Category: 
July 1, 2009
IF you’ve left the door open while peeing, if you listen to music while they try to talk to you or if you’ve tried to grab a seat in the crew rest area – then flight attendants hate you.
Flight attendants from around the world have broken their silence to reveal the things that passengers do that really gets under their skin.
While Kevin Rudd’s alleged angry outburst at a flight attendant and Naomi Campbell’s infamous cabin catfight have hit the headlines, it’s these everyday annoyances that really get their goat.
You leave the door wide open when you pee.
“One of the most annoying things passengers do is not closing the lavatory door,” celebrity flight attendant David Holmes from Southwest Airlines said.
You double order your drinks.
“Asking one flight attendant for a drink and before they get back with it, asking another flight attendant for the same drink, is bad news,” Bethany Burke, a flight attendant from Florida, US, said.
You tap flight attendants on the shoulder to get their attention.
“Passengers tap me to get my attention but then don’t give me eye contact when talking to me,” Mr Holmes said.
“Passengers wouldn’t take off their headsets when I asked them if they wanted food or drink,” ex-hostie Susan, who worked for Qantas for over 20 years, said.
“When I ask passengers if they’d like something to drink, three times out of five the response will be ‘Wha?’ And that’s a ‘wha’ without the ‘T’,” Heather Poole, flight attendant for a major US carrier, said.
“‘Something to drink?’ I’ll ask again, and while I ask this question I find myself wondering why you haven’t taken off the iPod or those giant Bose noise cancellation headsets covering your ears when you see me standing at your row.”
You stuff your bag to breaking point and then ask for help to stow it away.
“The worst is when people bring a heavy bag onboard, then tell me that they can’t lift it overhead because of a bad back,” Mrs Burke said.
“Lifting your bag into the overhead bin is not, nor has it ever been, part of my job description. Honestly, I don’t know what bothers me more, the fact that a passenger will come on-board and expect me to lift their bag, or the fact that they actually get upset when I won’t lift the bag,” Mrs Poole said.
You complain about the overhead bin being full and make a fuss about having to put your bag in the rows behind.
“Passengers who get annoyed about the overhead bins near their seats being full, and then say the word “ridiculous”, are so annoying,” Mrs Poole said.
You order a special meal and then change your mind at the last minute.
“I hate it when passengers order a vegetarian, kosher or fruit special meal and then want a regular meal instead,” Mrs Burke said.
You’re messy and inconsiderate.
“There’d be so many people who’d just throw things on the floor right in the middle of the cabin, such as newspapers they’ve finished with or rubbish,” Susan said.
“Surprisingly, it’s no different in first class, they’re just as messy as the other passengers.”
You read up about getting free upgrades and pull all the tricks to try and get your way.
“Another annoying thing is the tricks people used to play to get upgraded,” Susan said.
“You could see the pattern for a lot of people, but if they win it’s just rewarding them for bad behaviour.”
You expect to be told the moment you change time zones.
“Passengers often want to know exactly when they should change their watch when crossing time zones,” Mrs Burke said.
You try and take over the crew rest area.
“Trying to sit in our crew rest seats, which are sacred to us, is a very bad idea,” Mrs Burke warns.
You enter the galley without permission and loiter.
“Unless you’ve actually been invited into the galley (it does happen), you do not step onto the floor for any length of time,” Mrs Poole said.
You spill water on the toilet floor and leave without cleaning it up.
“People would leave water on the floor after using the toilet, forgetting about all the other passengers who may slip and fall,” Susan said.
You have unrealistic expectations of your air travel experience.
“I saw a first-class passenger chuck a hissy fit as we didn’t have the right flavour of yogurt onboard. A bit unrealistic,” Susan said.
