To wonder how flight attendants keep their temper

[HamishBamish]

I've done a lot of long haul travel over the past week and have marvelled at how calm and even tempered flight attendants are.

I was amazed how many people can't follow simple rules and need to be told time and time again the following.

• Don't have your seat back during take off and landing
• No leaving your seat when the seat belt sign is on
• No bags blocking the isle, they need to be under the seat in front

These are safety issues, but clearly some people think they know better!

Also, the amount of demanding and just generally rude behaviour I witnessed was incredible. Not to mention the complete disregard for the comfort of other passengers (I won't go over reclining seats again, been done to death but wtf!) and selfish, self centred behaviour.

Do people leave their brains at home when they travel? How on earth do flight attendants stand dealing with it all, day in day out?

I get people being rude and stupid day in day out at work. I think lots of people probably do. At least they get to go nice places whilst putting up with it

Yes it's just part of working in customer service really.

I can see the rudeness being common, but the inability to follow simple safety instructions? Are some people's memories so bad they have to be told the same thing over and over again, minutes apart in some cases?

Not much different from any customer facing role I guess.

Shop work, call centre work, nurses, etc.

YANBU. I've only flown long-haul once and would never do it again due to the way people behave on flights.

Some people are arrogant enough to believe that even simple safety instructions don't apply to them and they are above it somehow

YANBU. Another thing that bugs me is when it is announced that they will be boarding the plane from the back so could people with seats in row xxx to row xxx please board now and all other passengers remain seated. A simple instruction but no, you have people in the front rows joining the queue and then holding up everyone as they stand towards the front of the aisle stowing away their hand luggage and folding their coat etc etc.

Because air travel is generally so safe a lot of people treat safety rules as not relevant to them. What also always bugs me is that people somehow expect little ones, who at the best of times and in easiest of environs cannot be called 'quiet' or 'still', to somehow magically be calm and serene when strapped to a seat or stuck on a lap in a confined space for hours on end.

Oh yes Vintagejazz, it's really weird. Why on earth would you want to get on early when you're going to be on the plane for 11+ hours! I get on at the last possible minute.

We had quite a few little ones of the flight moxon and they were amazing. It was overnight though, but you wouldn't have known they were there. That's not to say that should be expected. It's impossible to keep a child still for hours if they're awake.

I often marvel at how calm and serene flight attendants look. It there are any flight attendants reading, I'd like to explain why some of us are grumpy on flights. We hate flying! I'd never be rude to a flight attendant, but I've scowled at them (take off, landing and turbulence) and been very short with them because I'm trying not to have a fear induced heart attack.
So, lovely lovely flight attendants, it's not you. It's me. I'm sorry.

Last year I was on a 6am flight to Malaga - a pretty quiet time to travel I thought!

Hah, two youngish people got on clutching cans of Red Bull and talking loudly about how pissed they were, how tired they were, how they felt sick, etc etc. They asked for the empty seats right at the front by the bulkhead and sat down putting their feet up and reclining the chairs.

As we set off the attendants asked them to put the seats up, take their feet down and turn their phones off and were rewarded with a tirade of drunken abuse about how they'd paid for it, they could do what they effing liked and noone was going to tell them what to do. This went on the whole flight, they asked for alcohol and got arsey when they were refused, when they were asked to keep their voices down and stop swearing as a) it was early and b) there were small children they completely ignored the attendants.

The attendants were incredibly calm and patient, polite and firm all the time and although they must have felt like just telling to them to do as they were told kept their cool - I was so impressed. On landing the lovely pair were escorted off the flight by security and the attendants on the way out apologised to every single person for the disruption. They deserved a medal! I emailed the airline and said that they should be singled out for thanks from someone (and also that whoever let those people on to fly in the first place might be asked why).

On our return flight at midnight there were no rowdy people (which I had expected) but one very small and unhappy baby who complained vocally all the way back. No-one complained about them, the parents were worn out and tried their best, and I did chuckle a little when we were in the passport queue to see said baby absolutely zonked out in the buggy whilst the poor parents were wild eyed with exhaustion and stress.

As a trolly dolly myself I can tell you the answer

As soon as the passengers have gone and the fake smile has been peeled from our lips..... We drink

I flew Delta long haul last year and I wouldn't describe the flight attendants as calm and even tempered.

The man behind me asked the flight attendant for a pen so that he could complete his immigration card. He got a right mouthful for not asking earlier in the flight. The flight attendant went on and on and as he was talking about 3 of us passed the man our own pens to use.

Someone else got snapped at by a different stewardess when she pointed out that she had asked for coffee and been given tea.

I used to work dealing with angry and rude people and you quickly learn that it's best to remain polite and professional. I'd love to deal with airline passengers I'd probably bore them into submission.

Some people are born with the ability to smile, nod, and let other people's shit wash over them. I wish I was one of them. I often marvel at these eople, not just those that work as flight attendants.

Flight attendants just put it on their forums later.

The joys of Self Loading Cargo!

I think some airline crew are better than others. IME BA seem to have more level polite staff, Thai were charming but others much less so.
I was once shouted at by BWIA staff for moving an inflight magazine from one seat pocket to another.

The United crew on both legs of our flights were appalling. Rude and snappish.

I know a lady who used to be Britannia cabin crew. Oh, the stories she told me!

I couldn't do it, I'd end up causing a diversion and being arrested for smacking someone round the head or something.

I do work in a customer facing role and really enjoy it, but I think the not being able to get away from any rude people would drive me to open the possibly mid-flight

FFS, seats are meant to recline (except at take off and landing, and at mealtimes). Sitting bolt upright is very uncomfortable. Everyone reclines together and the discomfort of economy is made a little less so.

don't like it? Pay for first class or perish the thought, don't fly.

why are so many people so awkward about this? You want to get places for pennies - get real.

Wow Special, bee in your bonnet of what! Your post is really rude.

Actually, I didn't specify what I found unreasonable about people reclining their seats as it's already been discussed here at length. So, I will do so for you. I'm talking about people who expect to keep their seats reclined whilst food is being served, or seem to have an expectation that they can remain so during take off and landing. I'm not talking about when people are relaxing/sleeping.

I'm a waitress (on land, not in the sky) and there comes a point where you can either turn into a seething ball of fucking rage and let it ruin the reset of your day and your actual life when you get home, or just stop caring completely. Just dismiss the idiocy, rudeness, absolute fuckwits that the general public are, let it wash over you, don't think about it, go into bland robot mode and count the hours till home time.

I have witnessed horrible, horrible behaviour from passengers. In fact, on a couple of occasions I have actually volunteer to act as witness that the flight attendant's behaviour was impeccably professional, because I hated the other passenger's "I will get you in trouble" attitude.

I've flown a lot, and in my experience much of the stupid and rude behaviour is due to alcohol. People get tanked up before boarding and then become arrogant, aggressive, rude and even violent. I've seen all these things.

Sometimes the poor attendants look so tired and frazzled your heart goes out to them, but as you say, they mostly keep smiling and stay calm.

I think mainly the passengers are just excited to be going on holiday and get too full of themselves. A bit childish and out of order, but that's modern life.

I first flew in the sixties, and everyone was in suits/posh frocks, and it was like a church service! The 'hostesses' were elegant and beautifully groomed. We were all a bit in awe of them tbh!

Oh yeah, drunk. I once almost had to request a change of seat on a long haul business class flight because the guy across the aisle from me was drunk and hitting on me and started getting tactile. Fortunately, he then fell asleep and only woke up on arrival, looking worse for wear.