A former British flight attendant has shared some of the biggest secrets of her career, in an interview with The Daily Mail.
Speaking under the condition of anonymity, the former cabin crew member of six years opened up about what happened onboard flights she operated up until she lost her job due to COVID-19.
Dom Perignon down the dunny
The former flight attendant said unfinished and open drinks had to be poured down the toilet before touchdown. Likely for health and safety reasons, she said everything from opened cartons of juice, cans of drink and expensive bottles of Champagne were disposed of in the toilets.
Throwing upgrade
Passengers would board the plane and complain of feeling ill. And, somehow like a magic medicine, they thought an upgrade to business class was going to make them feel better, well that's what they would try and convince the crew onboard at least.
This technique would often backfire on the passenger however, often being offloaded from the flight to avoid any possible emergency medical diversion or medical costs. And, in these times of COVID-19, it's a technique that is highly unlikely to work in someone's favour.
Not quite four weddings and a funeral
While flying is often seen as romantic, this particular flight attendant had seen more deaths than she had proposals.
"Over six years I encountered three deaths and one engagement," she told the Daily Mail.
How did it happen, you ask? The proposal, not the death of course.
A business class passenger asked the crew onboard to serve a glass of champagne to his girlfriend, a glass that had an engagement ring at the bottom of it. As she took her first sip, he took to his knee.
That proposal was wonderful.
She did also witness and assist in the attempted revival of three deaths while onboard during her time at the airline.
Not quite for your ears only
It was in this particular area of inflight hygiene that the former crew member really opened the lid on how things were done behind the scenes.
"Before landing the crew collected all of the headsets and put them into a bag. These were then taken to a facility at the airport where low-paid workers were tasked with detangling them day and night so they could be repackaged and reused," she told the paper.
Nice.
However, new bud coverings were put on the headphones "for hygiene."
Being the right fit for the job
The most intrusive claim made was that crew members were put on diet plans "if needed."
"I was weighed before starting my job as a flight attendant so it could be used as a reference. I was issued with a uniform that was one size larger because I was expected to 'grow into it'," the woman said.
Senior members of the company could essentially put crew members "on report" which would be followed up by the company implementing a weight management programme for the employee.
Sleeping for the staff
Yes, there are secret sleeping areas for crew onboard most aircraft.
Some are located in much better areas than others. On the Boeing 777 they are tucked away in a nice quiet area, but on an Airbus A380 they are just a thin wall away from passengers so despite being in bed, the crew can hear all the passenger noise, the toilet noise and the crying babies.
Sweet dreams.
Layovers
The anonymous flight attendant left what could possibly be the most popular, yet no-surprising topic until last.
Pilots would use the fact that they were pilots to get a woman's attention.
Anyone who has seen Top Gun knows that this is totally a thing.
"Layovers were basically fun nights out, where anything could and did happen," she said.
The not-so-appropriate part was that pilots were known to get staff members phone numbers from the company directory and invite girls to their hotel rooms. A pretty big claim to make, and if true should be investigated immediately.
"I've seen promiscuity from both sides, though. The female crew still consider it 'climbing the ladder' if they sleep with a pilot, and it's a sad truth, but many men will take advantage of this," the former crew member said.
