No extra leg room for you
Flight attendants are often played up as ditzy in movies, but in real life, they are magnificent and terrifying creatures capable of inspiring the utmost sucking-up. After all, if you’re in an artificial box flying 30,000ft in the air, you want to be nice to the keepers of the food.
And yes, flight attendants are judging you.
Recently, on the online forum Quora, flight attendants banded together to confirm your greatest anxieties: that your every move is being watching and judged by the flying powers-that-be.
Turns out, flight attendants know immediately whether you’re going to be trouble. And from the first glimpse of your tiny, gym-neglected arms, they know whether or not you’re worthy of that coveted extra leg room spot.
Here’s what flight attendants say they notice straightaway:
YOUR NATIONALITY
Serving and communicating with people from diverse backgrounds is something flight attendants do day in, day out. Far from being the ditzy blondes often portrayed in movies, they’re often closer to diplomats. According to the knowledge-sharing forum on Quora, flight attendants can often tell what nationality you are just based on whether you’re carrying a magazine or newspaper. They’ll then use these visual cues to try to greet you in the appropriate language and manner.
YOUR STANK
If you have the stank of alcohol wafting off you, you can kiss your first impression rose goodbye. Having to perform the majority of their work in self-contained flying boxes, you’d want to learn pretty fast to smell a trouble-maker before they can catch you unawares. And sometimes, sniffing out trouble is quite a literal act.
YOUR GYM ROUTINE
If you want to leg room, you’d better get your benching routine in order. Deciding who gets to sit in the spacious exit row seats is a very superficial process, but this superficiality is all in the name of safety. If an emergency does occur, flight attendants need to know you can lift a 30kg hatch, and so they’ll be checking out your shredded rig before they decide if you qualify. If you are particularly muscled up, they might also take note so they can ask you for help later, should any trouble occur on the flight.
YOUR ENGLISH-SPEAKING ABILITY
On Australian flights, the radio commentary often comes exclusively in English. According to the Quora forum, if flight attendants notice that your command of the language is below average, you might unfortunately be made to forego those exit row seats. When emergencies occur, they need to know the people in charge of the hatch can understand the commands that are being shouted over the radio.
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Written by Kirsty Sier
Image: Getty
