My Little Version of "Passenger's Etiquette"

Although I have just started out as a flight attendant, I have travelled often enough to collect my own "little black book" of travel tips on the plane. For those of you who are starting to fly more often, or for anyone who has had a horrible experience, read on and maybe on your next flight, things will flow much smoothly!

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1. Bring your own water.
While I work, I'm grateful that we get bottles of water instead of having to drink the tap water from flights (who knows the reason to why the water tastes a little funky???). Even when I travel leisurely, I make sure I buy a bottle of water (especially for long-haul flights) just so that I have a good supply of liquids just in case I fall asleep before the flight attendants come around for drinks and I stay hydrated throughout my flight.

*a little note: overseas flights usually provide bottled water to all passengers (first class and economy) so this would apply more to domestic and transborder flying.

2. Wear shoes when going to the lavatories.
...Unless you like feeling the grime and the occasional pee on the ground. If you really don't want to, consider bringing slippers.

3. Don't snap your fingers or grab the arm to catch the flight attendant's attention.
Word gets around to the other flight attendants and that's not a good thing!! Do you really think you would feel happy to help someone if they snapped their fingers at you or grabbed you? Straight up rude.

4. Wear comfortable clothing (esp. for long-haul flights)
I've seen many people who come in with heels and tight jeans, etc. for an 8 hour flight... you'll be sitting most of the time. Many people have complained about leg cramps and blood clots in the body during the flight. Try to wear comfortable clothing where you can move in around well (you can be stylin and comfortable at the same time), and it always helps to have a walk around the plane if you feel like you have a cramp coming on.

5. Bring a hand creme  
Soaps in the lavatories dry out your hands to the extreme! To prevent cracks and rashes on your hands, it may be good to pack a mini hand creme in your carry-on.

6. If you can, board the plane last.
When you board the plane last, on flights with many open seats - flight attendants usually try to accommodate you to a better seat that is more vacant. This could be a hit and miss -- some flight attendants do, and some don't, so you can always request this.

7. Don't push your limits on the carry-on bag size.
If you or the flight attendant can't shove your bag in the stowage bin, they'll most likely check it. You don't really have a say at that point so please try to respect the size restrictions - for the convenience of yourself, the flight attendants and the other passengers =)

8. Don't expect flight attendants to help you with your bags. (There is a reason!)
To conform to our own safety and health regulations, flight attendants aren't really supposed to help you with putting away the bags - it is up to us to risk our own safety to put the baggage up in stowage... so don't think we're standing there cause we're lazy!!

9. Be a mindful passenger.
This means being observant and reporting any suspicious or unusual activity in the plane, whether it be a broken light, an unidentified baggage, or a crack on the door. The more we know, the safer the flight.

10. Be a friendly passenger.
Imagine if you were sitting beside a person and both parties started off negatively (ie. baggage space hogging, putting belongings in the other person's spot, etc, etc, etc....) - it would just be plain awkward to sit together. What if you have to go to the lav and you're sitting at the window seat? To break any tension, be polite, smile, and if you'd like, strike up a small conversation with your seat buddy. Who knows, you guys could end up as good friends :)

11. Have a pen handy.
You'll run into custom forms, and we only have a limited supply of pens to give out.... so nuff said!

Hope this was helpful - Would love to hear some of your own tips! :)