Flight Attendants Hate When You Make These Common Mistakes While Boarding The Plane

As you trudge down the jetway to your flight, perhaps exhausted from a 3 a.m. wake-up, you're usually greeted by the beaming faces of flight attendants. Just like you, they could be wiped out from a long shift or short rest, though they don't let you know it. In that same vein, you probably wouldn't notice if something you did irked them as you boarded the plane. So we were curious what might bother flight attendants during boarding. 

For insight, Islands got in touch with flight attendant Christa Treat. Treat has been a flight attendant on a commercial airline for 16 years and told us exclusively what bugs the cabin crew during boarding — a time during which they aren't even paid, which is definitely one of the absolute worst parts of the job. For instance, Treat told us that passengers could make boarding smoother by not trying to use the bathroom onboard immediately. 

"A lot of time we have to take delays because people need to use the restroom," she explained. "But I find it funny because they've been sitting waiting for this flight for probably over an hour. They should've used it beforehand. Boarding should be for just boarding the plane [and] getting seated so we can takeoff as soon as possible." What else are passengers doing that could easily wipe the sunshine out of a flight attendant's eyes? 

When you board a flight and are greeted by the flight attendants, what do you do? If you're like the majority of passengers Christa Treat encounters, you're probably not saying "hello" back. She exclusively told Islands that one of the most common mistakes passengers make during boarding is not engaging. 

"When you walk on, a majority of the time we smile and greet you," she said. "Everyone is typically on their phone or will look up for a second and back down. It's not hard to smile or nod back as a common courtesy. A smile truly does go a long way." You could even go one step further to make your flight attendant's day by giving them a little gift or card during boarding. 

Treat isn't alone in this frustration either. Taking a look at Flight Attendants of Reddit, other cabin-crew folks also agree that their favorite passengers are ones who actually greet them back. Greeting flight attendants goes hand in hand with relaying kindness, which the crew Redditors also agreed is paramount for a good passenger. 

Beyond just acknowledging the flight attendants, travelers need to be more cognizant of other passengers, too. Christa Treat told us exclusively that being unaware of your surroundings during boarding is one of the most common mistakes a passenger can make. 

"I see people with big backpacks turn around and hit people all the time when stowing their [larger] bags," she told us. "Be aware of other people at all times. Take your backpack off first and then stow your larger bag so you aren't hitting people with your backpack when getting settled in." That also means not taking up all the overhead-bin space, which is one of the things flight attendants want you to stop doing.

Beyond that, Treat suggests that passengers try to get situated as fast as they can to expedite boarding, and avoid rifling through their stuff before taking a seat, because if everyone starts doing that, it will cause a boarding hangup. As the boarding announcements often say, step into your row to avoid causing a traffic jam. Or, better yet, have the things out that you need onboard before you board. That way you don't have to dig through your bags at all.