1. while you are waiting 3 hours for our delayed flight at the gate- GO TO THE BATHROOM, don't wait till you are on the plane to blow our bathroom out. It stinks and we are in a small area with no ventilation! Our spray only can mask so much.
1.(a)While we are on smell- take a bath before the flight or wear deodorant and DON'T remove your shoes...again, our spray can only mask so much!
2. Don't get drunk and fondle the stranger next to you and cry when we put your purse in the overhead. We will have you escorted off the plane.
3. Don't bring your own Crown Royal on the plane and then tell ME your not going to give me your cup.
4. Don't offer to switch your seat with the lady in front of you and then complain to the gate agent that I MADE you move. Or lie about the whole situation in order to get a free ticket.
5. Do have respect for all the flight attendants who are there for your safety and follow the rules without us having to come around and risk our safety to tell you what we have already told you 10 times.
6. Don't get up during taxi, take-off, and landing- we are required to call the captain and he is required to STOP the plane- that only adds to our delay!
7. Do bring a jacket or dress appropriately- the plane will be cold and it will be hot!
8. Please realize we do not get paid a whole lot and your comments, thank yous and plain old fashion curtesy, makes our day.
9. Do remember that everytime we step on our plane- 9/11 is a memory that weighs heavily on every flight attendant and we take our job for your safety seriously.
We trained really hard for 4 weeks and only 30 minutes was spent learning how to pour your soda!
