The New Years Resolutions That Cabin Crew Hope Passengers Are Making

In our dreams?


Photo by Simple Flying@simple_flying

New year, new start and time for those resolutions. It's been a tough few years for cabin crew - losing jobs, lower salaries, longer hours and more disruptive passengers than ever. There have been more delays and issues at the airport, and we know passengers have had a rough time too. As airline cabin crew what resolutions would we suggest to our passengers?

Courtesy

Passengers tend to be very self-focused on flights and that's absolutely fine. Cabin crew are known for being courteous and polite. We'd love a hello or even better a smile when you board. A please and thank you would be nice, but we don't expect it. A genuine 'thank you' after the flight really makes our day.

Read more: Has Hong Kong Airport lost its status as Asia’s super hub?

Safety

Please watch the safety demonstration. We understand that you may have seen it all before or you don't want to think about the aircraft being in an emergency. In the unlikely event that something did happen, wouldn't you want to know how to improve your chances of survival? It's only a few minutes of your time and could save your life.

Delays

Delays are all the more common these days. Please don't get mad at us, the cabin crew can't really do anything. It's frustrating, yes, but remember we are delayed as well, and it is inconvenient for us too. We will be late home or miss a family dinner too and most crew don't get paid any extra for the extra hours worked. We hate delays just as much as you do, but we accept it's just part of our job.

Respect

Please don't call us a stewardess, air hostess or trolley dolly. It is outdated and disrespectful and certainly not funny. Cabin crew love their work (mostly!) and will do their utmost to make your flight a pleasant one, but we are safety professionals first. We are responsible for you if there is an emergency and that's our priority. We'll forgive you the first time, but not a second!

Trays

Just a practical thing, please don't stack up your family's meal trays altogether or pile them all up on one. We have just enough space for each individual tray and the items on it. Piling them up, means we have to take the extra time and each tray flat again to fit in the cart. It also increases the chances of us getting the leftover meal on our uniform. Just a little ask to make our job quicker and easier.

Clean up

If possible try not to leave trash in the cabin and certainly don't leave food on the floor or use the tray table to change a baby's nappy. Unfortunately, we see these things happen all the time. Especially since the pandemic, we should be super aware of cleanliness. The aircraft is our home - would you do that at a stranger's home?

Be nice

Hey, we are all stuck in this metal can in the sky together right? Let's all be nice. We'll always do our best for you, whenever we can. We are human and have issues sometimes too, but we also represent our airline, so would never mix the two. If there's an issue we'll try and help solve the problem, but also think realistically. Shouting at the cabin crew because you don't have your favorite newspaper on board, will not help anything. We cannot parachute back down to the ground and go to the store and pick one up for you. Please just be nice to us and your fellow passengers.