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!

Is it frowned upon to walk into first/business class if you are stretching your legs having a wander up and down the aisles on long-haul? I did it once and got 'looked at' quite strongly, felt the need to say 'just stretching my legs' by way of explanation of my presence. I wasn't in anyone's way or disturbing anyone/looming/obstructing etc, just wandering by.

I like it. It's very neutral and comfortable. We can mix and match so you can find what's flattering and comfortable for you. I'm glad we don't have to don any sort of hat or faff around with elaborate scarves or neck things like some airlines 😂

In my experience, very uncommon. We still stock the sick bags at every seat but I can't recall the last time I saw someone using one.

can some planes be fully remote control once the controls are set ?

Sorry, I know this isn’t my thread but I’m going to answer anyway. Yes, please don’t walk into First class or business. We don’t even let crew who are working in other cabins walk through First class. It does disturb people who are sleeping (and lots of people in the premium cabins sleep the whole flight) and sometimes high profile people are there and it makes them feel like they’re being spied on. Also, the premium cabins tend to be near the front of the aircraft and so is the cockpit, which is a security concern. If you need to stretch your legs, please do it in the cabin your seat is in.

Do you drink the tea and coffee?
Before flying long haul last year I saw a load of videos that mentioned about the water and kettles being contaminated and not cleaned properly.

Gosh... you don't? At least I don't! Usually our layovers are so short there isn't any point or time to adjust to the local schedule. We're on the ground anywhere from 12-48 hours so it's really about sleeping in a way that allows you to be refreshed for the next flight you are working. I nap a lot and also exercise to tire myself out and get a good night's sleep.

Something else I’ve thought of…
if turbulence comes on suddenly and unexpectedly, do the cabin crew have to sit down and announce that everyone else should, or are they expected to walk the aisle first to check everyone before they sit down themselves?

Oh no, I'm sorry they made you feel that way! Usually passengers are encouraged to take the bag themselves to the lavatory and dispose of it there. I'd have no problem taking it though - easy enough to go and get some gloves and a bag for you to drop it in!

We don't get free but we get heavily discounted (we basically pay the fees and taxes but nothing to the airline), if you are willing to fly standby. Standby means you will fly if there is space on the aircraft (usually from people missing their connections or not checking in for their flight or the airline not selling all the seats onboard) but it goes by seniority and you cannot assume you will actually get to fly. Show up to the airport and hope for the best! We also get these benefits on partner airlines.

For regular, confirmed bookings we do get a set number of passes that provide a discount compared to the regular fare.

I watched a programme about this once. They’re tiny little single bunks :)

Yes, on most aircraft the beds are above the passenger cabin. They are single berths so no sharing! There is a blackout curtain that goes around the entrance, a pillow and blanket, a reading light and an air conditioner vent. We get a schedule so everyone knows when they will get their rest period. They can be a bit claustrophobic but that's reduced if you actually sleep versus relaxing in them. I usually sleep fine in them although I know some people just cannot fall asleep in them and spend their rest period watching TV 😂

They are quite neutral - a very inky black with red "accents". We can mix and match between a dress, blazer, trousers, skirt and white blouse along with a red neck scarf. I won't comment on specific airlines but some of the colours and patterns I see look very difficult to pull off!

I flew with Air Canada to Vancouver and was desperate to look out of the window to look at the icebergs and scenery. Why are the blinds down? We left London about 2pm and landed 4pm,so not late British time or Canadian time ,so not interfering with sleep time . Are passengers frowned upon for raising their window blind ?
Edited to say Vancouver airport was amazing and Vancouver now one of my favourite places .

So on my airline any drinking water is poured from a sealed plastic water bottle. The "tap" water you're thinking of is used to make coffee and produce hot water for tea. The plane has water tanks that are filled up after each flight. I'm sure there is a cleaning schedule for the tanks and I drink coffee and never have any issues. People will say "there is bacteria in that water!" but I've never been sick after drinking coffee made onboard and I've had hundreds of cups.

I've never struggled with sleep, before or after starting this career. I actually find it easier to nap as I've gotten older. There have definitely been flights where I can't sleep and spend the time reading or watching TV. Our rest periods are a few hours so even if you don't feel sleepy, you might once you get into bed. It depends on the individual. I'd also note we always have fresh coffee available when rest periods end 😂

Did you get lessons on how to appear perfectly groomed all the time? Do you freshen up your hair and makeup on long flights?

I would recommend it but only if you go into the job eyes wide open. Look into the economics of it - find the pay scale for a few airlines and do the math. The first few years are very tough financially and even when you get more seniority you will never make a huge salary. The flipside is you get access (depending on the airline, I'm speaking in a very North American context) to heavily discounted travel and will see a lot of interesting and not so interesting places. I travel a lot both for work and outside work and that is why I pursued this career.

Layovers are often short but with some effort, you can see places. The nice thing is that it's not like you'll never be back in, say, Rome, so you don't feel the need to see everything in one afternoon.

I'm naturally inclined towards dry skin so I feel your pain! I always travel with my La Roche Posay Lipikar Baume, which I use for face and body. I wear light makeup when I work so I prefer something that can last the flight without me having to reapply a moisturiser or serum to stay hydrated. I also pickup a can of the Avene thermal spray when I'm in the EU (half the price compared to Canada) and sometimes spray that during the flight. You can get travel sized ones to bring through security.

If it was a completely sold out flight, I'd likely ask the ground crew to handle it before takeoff. I'm not sure what they would do, honestly. It is a safety issue and if someone legitimately cannot fit in a seat, that is not OK and the plane cannot take off. I will say it's very rare in my experience for someone who is very large to board without have called ahead and made arrangements to have two seats.

Unless it’s 11a??

Good for you! Where are you off to on your next holiday?

I think a universal tip to be relaxed is to give yourself lots of time to drop off your bags and go through security and get to your gate. You can also ask the gate agent if you can board early to get settled, if that would make you less nervous. Seats over the wing are the most stable and less likely to feel turbulence. Noise cancelling over the ear headphones are good, too. Find something immersive - could be a crossword, a book, a film, podcast. You don't want to be sitting on the plane and noticing every little thing.

I think it's disrespectful to go above the limit of one suitcase and one bag/purse/rucksack. My airline is good about stopping people who are clearly bringing too much on board - if you tried to board with, say, two rolling suitcases they would stop you and make you pay to check one.

Yes, it is. I know on some airlines, such as KLM, they actually have a little sign they put up across the aisle to stop people moving between business and economy class. The idea is having people walking up and down the aisles is disruptive to passengers in other cabins and part of the appeal of those cabins is that they are smaller and less busy.

I'm not a pilot so I don't know but my understanding it's more like a cruise control in a car. The plane isn't really flying itself, it's just set to maintain.