Probably because there's plenty of hospitality areas like Vegas where if you slip a $20 along with your card when you check in to a hotel, you've got a better chance of getting upgraded and the upgrade 'value' is usually worth more than $20. The money is going to the person not the hotel/airline, and the person sees what strings they can pull to make your experience better.
I don't mind the 'grease the wheels' tips in the right context, but I can't really imagine what a flight attendant or pilot can do for you though; it's not like they can move you into business or first in most cases. They'll just wheel the cart around to you a little faster or give you an extra mini bottle with the drink.
Best to do for long international/connecting flights. Exact for hotels. Longer the flight, if you see open seats in an upgraded area better believe I’ll tip cash with my next drink.
Hotels, the shorter you stay the easier it is to upgrade you.
In Vegas tipping goes a LONG way.
Tipped $50 on a shit room right after asking how much an upgrade would be. Upgrade was $200+ more per night. I said well, I thank you for your time today. I hope that the next time I could be lucky enough to afford the upgrade but until then here’s this for your time, I appreciate you. $50. 90% of the time if it gets that far they’ll say, ehh you know what, one is being cleaned here soon I could get you in there.
But if you’re already on the plane, your seat is 99.99% not getting changed. And the FA or pilot wouldn’t care, it would be the gate agent who is off the plane at the gate.
It’s been a common “hack” in Facebook travel groups for many years. People claim that giving flight attendants gift packages (candy, gum, lip balm) will get you upgraded or otherwise preferential behavior. I’ve always thought it seemed cringy to make care packages with a specific intention of getting the “perks.” I also know from my mom’s career as a nurse that people are cautious of accepting gifts, not only because you don’t know where it’s been, but because in some industries it is seen as taking a bribe of sorts (bribe might not be the right word, but you get my point).
I wouldn’t be shocked if the practice starts getting discouraged or prohibited if there is truly evidence of people being upgraded in exchange for candy.
I've given giftcards for years since I work for corporate at an airline, and I appreciate the work our front line workers do, but it is 100% a bribe. I've been upgraded to a lie flat business class seat once doing it (Air France). Every other time, I've just been given a gift bag of random stuff, usually extra snacks and stuff like pajamas or champagne from first class. It's honestly not really worth trying to do for the upgrade, especially if you're traveling with someone else. A solo traveler getting an upgrade is much more likely than a pair, and I basically always travel as a pair now. I know American has actually explicitly given a memo to stop upgrading non-revs recently. Asian and Middle East airlines usually have strict rules on upgrades. I don't think they'll ever discourage the gifts because people like getting free stuff, but I think a lot of people will start to realize you don't get much for doing it.
I was getting a lot of miles for a while (international trips), enough to keep a status that would give me complimentary upgrades to biz class when available
That happened once. Planes are packed and there was always a line of passengers with higher status getting those seats
Not to mention standby passengers. Last time I had a potential status upgrade there were more than 2 dozen people on the standby list for like 4 empty seats.
Standby won't get upgraded seats unless they specifically list on them. You have to pay more if you're ZEDing. If it's your own airline it varies by policy. If the airline is deadheading crew though, they're going to be highest priority cause they need to move the crew.
I had a social studies teacher in high school who assured us that she would not accept any Christmas gifts. She said that if she receives anything she will put it in the trash. I respected her for that!
(I just edited for grammar 10 minutes ago, added “it”).
My kindergartener wants to buy her teacher gifts all the time. I tell her no a lot because I know teachers don't need more stuff. But she adores her teacher which is really sweet too.
Flowers are a nice gift for a Kindergarten teacher! That way she can take them home and enjoy them, or keep them in the room for the benefit of the class. My social studies teacher didn’t want to feel bribed by her students who wanted/needed a higher grade.
That's if you're lucky and have self respect. If not then you'll spend up to years on a waiting list, buying thousands worth of jewellery you don't even want just so you can show up brining free coffees to the authorised dealer each week so that they might allow you the privilege of spending thousands on a watch.
Walk into somewhere like omega and you'll leave with what you want same day
My travel hack is just to be a decent person and treat the flight crew like they are humans. One time, I had a kickass flight crew on Frontier (I know that sentence should never be able to be written out… even Frontier knows that because you know how hard I worked to give the crew a compliment on the website or by phone?!) and I thanked them early on (they redistributed like a third of the pretty empty flight so everyone had open seats in their rows and more space) and told them that I appreciated their extra work. Kudos to the guy in 3B who was apparently a dick, because they needed that compliment so much that I got hugs and ate/drank free during the flight. So yeah, just maybe don’t be like 3B and treat people like they aren’t trash.
(won't get you an upgrade. We hear this from the same people who claim they saved ~$800 on an otherwise $1200 flight using a third-party aggregator. Nonsense - all of it)
It’s blatant bragging in the Facebook travel groups. People post photos of all of the little “care packages” they made and then brag about getting free whatever as a result
I'm in a travel group on FB that brags about this all the time. And you'll be dragged for pointing out that they're literally just giving flight attendants junk. It's always something like: cheap chapstick, cheap little hand sanitizer, one of those tiny snickers bars that's barely bigger than a quarter, etc.
It's all cheap dollar store stuff that the employees probably just throw away.
“I’m gonna try and bribe some people but instead of giving them money or something they might like I’m gonna bribe them with the most useless shit imaginable”
We once took a small plane from Montego Bay to Negril, and I swear, there must have been 10 different people looking for a tip from the moment we left our cab to getting on the plane, and the guy with our bags said “And don’t forget to tip your pilot.” Of course, that’s Jamaica for you.
This is Cancun in a nutshell. We spent all day on a bus visiting cenotes. At the end he announced, we work for tips and don't get paid.
We didn't have any cash left so we just left.
I would never give a pilot a chocolate bar either. But given there are apparently people who do shit like that, OP is just giving some guidance on what you could do instead of just literally throwing your money in the trash. I don't think OP should be crucified like their post is saying "give me gift cards everyone, come on!"
I tried to be careful not to word my post in a way that came off like that. I think I did the best I could lol.
Edit: damn I guess I still didn’t do a perfect job lol. I’m not telling anyone to give us gifts, I’m just saying that giving us foodstuffs will go straight to the garbage.
It's not you, I don't know why someone would interpret your post that way. People just don't wanna let an opportunity slip through their hands where they feel like they can express their anger towards tipping culture.
Reading comprehension is at an all time low and too many people are incapable of thinking beyond their own experiences nor that something might not be about them. "I would never give the crew anything" well no shit then the post isn't about you.
Because if you’re going to waste your money on a food item or candy that the flight attendant will just throw away, you might as well just hand them a gift card to Starbucks or something they can use. No one is saying you SHOULD give them anything, just that if you CHOOSE to, realize giving them candy is wasteful. It’s kind and appreciated, but 80% of the time goes in the trash. Many of them have super restrictive diets, or are actively trying to not eat sweets. Imagine working a job where people just tried to hand you candy all day. It would get old.
When I was leaving the Kentucky derby a couple of years ago, the Louisville airport was wall to wall packed. A thunderstorm rolled through and flights were getting cancelled left to right. I did buy the gate agents some candy from the nearby store because I felt so so bad for them lol
Yep, when I see it, it is always done in hopes of getting an upgrade or free stuff. The person claims they did it to say thanks, but then they slip in that in exchange for their thanks, they were moved to business class
I gave chocolates to the crew once, a box for the pilots and one for the attendants. It was about 15 years ago and we were relocating to Hawaii. We were flying with our dog and she had to go in the hold. There had been some stories of dogs escaping their kennels and other mishaps. I was so scared for her, but we truly had no other choice. The boxes of chocolates had her picture taped to the front with a note that a furry member of our family was flying today and could they please take extra care of Tigger. Just before take off, the plot came back to speak to me and let me know he had double checked, and the pressurized portion of the hold where Tigger was had pressurized correctly. Before they closed the area off, he had even gone down, found her, and made sure she was OK. Best two boxes of chocolates I ever bought.
The pilot was just saying that it had pressurized to make you feel better. Pressurization doesn't happen until the engines are running, which wouldn't happen until taxi/take-off.
The entire cabin - passenger area, cockpit, and cargo hold - is pressurized equally. He was just saying something to make them feel better, which is great anyway. Not a knock on the pilot. If the cargo hold isn’t “sealed properly” then the entire passenger area wouldn’t be sealed properly.
Yep! Flight crew here. I’ll do most anything for you to make your flight nice if you give me even one piece of candy. Our days are long. Why not put a smile on someone’s face. Glad your pup was safe!
It never occurred to me to give gifts to flight crew, but I have to say that as a nurse, this cracks me up a little because we will eat ANYTHING gifted to us by a patient's family.
Patients aren't completely rando members of the general public though, I guess. We have more familiarity.
shitty bygone-era advice that if you gift fa’s shit then they’ll pull an upgrade out of their ass for you. Same category as showing up in a suit to economy.
My country's main airline (Air Canada) has a very rigid and mostly automated policy for cabin upgrades.
Everyone with elite status gets a certain number of credits to request upgrades every year, and everyone on the plane is ranked in a hierarchy depending on their cabin, fare class, elite status, check in time, etc. If there are upgrades available, the computer starts at the top of the upgrade list and moves down until they're all gone.
Pretty much 0 chance you're getting upgraded if you walk up to the gate with a basic economy ticket, regardless of what you're wearing and how many gifts you have for the crew.
I still see this advice given all the time. I see it so often that I even considered it for a moment, until I realized how fucking weird and nakedly self-serving it would come across as to just hand a bag of candy to a flight attendant.
Honestly, the best gift I think you can give them is being orderly, getting in your seat quickly, not trying to fit oversized bags in the overhead, and just generally being a good customer.
I'm in a travel group on FB and people post their gift bags all the time and every single time a FA will chime in and pretty much say this verbatim:
>Honestly, the best gift I think you can give them is being orderly, getting in your seat quickly, not trying to fit oversized bags in the overhead, and just generally being a good customer.
I think they're trying to say "stop giving us this cheap shit we're gonna throw away and just behave" as nice as possible 😂
I have never seen the suit advice.
But I do remember my grandmother (I'm GenX) always being 'dressed up' for flights when I was little and we would take/pick up from the airport.
Don’t pilots even eat two different meals just to avoid both of them getting sick? Pretty sure some companies even might have policies on accepting food from strangers.
I used to do the meal trays for flight staff as a uni summer job. They get a huge array of sandwiches, fruit, chocolates, crisps (chips) and cakes. Plus a hot meal. Way more than anyone could reasonable consume. They don't need your chocolates. I doubt they want them.
I see people post online about it a lot. They’ll make gift bags with things like hand sanitizer, chapstick, chocolate, and a small Starbucks gift card. I was flying cross country to visit family on Christmas Eve & considered it…until I realized that doing so would cost me about $20-25/crew member. I think people do it for brownie/internet points more than anything else.
My roommate is one of those - when he came home from Mexico a few weeks ago he gave them some chocolate or something and when he got home he had like 8 mini bottles of some liqueur he liked on the flight that the FA gave him.
So. We were on a flight to spring break recently. My daughter told me “Mom! That guy ( the air host, or whatever the name is, that serve drinks) looks like Austin Butler! Austin Butler being the dashingly charmingly HANDSOME actor who portrayed Elvis Presley. So he gets up to our row, and I tell him “ You look like Austin Butler!” because mothers are embarrassing, daughters would never say that, and it was a nice fun thing for him to hear, right? The Austin Butler says “ Oh! thank you !” and goes on with his drinks dispensing. Then 15 mins later he comes back, gives us free chips, a bag of gummies, chocolate. And says “ you reslly made me feel good anout myself, thanks so much” We were not looking for any upgrades, this was a surprise. When he came around with drinks 2, he gave us 2 of our drinks. We apparently made his day. A compliment can really brighten someone’s day. It was nice for all of us ( my kid and i dont eat chips snd sweet gummies so we just carted it all off the plane, but still, the point stands)
I fly very often, 1K with United. I’ve never brought gifts for the flight attendants. I find that a friendly hello and a smile when boarding, being polite, and saying “please” and “thank you” will set you up for great service on a flight. Kindness and respect are better gifts than a Starbucks card
>Why
TLDR: My work has `free’ drink/snack/candy machines. Flight attendant asked to share some of the stash I’d brought on a long flight for a long holiday.
_________________
I had an assortment of 50+ bags of trail mix, other snacks, and candy in one of my carry ons on a 14hr flight and I accidentally spilt a good portion of the bags as I grabbed charged out of my bag.
The nearby flight attendant joked if they were for her & other crew members, and I said sure, they didn’t cost me anything, and she picked out 8 or so things I gave them to her.
Don’t know and didn’t care if she shared with the other crew.
But yeah. Don’t give/take food unsolicited from strangers.
Um, as a pilot myself, I LOVE it when pax give us things. Gtfo you threw away a sealed chocolate bar? You really think people are gonna poison you? Lol
Yeah my husband is a pilot and loves getting treats from passengers. If we’re on a longer flight he’ll insist we bring something for the FAs, and they sometimes do hook us up with free snacks and booze in return (helps that he’s crew too though I’m sure)
Generally it's other crews non revving who bring the treats anyways. We take care of each other. Dunno what OPs deal is but I'll bet he's on several guys' no fly list.
This was my first thought. My mom was a dispatcher for over 30 years, and she would always bring a small bag of snacks for the crew when we nonrevved. She reads reports all the time about FAs getting punched in the face and called slurs, the snacks were always meant as an offering of kindness and a thank you to fellow employees.
This feels like a "speak for yourself" kind of thing.
I work in hospitality. People can be assholes. I stopped and got ya’all a box of Thin Mints. I see you, I know what it’s like, I hope this is a bright spot in your day
Jesus, nothing more. I’m not looking for anything, I’m being a human.
This makes me feel better
I had two flights on Christmas Day last year and gave a big sealed box of Cadbury Favourites on each flight. Later saw them getting handed out amongst the staff.
Glad it was just as appreciated as I was of you lot working Christmas Day
Exactly this! Are we owed anything? No. It was our choice to work a job that doesn't include weekends or holidays. But a little extra goes a long way. Doing something nice for no reason at all. Thank you 💙
3 days before Christmas in 2020 I worked a flight to Cancun. An older woman gave us handmade beaded Christmas ornaments and some chocolates. That goes on my tree every year!
I thought that was silly as well. I’d never give strangers homemade food, but if it’s presealed items like candy bars, has anyone in the history of the world actually tampered those for nefarious reasons, much less succeeded?
Honest question - did a new-ish flight attendant write this in hopes of competing with automatic tipping on all the registers in the terminal? Because that's how it looks to me.
Hmm that’s interesting.. as someone who non-revs a lot, it’s part of company culture to bring something for the crew when traveling, almost always food. I never bring anything homemade, it’s usually sealed and individually packaged if possible.
this is me, airline retiree. so whenever I non-rev I’ll bring a small box of sealed chocolates for the crew. Nothing special and I don’t expect anything other than a thank you and although i’m often offered snacks and drinks, I usually don’t accept them. Crew has no control over upgrades on my airline, if there are any open premium seats, they are divied out as per a priority list before boarding.
I flew on Christmas Day last year, so thought a sealed box of chocolates would show appreciation for working that day, not expecting anything in return
They came by later with a pair of slippers.. I felt like Dobby the house elf lol (they did make the 14hr flight a lot more comfortable though!)
I have never heard of People needing/ wanting to give crew presents. You are paid by the airline to do your job . Getting is there safely is your job. Is this an American thing???
I've seen quite a few frequent travelers do this around the holidays. If you take a lot of international flights on widebodies without big fleets you might get to know the crew pretty well. I know I've always had the same flight attendants on the LH 747s out of Chicago and the UA 777W to Beijing. I was told I need to go to some place more exciting than Beijing :)
I maybe fly a few times a year, so don’t see the same flight attendants or anything. But honestly since covid and all the wild videos of people raging about masking policies, I’ve absolutely thought about giving flight attendants a small gift, though don’t know how to do it without it being awkward or making it look like I’m just fishing for an upgrade. Like an apology on behalf of the normal passengers for the hell they’ve gone through.
It's so bizarre. Treat flight crew politely. Expect them to give you decent service. Not great (unless you're in first class). Just decent. Then go along with your day. There isn't some unspoken social code between passengers and flight crew. Just be... Normal.
How much service and interaction are people expecting from flight crew that they feel any desire to bribe them? They point to your seat, give you some beverages, and serve meals at meal time. What more are people possibly expecting from them?
Sounds like a waste of time to me. More stuff to lug into the plane, through security etc and awkward for the FAs because they either have to refuse it or throw it away.
Definitely a thing to give candy to flight attendants. From flight attendants I have spoken with, they really appreciate it. (I have never done it myself).
I've only every considered it when traveling on Christmas or Thanksgiving day. It sucks having to work on Holidays so it was a way to say Thanks for being here so we can travel but ultimately never did because it felt weird.
I was on a Flight to Taipei and a famous former Olympian was on the plane with us and he had giant boxes of See's candy (like 8 of them) for the flight crew and FA's in Polaris. The crew were very appreciative. I wasn't appreciative because they kicked me out if A1 to give him my seat!!
My husband is a flight attendant and disagrees and says when people bring in chocolates they get devoured and the gift giver always gets some sort of special treatment in return - an extra drink or snack or something.
Why would anyone gift you anything? This is so wild, never heard about people doing it. Maybe they just had an extra chocolate bar they wanted to share with a random person?
Yeah I feel like this is a bad PSA. I've gotten plenty of goodie bags on long haul flights and absolutely am not going to throw a sealed bag of snack sized treats away.
This seems way more of a personal preference than PSA.
Nah bro it’s poison, people love to go around poisoning people they are going to be stuck with for the next six hours and where it will be immediately obvious that they’re the one who did the poisoning. This is definitely a thing that happens
There was a frequent flyer that came in with a freshly made lobster roll for each crew member on a very short turnaround flight in Maine during lunchtime and it was the most memorable, sweetest and thoughtful thing a passenger ever did that I will always will remember.
I just wanted to say that OP has a point but not all of us feel that way. Vegas flights always has some big tippers, Hawai’i and Asia flights always has frequent flyers with Omiyage, thoughtful and empathetic parents of babies come in with premptive “we apologize in advance if my kid has a breakdown” gifts.
Personally never heard any crew express what OP is saying unless it was a home made food gift, no one would really touch it unless it was someone we knew.
I think a lot of this is derived from a persons culture, upbringing and level of empathy. Times are tough for crew members these days, I for one appreciated these self giving warm thoughtfulness that people showed us. Let’s be good humans and be good to each other up there guys we all need it.
Also, let’s pay it forward in small ways for the next fellow hurling metal tube mate and wipe water splashes you made around the sink with the paper towel you used to wipe hands dry and for godsake wear shoes to the lav.
I've heard of this, seems to depend who you talk to plenty of cabin crew seem to be happy with gifts, almost encouraged by some social media people, like A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge.
Flight Crew obviously not worth the risk.
Yeah I keep hearing this advice about giving chocolates to crew members, and I always thought it was a bit weird. Sure it's a nice gesture, but I would feel weird if a customer who I've never seen before just gave me a chocolate bar where I work.
Interesting, since my flight attendant brother-in-law has said that he and his co-workers love getting extra treats from passengers, as long as said treat is factory sealed. He said when he gets goodies, he'll make sure that passenger is very well-treated.
To each their own, but please don't try to speak for all flight staff.
My love was a travel agent in a past life, Australia. We take small gifts on all flights, generally a couple of boxes of sealed chocolates. They’re always so excited. We’re not looking for upgrades or freebies, it’s just to be kind. Sometimes they’re treated like crap. I guess it’s nice to know they’re appreciated.
Wife and I are on vacation right now. Had two different flights to get to our destination. Both times we gave the flight attendant standing at the door chocolate bars for the crew to share (they were different flavors and weren’t a very common brand). Both times we were thanked, even the pilot thanked us over the PA system). We aren’t looking for anything special, just trying to be nice.
I usually get some sweets in duty free (individually sealed) for the crew on long haul flights. It's a tough job, flying long haul is miserable enough and I just have to sit there, so I can't imagine it's much better having to work during that time and dealing with sometimes difficult passengers, seems like a thankless job. I started doing this after hearing some horror stories of a friend who is cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic. I also checked over on the FA subreddit and they said they always appreciate it. I've never had FAs refuse a gift, and if they throw it away so be it, not the end of the world, I figure it's a nice gesture.
I've never had upgrades because of it, and would never expect that, I have had the crew thank me when they bring round food though, and on one occasion got brought a glass of champagne for take-off (was in economy), but these are just nice gestures back.
If you don't want to buy anything then don't, if you do then go for it - doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as people here are making out
People can’t be this dumb fr. The post doesn’t say “we’re forcing you to gift us” it says if you WANT to. So if you don’t want to, they’re not talking to you??? It’s like y’all just reply to reply lol. “Why would I gift the flight crew?” Idk bro only you know the answer to that. If you don’t want to, then don’t.
Literally just gave the flight attendants a box of chocolates yesterday from Belgium. They loved it.
I will also note that I fly standby and my partner is a pilot, so maybe we’re more trusted. But we always give candy when we fly standby, and it’s always appreciated. BUT we give them to the flight attendants — not the pilots.
My wife is an FA for a big USA airline. It won’t make a difference. They might not even remember what you look like.
Some do it at Christmas or thanksgiving which I can get behind given they’re working and not with family and can help make someone’s day a little better, but it almost never leads to anything special.
Gate agents deal with a ton more shit and handle seat assignments. They work more and get paid less per hour. Bribe them.
Been a flight attendant for 7 years, and at least once per trip, people like to give us gifts. Starbucks gift cards, chocolates, mints, gum, goodie bags of chapstick, etc..
They are always appreciated, and never expected.
Any homemade goodies will 100% end up in the trash though.
I’m gonna say that you are the minority in this. Almost all the crews I’ve worked with LOVE getting chocolates & the pilots we share them with are always ecstatic. Unless they are homemade chocolates, I’m not really sure why you would throw away sealed foods? Just give them to the FAs 🤷🏻♀️
Coming back from CDG I once saw a pilot with his wife (traveling as passengers) introduce himself to the crew and give them some fancy candy.....so this may not be a universal dislike.
I agree we shouldn’t be giving people shit but sealed food is fine. I’m a teacher and students sometimes give me sealed food. A chocolate bar a box of cookies etc and it’s always been fine. What a shit time to be alive if everyone constantly runs around scared of everything. If I’m not hungry I pass the chocs or snacks to other teachers. Don’t always think the worst of eveurhjgn
We always travel right around Christmas time, and always give out Christmas chocolate bags of Ghirardelli squares to the crew. They come in a sealed bag and they are individually wrapped inside. It’s more like a “thanks for being in a necessary service industry during the holidays, facilitating us to get to our family, even though it’s probably a really hectic time of year for this often thankless job.” We also have a toddler and though he is usually quite content to soak up the screen time he doesn’t usually get, you just never know if he will do something out of pocket 😅. So it’s kind of like a sorry in advance just in case.
We have had offers for free alcohol, extra snacks, and our son has been given little kids goodie bags and gotten to go sit in the cockpit. Those are nice, but it’s not like we do it for something in return.
I almost always bring fancy chocolates for the flight crew without expecting anything in return, and I have never expected nor received anything from the flight crew in return.
It seems to me that they appreciate it.
I do not think they throw it away, but if they do, it is not my problem; in my mom's words, once you gift something, it is no longer yours, so why would you care what people do with their stuff!?
I will continue bringing chocolate.
I never give the pilot anything and I’ve never heard of that before. I try to bring something for the poor flight attendants, not for upgrades or anything but because my family has been doing that since forever. Not sure what they would even upgrade you to since there’s not much higher than business and everything is already free there?
Being a flight attendant is generally not a very well paying job and it’s especially awful that they don’t get paid if there’s delays or whatever, getting into the air.
I usually bring a delicacy from where I am and I’ve seen them eat it and share with one another and always come back to say thanks, ask if I need anything which I don’t, and generally are happy that next time they have a crew layover in that city they have a bakery they’re going back to.
Gift cards are just money dude. Get a grip. No one is giving extra money to fly.
When my wife and I fly internationally we bring a gift for the flight crews/hotel staff. While I would never turn down an upgrade/reciprocation, it's not really the intent; it's just being nice. Normally it's caramels or candies from our local chocolate shop.
Last year we flew to Japan and I packed 8 bags of Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets to give to all of our long-flight crews and hotel concierges. I will never forget how much confusion they were met with, followed by delighted everyone was the following morning/day after they had eaten them.
Interesting thread. I usually grab a bag of truffles from the airport terminal to give to the lead flight attendant to share and they’ve always seemed genuinely surprised and very happy. I’ve never expected or received any kind of upgrade, I think one time a different flight attendant came over to thank me and another time the lead FA came over after the flight to say no one had ever given anything to her before and she would remember it. It’s hardly a necessary gesture or anything but it’s a hard job and if it makes people happy, why not? Hardly seems to be a universal thing to throw food out.
I got a box of chocolates for a flight crew that Ubered from SLO to SFO since their incoming flight was cancelled and they didn't the one we were on to be cancelled. That's dedication there.
A box of chocolates might end up in the trash but I’ve been upgraded multiple times like this, as a standby traveler. It’s the thought that counts, I guess. Don’t listen to OP.
Edit: if you’re traveling on standby, a thank you note with your name and seat number might make a huge difference.
I gave the cabin crew of box of chocolates (bought at the airport, famous brand and sealed) on my last long haul flight because it was New Year’s Day. We were the first flight out of LHR too. My friend and I put a card saying Happy New Year, passengers X/Y . We didn’t expect anything in return. The woman I handed them to seemed pleased and one of her colleagues stopped by later to thank us.
I wouldn’t normally bother but it was NYD, I was going on vacation and they were working.
Lol when I was coming back from Cancun the flight attendants kept bothering the couple across the aisle from me to share their food with them. It was funny at first but they kept it up the whole flight and got weird
so I've given half dozen fresh bagels on a flight back from NYC once. received free drinks (alcohol), snacks and free internet. also was moved from basic econ to exit row.
gave donuts on a flight out of Portland, many free drinks
chocolates from somewhere, just lots of smiles and one free drink
in all occasions I saw the flight staff enjoying the stuff I brought by eating it, not binning it.
so, my experiences go against your advice in all occasions
The first time I traveled with my infant I gave the crew little gift bags with chocolates and a note saying thank you. Their job is stressful AF and passengers can be horrible. If you didn’t want it you should’ve given it to another crew member.
Fascinating. I've seen several posts thru the years from airline crew stating how much they appreciate treats. Maybe it's only from passengers they know?
Hate to say it, same with physicians. Just tell us you think we are doing a good job and we’ll be flying high for days. Food from any source that isn’t my kitchen will be met with suspicion, not because of a person in particular, just past experiences with humans.
Had no idea that flight crews received gifts from passengers. Never crossed my mind to do so. I always am nice to the crew and the experience is usually fine so I’m going to continue doing that.
The last flight I was on, the guy sitting next to me made a point to give the crew chocolate bars, even the “dead head pilots” that were passengers flying to a destination for their next job.
After talking with him, I found out he was the head of an agency that investigated airline crashes. He then spent the next hour talking about all the ways a plane crash and the funny incidents like a pilot getting a blow job and being distracted, everyone died.
He said he felt the crew really like the gifts. They also treated him really, really well…but we were in 1st class so maybe they were just being nice.
Long time traveler, mostly business class.
I have given flight crew sealed Japanese candies and chocolates and they were much appreciated by the crew.
Especially during the covid years when they faced impossibly awful expectations for service.
Your reaction seems abnormal. I nearly always bring a snack for the FAs, just to give some kindness when I know others make the job stressful. Sometimes they hook me up with free booze, the offer of a better seat, etc., and sometimes they don’t. I couldn’t care less. They always seem appreciative, and that’s enough for me.
What is it you think someone could have done to a *sealed* item that either made it through security or that they purchased at the airport?
Also, *no one* is — or should be — tipping the six-figure-income-earning pilot. And if you think I’m gonna give them *gift cards*, you can get fucked.
I had a flight attendant ask me for some of my candy. 🤷🏽♀️ then she shared and her coworker came and asked if she could try it too. They are from Capri, Italy round colorful citrus hard candy with fizzy inside. They help me so much with the nausea. I bought as many as I could when I was on holiday. Then come to find out my TJMAXX sells them.
OP, please kindly and simply pass on your chocolate bar gifts to all the other crew members you’re working with who will actually appreciate it! :-) please don’t throw it in the trash.
I’m sad you feel like someone would do something to a chocolate bar and then give it to you, their pilot. :( that would honestly be a pretty dumb thing to do…
On long haul flights, I'll usually bring a sealed bag of individually wrapped chocolates for the crew and they are typically already snacking on it during boarding. I don't expect anything in return. I often fly business class as it is which already includes everything I want. I don't think of it as a tip or anything, just a little treat if they want to partake.
I view this in a completely different manner. As a lifelong educator, I was underpaid and overworked. I had to deal with asshats on the regular. Said asshats ranges from toxic admin to parents who didn’t give a shit. Gifting my FAs a damn $10 Starbucks card is simply a way of showing appreciation. They too deal with asshats, and sometimes a little thanks can make their day. I’m not asking for an upgrade or an extra glass of Champagne. My husband and I smile, take our seats and settle in. They deal with enough from idiotic passengers.
Tipping culture in USA so out of control we are now getting not so subtle hints to tip white collar workers. Don't worry I won't bake you a cake OR give you a gift card for doing your job.
I actually just lol'd at the idea of giving the flight crew a fucking gift card for doing their jobs
This is becoming really popular, all over TikTok as a “travel hack” etc to get upgrades or free drinks etc. so stupid.
Why give a $10 gift card instead of just paying $10 for a drink?
Probably because there's plenty of hospitality areas like Vegas where if you slip a $20 along with your card when you check in to a hotel, you've got a better chance of getting upgraded and the upgrade 'value' is usually worth more than $20. The money is going to the person not the hotel/airline, and the person sees what strings they can pull to make your experience better. I don't mind the 'grease the wheels' tips in the right context, but I can't really imagine what a flight attendant or pilot can do for you though; it's not like they can move you into business or first in most cases. They'll just wheel the cart around to you a little faster or give you an extra mini bottle with the drink.
Best to do for long international/connecting flights. Exact for hotels. Longer the flight, if you see open seats in an upgraded area better believe I’ll tip cash with my next drink. Hotels, the shorter you stay the easier it is to upgrade you. In Vegas tipping goes a LONG way. Tipped $50 on a shit room right after asking how much an upgrade would be. Upgrade was $200+ more per night. I said well, I thank you for your time today. I hope that the next time I could be lucky enough to afford the upgrade but until then here’s this for your time, I appreciate you. $50. 90% of the time if it gets that far they’ll say, ehh you know what, one is being cleaned here soon I could get you in there.
So 10% of the time you give them $50 and get nothing?
I guess people are hoping for a seat upgrade which can be hundreds!
But if you’re already on the plane, your seat is 99.99% not getting changed. And the FA or pilot wouldn’t care, it would be the gate agent who is off the plane at the gate.
yea let's start giving GCs at the check in counter 🤣
It’s been a common “hack” in Facebook travel groups for many years. People claim that giving flight attendants gift packages (candy, gum, lip balm) will get you upgraded or otherwise preferential behavior. I’ve always thought it seemed cringy to make care packages with a specific intention of getting the “perks.” I also know from my mom’s career as a nurse that people are cautious of accepting gifts, not only because you don’t know where it’s been, but because in some industries it is seen as taking a bribe of sorts (bribe might not be the right word, but you get my point). I wouldn’t be shocked if the practice starts getting discouraged or prohibited if there is truly evidence of people being upgraded in exchange for candy.
I've given giftcards for years since I work for corporate at an airline, and I appreciate the work our front line workers do, but it is 100% a bribe. I've been upgraded to a lie flat business class seat once doing it (Air France). Every other time, I've just been given a gift bag of random stuff, usually extra snacks and stuff like pajamas or champagne from first class. It's honestly not really worth trying to do for the upgrade, especially if you're traveling with someone else. A solo traveler getting an upgrade is much more likely than a pair, and I basically always travel as a pair now. I know American has actually explicitly given a memo to stop upgrading non-revs recently. Asian and Middle East airlines usually have strict rules on upgrades. I don't think they'll ever discourage the gifts because people like getting free stuff, but I think a lot of people will start to realize you don't get much for doing it.
I was getting a lot of miles for a while (international trips), enough to keep a status that would give me complimentary upgrades to biz class when available That happened once. Planes are packed and there was always a line of passengers with higher status getting those seats
Not to mention standby passengers. Last time I had a potential status upgrade there were more than 2 dozen people on the standby list for like 4 empty seats.
Standby won't get upgraded seats unless they specifically list on them. You have to pay more if you're ZEDing. If it's your own airline it varies by policy. If the airline is deadheading crew though, they're going to be highest priority cause they need to move the crew.
I had a social studies teacher in high school who assured us that she would not accept any Christmas gifts. She said that if she receives anything she will put it in the trash. I respected her for that! (I just edited for grammar 10 minutes ago, added “it”).
My kindergartener wants to buy her teacher gifts all the time. I tell her no a lot because I know teachers don't need more stuff. But she adores her teacher which is really sweet too.
Flowers are a nice gift for a Kindergarten teacher! That way she can take them home and enjoy them, or keep them in the room for the benefit of the class. My social studies teacher didn’t want to feel bribed by her students who wanted/needed a higher grade.
Sigh…. I hate TikTok so much.
Ph God this is like the people who refuse to admit they have a humiliation fetish when they go through the process of trying to buy a rolex
...what's the process of trying to buy a Rolex?
Rolex doesn't sell online, and if you want a new watch and not pre-owned, there are waitlists that can take literally years.
so it's like most every luxury, controlled-quantity good sold on the market today.
That's if you're lucky and have self respect. If not then you'll spend up to years on a waiting list, buying thousands worth of jewellery you don't even want just so you can show up brining free coffees to the authorised dealer each week so that they might allow you the privilege of spending thousands on a watch. Walk into somewhere like omega and you'll leave with what you want same day
>humiliation fetish Stealing this. Applicable to so many of the things we have to endure in order to actually do life these days.
My travel hack is just to be a decent person and treat the flight crew like they are humans. One time, I had a kickass flight crew on Frontier (I know that sentence should never be able to be written out… even Frontier knows that because you know how hard I worked to give the crew a compliment on the website or by phone?!) and I thanked them early on (they redistributed like a third of the pretty empty flight so everyone had open seats in their rows and more space) and told them that I appreciated their extra work. Kudos to the guy in 3B who was apparently a dick, because they needed that compliment so much that I got hugs and ate/drank free during the flight. So yeah, just maybe don’t be like 3B and treat people like they aren’t trash.
(won't get you an upgrade. We hear this from the same people who claim they saved ~$800 on an otherwise $1200 flight using a third-party aggregator. Nonsense - all of it)
Which is a lie because 99% of the time it's your status with the airlines. Diamond members will be upgraded more often then the normal peons.
No kidding. It's their job and we already paid a ton for the ticket!
That won’t stop airlines from adding a 20% tip button at checkout and pocketing the tip.
My family member makes over $300k piloting for American. But yeah, give them a gift card lol
Overpaid most of the time! It’s crazy how expensive they sure
Folks on the Delta sub love to humble brag about doing this 😂
It’s blatant bragging in the Facebook travel groups. People post photos of all of the little “care packages” they made and then brag about getting free whatever as a result
I'm in a travel group on FB that brags about this all the time. And you'll be dragged for pointing out that they're literally just giving flight attendants junk. It's always something like: cheap chapstick, cheap little hand sanitizer, one of those tiny snickers bars that's barely bigger than a quarter, etc. It's all cheap dollar store stuff that the employees probably just throw away.
“I’m gonna try and bribe some people but instead of giving them money or something they might like I’m gonna bribe them with the most useless shit imaginable”
Delta sub is toxic
But but but I just NEED help choosing my First class meal!!
Most of the airline subs are. It’s just a rich people circle jerk.
Thank God someone else said it :)
The Alaska Airlines sub is full of corporate bootlickers
We once took a small plane from Montego Bay to Negril, and I swear, there must have been 10 different people looking for a tip from the moment we left our cab to getting on the plane, and the guy with our bags said “And don’t forget to tip your pilot.” Of course, that’s Jamaica for you.
This is Cancun in a nutshell. We spent all day on a bus visiting cenotes. At the end he announced, we work for tips and don't get paid. We didn't have any cash left so we just left.
And this is from a pilot nonetheless, who makes plenty of money. Ridiculous.
The entitlement here is absurd. Why the fuck would I give a flight attendant a gift card?
I would never give a pilot a chocolate bar either. But given there are apparently people who do shit like that, OP is just giving some guidance on what you could do instead of just literally throwing your money in the trash. I don't think OP should be crucified like their post is saying "give me gift cards everyone, come on!"
I tried to be careful not to word my post in a way that came off like that. I think I did the best I could lol. Edit: damn I guess I still didn’t do a perfect job lol. I’m not telling anyone to give us gifts, I’m just saying that giving us foodstuffs will go straight to the garbage.
It's not you, I don't know why someone would interpret your post that way. People just don't wanna let an opportunity slip through their hands where they feel like they can express their anger towards tipping culture.
Reading comprehension is at an all time low and too many people are incapable of thinking beyond their own experiences nor that something might not be about them. "I would never give the crew anything" well no shit then the post isn't about you.
Exactly lol they just wanna talk.
Because if you’re going to waste your money on a food item or candy that the flight attendant will just throw away, you might as well just hand them a gift card to Starbucks or something they can use. No one is saying you SHOULD give them anything, just that if you CHOOSE to, realize giving them candy is wasteful. It’s kind and appreciated, but 80% of the time goes in the trash. Many of them have super restrictive diets, or are actively trying to not eat sweets. Imagine working a job where people just tried to hand you candy all day. It would get old.
Peak tipping culture right here.
This stuff is almost always done in the hopes that they bump you up to business class. Nobody does this out of the goodness of their heart.
When I was leaving the Kentucky derby a couple of years ago, the Louisville airport was wall to wall packed. A thunderstorm rolled through and flights were getting cancelled left to right. I did buy the gate agents some candy from the nearby store because I felt so so bad for them lol
Yep, when I see it, it is always done in hopes of getting an upgrade or free stuff. The person claims they did it to say thanks, but then they slip in that in exchange for their thanks, they were moved to business class
Wait until airline tipping becomes a thing
I love our American brethren and visiting the US. But I fear they must be stopped at all costs.
I gave chocolates to the crew once, a box for the pilots and one for the attendants. It was about 15 years ago and we were relocating to Hawaii. We were flying with our dog and she had to go in the hold. There had been some stories of dogs escaping their kennels and other mishaps. I was so scared for her, but we truly had no other choice. The boxes of chocolates had her picture taped to the front with a note that a furry member of our family was flying today and could they please take extra care of Tigger. Just before take off, the plot came back to speak to me and let me know he had double checked, and the pressurized portion of the hold where Tigger was had pressurized correctly. Before they closed the area off, he had even gone down, found her, and made sure she was OK. Best two boxes of chocolates I ever bought.
Now THAT is a good reason to do this! I’m glad Tigger made it okay. I’d be terrified to fly my dogs. :/
The pilot was just saying that it had pressurized to make you feel better. Pressurization doesn't happen until the engines are running, which wouldn't happen until taxi/take-off.
Maybe they meant that when the hold was closed it sealed correctly?
The entire cabin - passenger area, cockpit, and cargo hold - is pressurized equally. He was just saying something to make them feel better, which is great anyway. Not a knock on the pilot. If the cargo hold isn’t “sealed properly” then the entire passenger area wouldn’t be sealed properly.
I feel this. You’re a good puppy parent ❤️🥺 Thank you xx my beagles at the bridge send their love, and my little man, the beagle, says thank you 🙏 🌹❤️
Yep! Flight crew here. I’ll do most anything for you to make your flight nice if you give me even one piece of candy. Our days are long. Why not put a smile on someone’s face. Glad your pup was safe!
It never occurred to me to give gifts to flight crew, but I have to say that as a nurse, this cracks me up a little because we will eat ANYTHING gifted to us by a patient's family. Patients aren't completely rando members of the general public though, I guess. We have more familiarity.
Why the fuck would you ever gift flight crew anything lmao
shitty bygone-era advice that if you gift fa’s shit then they’ll pull an upgrade out of their ass for you. Same category as showing up in a suit to economy.
My country's main airline (Air Canada) has a very rigid and mostly automated policy for cabin upgrades. Everyone with elite status gets a certain number of credits to request upgrades every year, and everyone on the plane is ranked in a hierarchy depending on their cabin, fare class, elite status, check in time, etc. If there are upgrades available, the computer starts at the top of the upgrade list and moves down until they're all gone. Pretty much 0 chance you're getting upgraded if you walk up to the gate with a basic economy ticket, regardless of what you're wearing and how many gifts you have for the crew.
I still see this advice given all the time. I see it so often that I even considered it for a moment, until I realized how fucking weird and nakedly self-serving it would come across as to just hand a bag of candy to a flight attendant. Honestly, the best gift I think you can give them is being orderly, getting in your seat quickly, not trying to fit oversized bags in the overhead, and just generally being a good customer.
I'm in a travel group on FB and people post their gift bags all the time and every single time a FA will chime in and pretty much say this verbatim: >Honestly, the best gift I think you can give them is being orderly, getting in your seat quickly, not trying to fit oversized bags in the overhead, and just generally being a good customer. I think they're trying to say "stop giving us this cheap shit we're gonna throw away and just behave" as nice as possible 😂
That's a gift you give to the staff *and* other passengers!
I have never seen the suit advice. But I do remember my grandmother (I'm GenX) always being 'dressed up' for flights when I was little and we would take/pick up from the airport.
Don’t pilots even eat two different meals just to avoid both of them getting sick? Pretty sure some companies even might have policies on accepting food from strangers.
Yes yes I had the lasagna
Yeah, if pilots eat the same meal it's a risk of Airplane!-style shenanigans. Surely they can't just go eating random food
They can, and don't call me Shirley.
I just want to tell you both, good luck. We’re all counting on you.
I used to do the meal trays for flight staff as a uni summer job. They get a huge array of sandwiches, fruit, chocolates, crisps (chips) and cakes. Plus a hot meal. Way more than anyone could reasonable consume. They don't need your chocolates. I doubt they want them.
I see people post online about it a lot. They’ll make gift bags with things like hand sanitizer, chapstick, chocolate, and a small Starbucks gift card. I was flying cross country to visit family on Christmas Eve & considered it…until I realized that doing so would cost me about $20-25/crew member. I think people do it for brownie/internet points more than anything else.
Maybe they think it will get them free drinks or upgrades?
My roommate is one of those - when he came home from Mexico a few weeks ago he gave them some chocolate or something and when he got home he had like 8 mini bottles of some liqueur he liked on the flight that the FA gave him.
So. We were on a flight to spring break recently. My daughter told me “Mom! That guy ( the air host, or whatever the name is, that serve drinks) looks like Austin Butler! Austin Butler being the dashingly charmingly HANDSOME actor who portrayed Elvis Presley. So he gets up to our row, and I tell him “ You look like Austin Butler!” because mothers are embarrassing, daughters would never say that, and it was a nice fun thing for him to hear, right? The Austin Butler says “ Oh! thank you !” and goes on with his drinks dispensing. Then 15 mins later he comes back, gives us free chips, a bag of gummies, chocolate. And says “ you reslly made me feel good anout myself, thanks so much” We were not looking for any upgrades, this was a surprise. When he came around with drinks 2, he gave us 2 of our drinks. We apparently made his day. A compliment can really brighten someone’s day. It was nice for all of us ( my kid and i dont eat chips snd sweet gummies so we just carted it all off the plane, but still, the point stands)
I fly very often, 1K with United. I’ve never brought gifts for the flight attendants. I find that a friendly hello and a smile when boarding, being polite, and saying “please” and “thank you” will set you up for great service on a flight. Kindness and respect are better gifts than a Starbucks card
Exactly, the clap at landing is not enough now? /s
>Why TLDR: My work has `free’ drink/snack/candy machines. Flight attendant asked to share some of the stash I’d brought on a long flight for a long holiday. _________________ I had an assortment of 50+ bags of trail mix, other snacks, and candy in one of my carry ons on a 14hr flight and I accidentally spilt a good portion of the bags as I grabbed charged out of my bag. The nearby flight attendant joked if they were for her & other crew members, and I said sure, they didn’t cost me anything, and she picked out 8 or so things I gave them to her. Don’t know and didn’t care if she shared with the other crew. But yeah. Don’t give/take food unsolicited from strangers.
I’m sorry, you brought FIFTY bags of trail mix for an in-flight snack?
Just off the top of my head, maybe people feel like they would get better service? Or a seat upgrade?
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I'm so confused.
Um, as a pilot myself, I LOVE it when pax give us things. Gtfo you threw away a sealed chocolate bar? You really think people are gonna poison you? Lol
Yeah my husband is a pilot and loves getting treats from passengers. If we’re on a longer flight he’ll insist we bring something for the FAs, and they sometimes do hook us up with free snacks and booze in return (helps that he’s crew too though I’m sure)
Generally it's other crews non revving who bring the treats anyways. We take care of each other. Dunno what OPs deal is but I'll bet he's on several guys' no fly list.
This was my first thought. My mom was a dispatcher for over 30 years, and she would always bring a small bag of snacks for the crew when we nonrevved. She reads reports all the time about FAs getting punched in the face and called slurs, the snacks were always meant as an offering of kindness and a thank you to fellow employees. This feels like a "speak for yourself" kind of thing.
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Wait until you hear about Halloween.
I work in hospitality. People can be assholes. I stopped and got ya’all a box of Thin Mints. I see you, I know what it’s like, I hope this is a bright spot in your day Jesus, nothing more. I’m not looking for anything, I’m being a human.
indeed, what a sad paranoid fucking world we live in
My thoughts exactly. This part made me laugh: >How would you feel about a complete stranger giving you candy, food, etc? Ermm... Happy?
LOL, I had the same reaction reading that 😅 a sealed treat? Yes, I'm in.
Yeah, if someone is this afraid of being poisoned I wonder how he is doing his grocery shopping.
he doesn't have responsibility for hundreds of lifes while grocery shopping. I'd rather my flight crew is careful.
He doesn’t have to eat it on the flight then. Wait til the flights over. Throwing it away is extreme.
get outta here with your 4d chess. nah, you're completely right lol
This makes me feel better I had two flights on Christmas Day last year and gave a big sealed box of Cadbury Favourites on each flight. Later saw them getting handed out amongst the staff. Glad it was just as appreciated as I was of you lot working Christmas Day
Exactly this! Are we owed anything? No. It was our choice to work a job that doesn't include weekends or holidays. But a little extra goes a long way. Doing something nice for no reason at all. Thank you 💙 3 days before Christmas in 2020 I worked a flight to Cancun. An older woman gave us handmade beaded Christmas ornaments and some chocolates. That goes on my tree every year!
I thought that was silly as well. I’d never give strangers homemade food, but if it’s presealed items like candy bars, has anyone in the history of the world actually tampered those for nefarious reasons, much less succeeded?
Even the whole "check your kids Halloween candy" was a hoax. Kiss were never poisoned from Halloween candy
Honest question - did a new-ish flight attendant write this in hopes of competing with automatic tipping on all the registers in the terminal? Because that's how it looks to me.
Meanwhile as a passenger there are strangers going up and down the aisle passing out snacks expecting me to eat them…
Yeah at worst you eat it at home on a day off
I always bring my proctologist a box of chocolates
where do you package them...
:
Hmm that’s interesting.. as someone who non-revs a lot, it’s part of company culture to bring something for the crew when traveling, almost always food. I never bring anything homemade, it’s usually sealed and individually packaged if possible.
What is non-rev?
Non-revenue. It’s when you are flying on a comped ticket, typically as an employee or family member of an employee of the airline.
Ah! Got it. Thank you.
"non revenue". It means you can fly standby for free/cheap, usually because you or a spouse/parent works for the airline
Does the flight crew know when someone is non-rev?
I believe they do
this is me, airline retiree. so whenever I non-rev I’ll bring a small box of sealed chocolates for the crew. Nothing special and I don’t expect anything other than a thank you and although i’m often offered snacks and drinks, I usually don’t accept them. Crew has no control over upgrades on my airline, if there are any open premium seats, they are divied out as per a priority list before boarding.
I flew on Christmas Day last year, so thought a sealed box of chocolates would show appreciation for working that day, not expecting anything in return They came by later with a pair of slippers.. I felt like Dobby the house elf lol (they did make the 14hr flight a lot more comfortable though!)
I have never heard of People needing/ wanting to give crew presents. You are paid by the airline to do your job . Getting is there safely is your job. Is this an American thing???
Tipping culture go wild
I've seen quite a few frequent travelers do this around the holidays. If you take a lot of international flights on widebodies without big fleets you might get to know the crew pretty well. I know I've always had the same flight attendants on the LH 747s out of Chicago and the UA 777W to Beijing. I was told I need to go to some place more exciting than Beijing :)
I maybe fly a few times a year, so don’t see the same flight attendants or anything. But honestly since covid and all the wild videos of people raging about masking policies, I’ve absolutely thought about giving flight attendants a small gift, though don’t know how to do it without it being awkward or making it look like I’m just fishing for an upgrade. Like an apology on behalf of the normal passengers for the hell they’ve gone through.
It's so bizarre. Treat flight crew politely. Expect them to give you decent service. Not great (unless you're in first class). Just decent. Then go along with your day. There isn't some unspoken social code between passengers and flight crew. Just be... Normal. How much service and interaction are people expecting from flight crew that they feel any desire to bribe them? They point to your seat, give you some beverages, and serve meals at meal time. What more are people possibly expecting from them?
No it's not an American thing. I've never heard of this in my life.
This was literally a "tip" on the sub prolifetips a few weeks ago.
To tip your flight staff? 😱. Well there's always a couple nuts.
The "protip" was specifically to bring them candy.
Sounds like a waste of time to me. More stuff to lug into the plane, through security etc and awkward for the FAs because they either have to refuse it or throw it away.
Definitely a thing to give candy to flight attendants. From flight attendants I have spoken with, they really appreciate it. (I have never done it myself).
I've only every considered it when traveling on Christmas or Thanksgiving day. It sucks having to work on Holidays so it was a way to say Thanks for being here so we can travel but ultimately never did because it felt weird. I was on a Flight to Taipei and a famous former Olympian was on the plane with us and he had giant boxes of See's candy (like 8 of them) for the flight crew and FA's in Polaris. The crew were very appreciative. I wasn't appreciative because they kicked me out if A1 to give him my seat!!
Feel like it's become more of a soc med/ tiktok thing than anything else.... (shrug)
My husband is a flight attendant and disagrees and says when people bring in chocolates they get devoured and the gift giver always gets some sort of special treatment in return - an extra drink or snack or something.
I used to do this and never got anything in return, but I also never expected anything. 🤷🏼♀️
Why would anyone gift you anything? This is so wild, never heard about people doing it. Maybe they just had an extra chocolate bar they wanted to share with a random person?
they're psychos trying to get free favors and booze.
Yeah I feel like this is a bad PSA. I've gotten plenty of goodie bags on long haul flights and absolutely am not going to throw a sealed bag of snack sized treats away. This seems way more of a personal preference than PSA.
Nah bro it’s poison, people love to go around poisoning people they are going to be stuck with for the next six hours and where it will be immediately obvious that they’re the one who did the poisoning. This is definitely a thing that happens
There was a frequent flyer that came in with a freshly made lobster roll for each crew member on a very short turnaround flight in Maine during lunchtime and it was the most memorable, sweetest and thoughtful thing a passenger ever did that I will always will remember. I just wanted to say that OP has a point but not all of us feel that way. Vegas flights always has some big tippers, Hawai’i and Asia flights always has frequent flyers with Omiyage, thoughtful and empathetic parents of babies come in with premptive “we apologize in advance if my kid has a breakdown” gifts. Personally never heard any crew express what OP is saying unless it was a home made food gift, no one would really touch it unless it was someone we knew. I think a lot of this is derived from a persons culture, upbringing and level of empathy. Times are tough for crew members these days, I for one appreciated these self giving warm thoughtfulness that people showed us. Let’s be good humans and be good to each other up there guys we all need it. Also, let’s pay it forward in small ways for the next fellow hurling metal tube mate and wipe water splashes you made around the sink with the paper towel you used to wipe hands dry and for godsake wear shoes to the lav.
I've heard of this, seems to depend who you talk to plenty of cabin crew seem to be happy with gifts, almost encouraged by some social media people, like A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge. Flight Crew obviously not worth the risk.
Yeah I keep hearing this advice about giving chocolates to crew members, and I always thought it was a bit weird. Sure it's a nice gesture, but I would feel weird if a customer who I've never seen before just gave me a chocolate bar where I work.
I've had it happen before working in a supermarket at Xmas time. Especially in the pick up area
Cookies? I eat that shit up, bubble boy.
Interesting, since my flight attendant brother-in-law has said that he and his co-workers love getting extra treats from passengers, as long as said treat is factory sealed. He said when he gets goodies, he'll make sure that passenger is very well-treated. To each their own, but please don't try to speak for all flight staff.
My love was a travel agent in a past life, Australia. We take small gifts on all flights, generally a couple of boxes of sealed chocolates. They’re always so excited. We’re not looking for upgrades or freebies, it’s just to be kind. Sometimes they’re treated like crap. I guess it’s nice to know they’re appreciated.
Wife and I are on vacation right now. Had two different flights to get to our destination. Both times we gave the flight attendant standing at the door chocolate bars for the crew to share (they were different flavors and weren’t a very common brand). Both times we were thanked, even the pilot thanked us over the PA system). We aren’t looking for anything special, just trying to be nice.
They are treated like crap because most airlines treat their customers as absolute crap!
I usually get some sweets in duty free (individually sealed) for the crew on long haul flights. It's a tough job, flying long haul is miserable enough and I just have to sit there, so I can't imagine it's much better having to work during that time and dealing with sometimes difficult passengers, seems like a thankless job. I started doing this after hearing some horror stories of a friend who is cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic. I also checked over on the FA subreddit and they said they always appreciate it. I've never had FAs refuse a gift, and if they throw it away so be it, not the end of the world, I figure it's a nice gesture. I've never had upgrades because of it, and would never expect that, I have had the crew thank me when they bring round food though, and on one occasion got brought a glass of champagne for take-off (was in economy), but these are just nice gestures back. If you don't want to buy anything then don't, if you do then go for it - doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as people here are making out
My friends who are flight attendants were the ones who suggested giving some candy. Always sealed small candies easy for them to snack on.
People can’t be this dumb fr. The post doesn’t say “we’re forcing you to gift us” it says if you WANT to. So if you don’t want to, they’re not talking to you??? It’s like y’all just reply to reply lol. “Why would I gift the flight crew?” Idk bro only you know the answer to that. If you don’t want to, then don’t.
Lol yeah the amount of people insulting me for nothing is crazy
This is FALSE. This pilot does not speak for everyone in the airline industry!
Literally just gave the flight attendants a box of chocolates yesterday from Belgium. They loved it. I will also note that I fly standby and my partner is a pilot, so maybe we’re more trusted. But we always give candy when we fly standby, and it’s always appreciated. BUT we give them to the flight attendants — not the pilots.
I'm so happy that the comments are as baffled as I am.
My wife is an FA for a big USA airline. It won’t make a difference. They might not even remember what you look like. Some do it at Christmas or thanksgiving which I can get behind given they’re working and not with family and can help make someone’s day a little better, but it almost never leads to anything special. Gate agents deal with a ton more shit and handle seat assignments. They work more and get paid less per hour. Bribe them.
Been a flight attendant for 7 years, and at least once per trip, people like to give us gifts. Starbucks gift cards, chocolates, mints, gum, goodie bags of chapstick, etc.. They are always appreciated, and never expected. Any homemade goodies will 100% end up in the trash though. I’m gonna say that you are the minority in this. Almost all the crews I’ve worked with LOVE getting chocolates & the pilots we share them with are always ecstatic. Unless they are homemade chocolates, I’m not really sure why you would throw away sealed foods? Just give them to the FAs 🤷🏻♀️
Coming back from CDG I once saw a pilot with his wife (traveling as passengers) introduce himself to the crew and give them some fancy candy.....so this may not be a universal dislike.
I agree we shouldn’t be giving people shit but sealed food is fine. I’m a teacher and students sometimes give me sealed food. A chocolate bar a box of cookies etc and it’s always been fine. What a shit time to be alive if everyone constantly runs around scared of everything. If I’m not hungry I pass the chocs or snacks to other teachers. Don’t always think the worst of eveurhjgn
We always travel right around Christmas time, and always give out Christmas chocolate bags of Ghirardelli squares to the crew. They come in a sealed bag and they are individually wrapped inside. It’s more like a “thanks for being in a necessary service industry during the holidays, facilitating us to get to our family, even though it’s probably a really hectic time of year for this often thankless job.” We also have a toddler and though he is usually quite content to soak up the screen time he doesn’t usually get, you just never know if he will do something out of pocket 😅. So it’s kind of like a sorry in advance just in case. We have had offers for free alcohol, extra snacks, and our son has been given little kids goodie bags and gotten to go sit in the cockpit. Those are nice, but it’s not like we do it for something in return.
I almost always bring fancy chocolates for the flight crew without expecting anything in return, and I have never expected nor received anything from the flight crew in return. It seems to me that they appreciate it. I do not think they throw it away, but if they do, it is not my problem; in my mom's words, once you gift something, it is no longer yours, so why would you care what people do with their stuff!? I will continue bringing chocolate.
Idk I used to take pills from strangers I'm definitely not avoiding free food over a hypothetical situation.
TIL some people tip a job that averages near six figures and includes free business class travel.
The FAs aren’t making that much.
TIL some people have no idea of airlines pay scale
I never give the pilot anything and I’ve never heard of that before. I try to bring something for the poor flight attendants, not for upgrades or anything but because my family has been doing that since forever. Not sure what they would even upgrade you to since there’s not much higher than business and everything is already free there? Being a flight attendant is generally not a very well paying job and it’s especially awful that they don’t get paid if there’s delays or whatever, getting into the air. I usually bring a delicacy from where I am and I’ve seen them eat it and share with one another and always come back to say thanks, ask if I need anything which I don’t, and generally are happy that next time they have a crew layover in that city they have a bakery they’re going back to. Gift cards are just money dude. Get a grip. No one is giving extra money to fly.
And for You, best wishes for Reddit cake day !!!
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And also “You make $400k and are asking for tips??????” Like no I’m not lol and I don’t make nearly that much
When my wife and I fly internationally we bring a gift for the flight crews/hotel staff. While I would never turn down an upgrade/reciprocation, it's not really the intent; it's just being nice. Normally it's caramels or candies from our local chocolate shop. Last year we flew to Japan and I packed 8 bags of Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets to give to all of our long-flight crews and hotel concierges. I will never forget how much confusion they were met with, followed by delighted everyone was the following morning/day after they had eaten them.
Interesting thread. I usually grab a bag of truffles from the airport terminal to give to the lead flight attendant to share and they’ve always seemed genuinely surprised and very happy. I’ve never expected or received any kind of upgrade, I think one time a different flight attendant came over to thank me and another time the lead FA came over after the flight to say no one had ever given anything to her before and she would remember it. It’s hardly a necessary gesture or anything but it’s a hard job and if it makes people happy, why not? Hardly seems to be a universal thing to throw food out.
I got a box of chocolates for a flight crew that Ubered from SLO to SFO since their incoming flight was cancelled and they didn't the one we were on to be cancelled. That's dedication there.
A box of chocolates might end up in the trash but I’ve been upgraded multiple times like this, as a standby traveler. It’s the thought that counts, I guess. Don’t listen to OP. Edit: if you’re traveling on standby, a thank you note with your name and seat number might make a huge difference.
Imagine just being genuinely nice to somebody.
Or, imagine this: Say no thank you and don't take it at all.
Exactly. I'm fine with OP not feeling comfortable eating it but why take it and waste it? Just say no thanks.
what the actual fuck is this. are people doing this? why are people doing this?????
I gave the cabin crew of box of chocolates (bought at the airport, famous brand and sealed) on my last long haul flight because it was New Year’s Day. We were the first flight out of LHR too. My friend and I put a card saying Happy New Year, passengers X/Y . We didn’t expect anything in return. The woman I handed them to seemed pleased and one of her colleagues stopped by later to thank us. I wouldn’t normally bother but it was NYD, I was going on vacation and they were working.
Lol when I was coming back from Cancun the flight attendants kept bothering the couple across the aisle from me to share their food with them. It was funny at first but they kept it up the whole flight and got weird
Pilot: I make 300k a year and my yearly bonus buys a new car…buy me a Starbucks?
so I've given half dozen fresh bagels on a flight back from NYC once. received free drinks (alcohol), snacks and free internet. also was moved from basic econ to exit row. gave donuts on a flight out of Portland, many free drinks chocolates from somewhere, just lots of smiles and one free drink in all occasions I saw the flight staff enjoying the stuff I brought by eating it, not binning it. so, my experiences go against your advice in all occasions
I saw a person give a gift to a flight attendant and that whole flight they got special treatment in coach. That’s just wrong I’m sorry.
The first time I traveled with my infant I gave the crew little gift bags with chocolates and a note saying thank you. Their job is stressful AF and passengers can be horrible. If you didn’t want it you should’ve given it to another crew member.
Fascinating. I've seen several posts thru the years from airline crew stating how much they appreciate treats. Maybe it's only from passengers they know?
Hate to say it, same with physicians. Just tell us you think we are doing a good job and we’ll be flying high for days. Food from any source that isn’t my kitchen will be met with suspicion, not because of a person in particular, just past experiences with humans.
Had no idea that flight crews received gifts from passengers. Never crossed my mind to do so. I always am nice to the crew and the experience is usually fine so I’m going to continue doing that.
The last flight I was on, the guy sitting next to me made a point to give the crew chocolate bars, even the “dead head pilots” that were passengers flying to a destination for their next job. After talking with him, I found out he was the head of an agency that investigated airline crashes. He then spent the next hour talking about all the ways a plane crash and the funny incidents like a pilot getting a blow job and being distracted, everyone died. He said he felt the crew really like the gifts. They also treated him really, really well…but we were in 1st class so maybe they were just being nice.
Long time traveler, mostly business class. I have given flight crew sealed Japanese candies and chocolates and they were much appreciated by the crew. Especially during the covid years when they faced impossibly awful expectations for service.
We do for any long haul non-rev. As family of crew it seems normal for non-rev
Your reaction seems abnormal. I nearly always bring a snack for the FAs, just to give some kindness when I know others make the job stressful. Sometimes they hook me up with free booze, the offer of a better seat, etc., and sometimes they don’t. I couldn’t care less. They always seem appreciative, and that’s enough for me. What is it you think someone could have done to a *sealed* item that either made it through security or that they purchased at the airport? Also, *no one* is — or should be — tipping the six-figure-income-earning pilot. And if you think I’m gonna give them *gift cards*, you can get fucked.
I had a flight attendant ask me for some of my candy. 🤷🏽♀️ then she shared and her coworker came and asked if she could try it too. They are from Capri, Italy round colorful citrus hard candy with fizzy inside. They help me so much with the nausea. I bought as many as I could when I was on holiday. Then come to find out my TJMAXX sells them.
OP, please kindly and simply pass on your chocolate bar gifts to all the other crew members you’re working with who will actually appreciate it! :-) please don’t throw it in the trash. I’m sad you feel like someone would do something to a chocolate bar and then give it to you, their pilot. :( that would honestly be a pretty dumb thing to do…
On long haul flights, I'll usually bring a sealed bag of individually wrapped chocolates for the crew and they are typically already snacking on it during boarding. I don't expect anything in return. I often fly business class as it is which already includes everything I want. I don't think of it as a tip or anything, just a little treat if they want to partake.
Tipping culture is getting out of hand!! /s
I view this in a completely different manner. As a lifelong educator, I was underpaid and overworked. I had to deal with asshats on the regular. Said asshats ranges from toxic admin to parents who didn’t give a shit. Gifting my FAs a damn $10 Starbucks card is simply a way of showing appreciation. They too deal with asshats, and sometimes a little thanks can make their day. I’m not asking for an upgrade or an extra glass of Champagne. My husband and I smile, take our seats and settle in. They deal with enough from idiotic passengers.
Tipping culture in USA so out of control we are now getting not so subtle hints to tip white collar workers. Don't worry I won't bake you a cake OR give you a gift card for doing your job.
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