I'm a Flight Attendant, ask me anything!

[confessionsofatrolleydolley]

Not that I'd ever actually refer to myself as a flight attendant - Cabin Crew is our preferred title!

Not sure if anyone is still interested in these AMA chats but thought I'd offer to answer any questions anyone may have...

When I fly I always look at the crew and wonder how you can all look so calm, I know it’s your job but do you ever feel scared?

What is your favourite route?

What do I have to do to get an upgrade on check in?

I am absolutely bloody petrified of flying, (despite being totally fine with it up to the age of 24, 20 years ago). What could you say to put my mind at rest? (And the last time I flew, in 2013), not one of the cabin crew asked if I was ok, despite my very obvious distress - is that standard?

@Imjustalittlemeh1 when I was little I was scared of flying...I think the training took the fear away for me completely. I always compare it to being scared of the dark - when you turn the light on, there's nothing to be scared of anymore. The same goes with flying - when you know what all the strange noises really are, that turbulence is nothing to be afraid of and you know exactly what you're supposed to do in all different emergency situations, there's nothing to be scared about! Despite most people thinking we're just "waitresses in the sky", we really are extensively trained. We can fight fire, restrain threatening passengers, deliver a baby, handle a bomb found on board and evacuate a full A380 in under 90 seconds. Knowledge is power, and that takes away the fear I think!

@GeekyBlinders unfortunately these days those sorts of things don't really happen, unless you're a valuable frequent flyer and the cabin you're booked in is oversold. That said, handing over some chocolates to the crew on boarding and a friendly hello and thank you has done wonders for some in the past...

@Imjustalittlemeh1 sorry I missed the last pet of your post - probably Cape Town, beautiful city, wonderful food, plenty of rest down route and no jet lag - doesn't really get much better than that!

Who are your worst nightmare customers?

What is the pay scale like? Do you have to factor in hotels on stopovers?

@BuggeringNora hopefully my post above will put your mind at rest a little - we're intensely trained and your safety is always our first priority, we're always looking out for anything that could potentially pose a danger to the flight. It's incredibly rare we spot anything though.

I'm so sorry to hear that your crew were not attentive to you and didn't make an effort to reassure you, it's possible that either it wasn't obvious and oh held it together very well, or they were incredibly busy...I just don't know, but it shouldn't be that way. Whenever I spot someone showing signs of being scared of flying I do anything I can to reassure them. FWIW, I am a mum and if I thought there was any real chance I wasn't going to be coming home to see my boy, I certainly wouldn't do this job! Hope that helps x

@tectonicplates hmmm...I try not to judge, as even when someone is incredibly rude you don't know what could be going on in their personal life to make them behave that way towards you...that said, screaming a me because I don't have your preferred meal choice will do you no favours! I'm not cooking from scratch in the galley, so if I've run out of something there is physically no way I can "go and find one" for you - we don't get deliveries mid-flight sadly!

Also, walking into the toilets bare-foot. Just don't.

@JeffJarrett in all honesty the pay isn't what it used to be, airlines have to keep costs down to stay competitive these days and the old contracts are quickly on the way out. That said, I live a comfortable life, pay my bills and think that the quality of life makes up for a little less income.

Naturally it rises as your length of service and experience does and senior roles aren't too badly paid.

When we do long haul everything is taken care of for us - we are bussed to and from our hotel and the only thing we are responsible for is our food and drink. We are also given money for our time down route to help cover these costs

Are any of the pilots faithful to their partners?

@NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1 Honestly? Yes. I've flown with many who have had beautiful 20-something's throwing themselves at them on a night out and have been nothing but a perfect gentleman. I would say, most of the time the married men are faithful.

There are of course those who will slip their wedding ring into their pocket on the way to work, and again those that have every intention of staying faithful to their wives but slip after too many drinks and not enough sleep down route. At the end of the day, they are men, there are those who will cheat and there are also those who don't.

I will concede though that our job makes it much easier to cheat if you want to, being away from home so often and spending so much time in hotels provides the perfect opportunity IF you are that way inclined.

I travel a lot in first class, and enjoy the vintage port served on Emirates. Is it true that any remaining in the bottle is just tipped down the sink at the end of the flight? If I asked to take it away, would that be allowed? You deserve much more pay. I work in customer services, and am truly shocked at some of the customer tantrums I have witnessed over he years...

@Buxtonstill yes unfortunately that's true, it's heartbreaking how much expensive alcohol goes down the toilet, even more so when an incredibly expensive bottle of champagne has been opened and only one glass drunk!

I can't speak for Emirates, but on my airline if you asked us politely whether there was any that was going to be flushed just before landing then we would happily give it to you - far better to see it go to good use and we get to make a customer happy, which really is so important to us!

Thank you for your comments, you sound like someone we'd love to serve onboard .

Ooh thank you! I will take one of those bottle stoppers on board next time. They can only say yes or no...

Any advice on flying with a toddler?

@DreamingofSunshine bring snacks! And an iPad can be your best friend...Also, ask the crew if there are any children's packs onboard, on long haul flights at my airline we have goody bags with things to help keep them entertained, but they're not always proactively offered, even though they should be. If all else fails, ask if it's ok to walk them around the galley for a bit - as long as it's not during the service when we're busy and it's dangerous for little ones, you'll usually find at least one of us who either loves kids or is a mum themselves and is more than happy to help keep them entertained - it helps keep us entertained and gives us something to do on long flights too!

Hi trolleydolly,

Your post couldn't have come at a better time! I am a rubbish, rubbish, genuinely terrified flyer (think tears and near hysteria on take off) I flew log haul last year (cabin crew were really good, to me) I was ok on the daytime flight out, but a gibbering wreck in the dark on the way home. Couple of questions:
Is it really, really unlikely, since 911 for a flight to be hijacked? have security measures really increased? and are flight crew trained to deal with one? for instance if someone tried to get into the cockpit? (I sound like a loon I know, it's such a massive fear)

Cabin crew were really, fantastic when they saw I was scared, but on the way home my mouth was totally bone dry through nerves, and I had to keep bothering them for glasses of water. They were really busy and I felt really bad going to grab them, but they said they couldn't give me a bottle to keep with me (would have happily payed for one!) is this standard? and are there reasons behind this?

I'm going a long haul flight again in August and I am so, so nervous, reading this is helping! Thank you!

@Buxtonstill absolutely! We hate seeing how much waste is created in our jobs, I'd be more than happy to know someone was going to take it home and enjoy it!

@serendippity I'm so happy to hear you had good crew to look after you, most of us really do care so much about the customers we look after and I'm glad that showed.

With regards to hijackings, there are so many procedures put in place nowadays to avoid anything like that happening again. Flight deck doors have been reinforced and locking mechanisms introduced, along with cameras so that the flight crew can see who is trying to gain access, and if they deny entry then there is no way that door is opening. They will NEVER grant entry to a hijacker. There are many, many procedures in place to deal with situations like this - and despite what the media might have you believe, in the worst case scenario the vast majority of hijackings that do occur result in no fatalities, they are usually politically motivated or asylum seekers.

The most important thing to remember is that on the rare something goes wrong in the aviation industry they learn from it and they learn QUICKLY. On the rare occasion something goes wrong, the entire industry gets even safer.

With the crew on your way home, I'm sure they won't have minded your requests for water especially given the state they knew you were in. Unfortunately it is policy not to give out the bottles of water as there are only a limited amount onboard and it's not uncommon to run out, and if we give one away then everyone else wants one too - we have all learnt this the hard way one time or another!

I'm glad that my posts are helping - like I said, if I thought there was any chance I wasn't coming home to my little one I'd be on the job hunt straight away!

I am very very very reluctant to fly because we have an 8yo autistic son who functions around an 18month level and is very physically active. I have no idea how he'll react to the idea of sitting down for an entire flight, let alone how to keep him quiet. I have visions of him trying to climb over the seats, trying to run down the aisles, shouting loudly when I try to keep him in his seat, crying, throwing toys in a meltdown .... Even his usual method of being pacified, which is listening to a baby toy play a tune over and over and over again, is going to be annoying for those sat in the adjacent rows (we've become immune to it!)

Any ideas??!!!

I've worked in customer service rules myself (though not as cabin crew) so I understand the unfair abuse you often have to put up with. However when I did it, the rude customer was generally gone 5 minutes later. How do you cope with someone being rude knowing that they're going to be there for possibly another few hours?

Also, can I share my lovely cabin crew moment? On a flight from the UK to Ireland a few months ago I was in the first row of the plane right beside the door. It was a horrible evening, absolutely pouring out of the heavens and as the door was open for quite a while before take off I was literally getting soaked. The lovely cabin crew member insisted on giving me his jacket to put over my legs until the door closed! He must have been freezing himself as he just had a shirt on. I can't remember his name, but he did tell me he was from Greece, so on the off chance that he's reading this, thank you, you were such a lovely gentleman :)

Do you listen to Cabin Pressure? How accurate is it?!

ARTHUR: Well, he must know! I mean, obviously we don’t have a whole kitchen back there! He’s not stupid.
CAROLYN: Yes he is. Everyone on this plane is stupid until proved otherwise.
ARTHUR: Shall I put that on the list?
CAROLYN: Isn’t it there already?
ARTHUR (unfolding a piece of paper): Er, “The customer is always: Wrong ; Rude ; Late ; Witless ; Loud ; Drunk ; Thieving; and Sly.” I suppose “Witless” sort of covers stupid.
CAROLYN: Oh, I don’t know. Stick “Stupid” down as well. Have you got “Rude”?
ARTHUR (consulting his paper again): Er, yep.
CAROLYN: Put it down again. It’s a good one.

(Kuala Lumpur)

and this one:

(On board another plane.)
STEWARDESS: Your Bloody Mary, madam.
CAROLYN: Thank you so much. I do like being a passenger. She doesn’t know I know she hates me.
HERC: Not all cabin crew hate their passengers, you know.
CAROLYN (laughing cheerily): Oh, bless you!

(Vaduz)

Is it true airlines have a number that indicates the value of each customer? And if so do you treat the high value customers differently?