Could you believe these secrets that only flight attendants knew while flying?

Air travel is a feeling and experience for many of us. Literally, we are locked inside a metal tube with no easy way of return until the journey ends, once we start. Flight attendants have a thorough knowledge about every minute detail of the flight. These are some of the secrets regarding air journey that only the flight crew knew.

Flight aerobic mechanisms

Flight attendants absolutely despise the moment they are treated like a waiter. Yeah, they might be so-called ‘glorified waitresses’, but there is so much more to a flight attendant than meets the eye. Their training regime is quite intense and rigorous, with one attendant claiming that if you score 90% or less on the written exam, you will be packing your bags.

During the 5-week, 10 hours per day training, not only are student attendants learning how to serve and greet passengers, they are also taught about the mechanics of an aircraft. So, next time you’re in a café, ask the waiter or waitress if they know aeromechanics!

Are they over-paid?

Contrary to most beliefs, flight attendants are not on the highest salary in the world, by any means. At one stage, one attendant reported that she was paid $38,000 USD, which is barely enough to live for one person, let alone if there is a family to provide for. This figure, according to her, was one of the highest paid by airlines in the US.

They wont judge you

As passengers, we may not notice this, but as we are lining up to board the plane and indeed once we enter the aircraft, flight attendants have already begun to suss everyone out based on their choice of clothing.

Sure, sweatpants and a hoodie is more comfortable, but if you are looking to receive good service, or even a possible upgrade, it wouldn’t hurt your chances to spice it up a little. Throw on some chinos and a decent shirt, be presentable and have good manners, acknowledge the crew at any possible moment from boarding the aircraft to disembarking, and you’ll be more than okay!

Nutrition in flight food

Even if you are served a healthy-looking salad or sandwich, it will, at the core, have no nutritional value due to the amount of salt, fat, and sugar found inside.

It is a little-known secret that in training, flight attendants are made aware that airline food has no nutritional benefits. Once every few months won’t be a problem, it is more the frequent flyers who might need to rethink their food situation whilst in transit.

‘Can I help you?’

Of course, flight attendants are there to assist you with anything you need to make your flight more enjoyable, we have all heard them say it over the loud-speaker. But it is the passengers who constantly press the help button that tickle the nerves of the attendants. Some even expect assistance immediately after take-off or landing and treat the button like it’s a private jet, according to one attendant. They forget that there are many other people on the plane for them to attend.

Drinks aboard

When the person serving says they wouldn’t drink it, you probably shouldn’t either. While you may think a dose of coffee is what you need to make it through the last hour of the flight, think again. There are so many chemicals in the water they use in the coffee that it is doing more harm than good.

It is not just the preservatives and other chemicals found, but the fact that the water tanks of the plane aren’t cleaned as often as they should be. So, the bottom line is if you stick to anything that comes from a can or bottle, go ahead.

Sleep comforts

From the outside, the life of a flight attendant seems glamorous; getting paid to travel and spending the night in a new city. For some international attendants, this may be the case, however it is the domestic and short-haul attendants who bare the brunt of early morning wake-ups, time away from home – from family and long stop-overs.

In fact, one attendant said that there was a period of time where her work life consisted of flying from Los Angeles to Hawaii at midnight, 3 hours rest and back to Los Angeles. Fun, is it; or is it not?