Aviation has been a big part of travel for a long time. When people think of aviation they think about pilots, airplanes, and flight attendants. Because of T.V. and media people have this made up fantasy of what flight attendants do, and who we are. There are somethings we would like people to know.
1. Putting your phone in airplane mode.
There are reasons we ask you to put your cell phones on airplane mode. One reason we ask that phones are on airplane mode is so that you will pay attention to the safety demo. There is important information in our safety demo that you need to know in case there is an emergency. The other reason you we ask you to put your phone on airplane mode is because it interferes with the pilots. When the pilots talk to air traffic control to get permeation to leave, your cell phones interfere with the radio.
2. When we are pacing up and down the isle we are most likely trying to get our weight and balance correct.
One of our duties before closing the aircraft door is counting the people on the aircaft. We do this to make sure we have the amount of fuel we need, and to make sure one end of the aircraft isn't heavier than the other. This is why we pace up and down the isle so much, because we are probably trying to get our count right.
3. We are a more than a pretty face serving snacks and drinks.
Because of media people have this made up fantasy of what flight attendants are and what we do. We go through training and learn so much more than just to serve drinks and snacks. During training we learn what to do in the case of an emergency and we learn the aircrafts. By the end of training we know the aircraft like the back of our hands.
4. Our hours and days are so unpredictable.
The life of a flight attendant is so unpredictable. When you are first starting out as a flight attendant you pick up flights that are misconnects, flights that have been dropped by line holder flight attendants, or if they just don't have someone to work a specific flight. Most days you have no idea where you're going until they call you out to go somewhere. Because of this we usually eat and sleep when we can.
5. When we ask you to do something, we aren't trying to be mean.
When we ask you to put your bag in the overhead bin, to sit back down, or even to turn your phone off we aren't trying to be mean. We are trying to do our job and keep you safe. There is a reason behind everything we ask you to do. Our main priority is that you have and enjoyable and safe flight.
