Of all the travel-related jobs out there, from writing about fabulous places to reviewing hotels and restaurants, being a flight attendant seems so fun. But it's good to remember that it's a job that means dealing with the public quite a lot. And when people are traveling by plane, they aren't always as nice as they should be. With flights that last hours and delays that are never pleasant, it makes sense that passengers are going to be in a bad mood sometimes... but that doesn't mean that being rude to a flight attendant is the right thing to do.
Here's what flight attendants are too polite to say to passengers.
Your Kids Shouldn't Be Super Messy On Planes
Parents know that flying with kids can be a really difficult time. You do your best to calm them down, make them feel comfortable, and pack enough snacks and toys and games that they will be happy and entertained for the whole flight. But flight attendants know that sometimes, children don't always behave themselves on planes, and they can be super messy, too.
As a flight attendant said on Reddit, they would love to tell parents that their children have to sit down in their seats and not be incredibly messy. They wrote, "The floor under your seat is not a diaper bin (yes, actually found one there). I am not a babysitter." A passenger wanted this flight attendant to babysit their child and they've also seen kids drawing on the seat in front of them. Of course, a flight attendant has to be polite, but it's easy to understand that they wish they could tell families to be a little neater and more considerate.
If They Tell You A Rule, You Shouldn't Fight Back
No matter what job someone has, if they tell someone a rule, they want them to accept it and move on. It's just a fact of life that we have to follow policies sometimes.
A flight attendant posting in the same thread on Reddit said if they're mentioning a rule to a passenger, they don't want to fight back. They posted, "It really bothers me when I tell someone something simple, for example, 'I need you to stow your purse underneath the seat in front of you,' and they argue as if it's my personal preference. I always very sweetly explain that it's a federal aviation regulation, and sometimes even then, people argue." Flight attendants are definitely way too polite to say something like "that's just the way that it is" or "please follow these rules" but they would love to, that's for sure.
Inquiring About Delays Isn't The Best Thing To Do
According to a flight attendant who was quoted by Business Insider, inquiring about delays isn't the best thing to do. They said, "Don't ask me if the plane's going to be late because of the delay, because I don't know."
Flight attendants are too polite to tell passengers that saying anything about delays or asking what time the plane will get to the destination isn't going to get them anywhere. We bet that flight attendants really want to say, "How am I supposed to know that?" but they just smile politely instead.
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It's Not A Good Idea To Walk Through The Plane In Socks
We've probably all seen people walking through a plane in socks and while we totally get that certain shoes can be uncomfortable for a long flight (or even an hour-long one), it's kind of gross to take your shoes off on a plane. You definitely have to think of your fellow passengers... and you should think about the flight attendant, too. According to Business Insider, flight attendants want to tell people that it's not a good idea to walk through the aircraft in socks. This is because it's just not a very clean place.
According to Forbes, the trays on the back of seats are actually one of the least clean areas on the plane. While employees do clean when the plane is on the ground, trays aren't being totally cleaned because taking the garbage out is mostly what's being done. What about cleaning the whole inside of the plane? Forbes explains, "Airlines don't exactly publish how often they deep clean the interior cabin. But you can anticipate it's every one month to three months." Okay, we're totally convinced that we never want to walk around in socks.
After hearing the things that flight attendants are too polite to say to passengers, we're totally determined to never do these annoying things the next time that we fly.