I’m a flight attendant — these are the 6 ‘green flag’ traits I wish every passenger had
She’s hoping these good behaviors take off.
An American Airlines flight attendant is sharing six passenger “green flags,” which are positive actions that can help make a plane ride smooth.
“I feel like I say a lot about, like, the negative experiences that I have with passengers, but some of y’all are really cool,” Destanie Armstrong extolled in a trending TikTok last week.
Armstrong said she appreciates when flyers greet her as they board; when they’re considerate about overhead bin space; when they quickly give their beverage order; when they ask permission to be in the galley, where food and drinks are prepared; when they have good manners; and when they avoid flirting if they’re married.
Greeting the flight attendant
“We always say, like, ‘Good morning and welcome,'” Armstrong explained. “A lot of people will just ignore us. I love when a passenger asks how we’re doing or, like, stuff about our day.”
Acceptable questions include: Are you on a trip? Are you going to have a layover?
“It feels like I’m actually connecting with people,” Armstrong reasoned. “I thought with this job that I would connect with people a lot more.”
Making room in the overhead bin
Placing your bag in the overhead bin in such a way that makes room for other passengers’ luggage is what Armstrong considers a “little considerate act.”
“It really sucks for the people that come on last — they have to check their bag because the overhead bin space isn’t utilized properly,” she noted. “So I love when people are just considerate and help us out a little bit.”
Giving a drink order in a timely manner
When flight attendants come around to collect drink orders, be sure to take out your Airpods or pull down your headphones — and be prepared.
“The people that are just, like, I walk up and they’re like, ‘I’d like a ginger ale, please’ — they make our life so easy,” Armstrong praised. “Or just knowing what you want in general, like, ‘I would like a coffee with three creams and three sugars’ because when we have to do beverage service really fast, we’re serving like 200 people and there’s going to be at least five people that say, ‘What do you have?’ and you have to explain everything.”
Asking to be in the galley
Be sure to respect flight attendants’ workspaces.
“You’ll be shocked at how many people would just walk in [the galley], don’t acknowledge us, will stand there without saying anything to us, or start stretching on our emergency exits. I’m like, ‘Ma’am, please stop doing Pilates on our emergency exits,’ and then they get mad,” Armstrong recalled.
“But there’ll be times where people are like, ‘Hey, my legs are hurting, do you mind if I stretch back here for a couple minutes?’ I’m like, ‘100%, thank you for asking.’ Or if someone’s waiting for the bathroom, they’re like, ‘Hey, do you mind if I stand here?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course.'”
Having good manners
Good manners, especially exhibited by kids, go a long way in Armstrong’s book.
“Especially the bratty ages — like if a 10-year-old is like super sweet, I’m like, good job parents,” Armstrong gushed. “There are so many bratty kids these days that are like, ‘I want a Sprite.’ The parents are like, ‘Yeah, he’ll take a Sprite, and we’ll take a Coke.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, please. Thank you. Hello.’ When kids are well-mannered, I’m literally like, I think I do want kids.”
Not flirting if they are married men
If you’re wearing a wedding ring, you’re not going to land Armstrong’s affections.
“Lastly, I love when a married man is not too friendly with us. I have not been hit on many times working — the times that guys have tried to chat me up, they’ve always had a ring on their finger, which literally makes me so upset,” Armstrong recounted.
“Complimenting me or asking if I’m gonna be laying over in the same place that they’re gonna be laying over, what I’m gonna be doing on my layover, which that’s not bad, but it’s the vibes,” she declared.
