I'm a flight attendant - AMA!

[HighlandsExpat]

I am a flight attendant for a Canadian airline. I am based in Vancouver and have worked at this airline for over eight years. I grew up in the UK but have dual citizenship. Ask me anything!

What's the weirdest passcode you've ever had? Mine was Crash Bandicoot (Seemed a tad inappropriate at the time). FO came up with it.

How do I get an upgrade 😁

Did 9/11 make you view your job differently (if you were flying in 2001).

Apologies if the question is a bit insensitive

What do you think of your uniform?

How common is it for someone to vomit on a plane?

How do you adjust to the time difference?

Along similar lines - I vomitted on a plane once due to food poisoning. I gave the sick bag to the flight attendant who looked at me like I was scum. OP, what should I actually have done with it?!

Do you get free/discounted flights as a passenger?

I really want to know about the beds. I'm always fascinated when I see cabin crew disappearing through what looks like a cupboard door. My last long haul the beds were in the overhead luggage space above my seat which I found intriguing. Do you have a bed rota and do you have any choice who you share with - I'm assuming they aren't single private bunks - or are they? Are the claustrophobic?

for long haul do do crew and pilots party together (any extra circular with the pilots ?!)

This makes me think of Below Deck. 😂

Will there be an 'Above Wings' like there is on 'Below Deck'?!!

What’s your uniform like? I flew Singapore to Australia and their uniforms are beautiful, but the Qantas and Jetstar ones looked straight out of the 1980s.

Is the ‘tap’ water on a flight ok to drink or do you avoid it?

My question is also about the beds! Do you struggle to get to sleep during your break if you’re flying long-haul? As a ward nurse, I would always fall asleep right at the end of my break on a night shift, and then feel so much worse for it! Do you give up trying to sleep after a certain point?

I did not know there were beds for cabin crew on planes!!

Would you recommend the job? My daughter is thinking about it. Do you get to see the places you fly to (I guess you do when you have a 24 hour stop over)?

How much moisturiser do you get through? I feel like I need loads after just one flight...

I was on a flight yesterday and there was a man who was about 6 foot tall and he must have been 30 stone. He could not fit in the seat and the middle arm rest was up and a third of a way across his back. He looked so uncomfortable. Was no issue to me as I was in the window seat. But what honestly would happen if the flight was full. There is no way someone could have fitted in the middle seat. 💯 would not really have been possible. What would happen if someone had booked and paid for that middle seat and there was no where else to go. What would you do?

I avoided flying for years because I was scared. Have been abroad for the last two years and next holiday due soon. I'm getting better each time. I'm unlikely to be relaxed on the flight, but are there any tips for those of us who are a little nervous about flying?

I’m a flight attendant too. We shouldn’t handle bags of sick because we also handle food. The problem is usually when people just hand us things like that as they’re walking past. If we know you’re sick and you need our help, let us know, we can put gloves and a plastic apron on before we help you. But next time, just put the bag in the toilet bin.

Also, someone further up asked about the brace position. It’s nothing to do with identifying you in a morgue. They’d use DNA for that. The brace position also varies depending on which cabin your sitting in, whether you’re facing forwards or backwards etc. They don’t always cover your face, my brace position on my jump seat is just my arms across my chest. It can save you from serious injury, preventing ribs going through organs, banging your head on the chair in front. Things like that

Biggest thing now as a traveler is that I wipe down the seat/tray/immediate area with a sanitizer wipe. People do all sorts of things when travelling, that's all I'll say!

If someone is scared of flying, my biggest advice is to remember that statistically flying is much safer than driving and that it gets easier with time. If you can focus on the moment and take a deep breath, that can go a long way towards making the experience more tolerable and less scary.

One thing that has always stuck with me was when a mother decided to change her baby's nappy at their seat. I understand it can be a hassle getting the baby and yourself up and to the lavatory, but at the same time - you wouldn't change your baby while riding the Tube and an airplane isn't that different!

I don't think I have? I've flown very close to lightning and it's very beautiful but I don't recall being on a plane that got hit. I don't think it would be very dangerous - aircraft are like a Faraday cage and the lightning is bounced off them.

No comment on what passcodes or other measures we use 😂😂😂

What do you think about people who travel with loads of hand baggage?

It's too late by the time you are on the aircraft and speaking to a flight attendant! If you want an upgrade, doesn't hurt to ask when you are checking in or at the gate (before boarding).

9/11 was prior to me beginning my career. I can't imagine what it would've felt like to work before and after that event. I do remember flying before 9/11 and security was such an afterthought.