Here's What It Really Means When Your Flight Attendant Says They're Going 'Back To Base'

Lots of professions have their own lingo, and sometimes that terminology makes it into the popular culture. Doctors on "Gray's Anatomy" and "Chicago Med" are always crying out things like "40 milliliters of epi stat!" to indicate urgency and the FBI agents on "Criminal Minds" frequently toss around terms like "unsub" for "unknown subject" and "MO" meaning "modus operandi." But what about those cryptic phrases you hear flight attendants bandying about? For example, what does it mean when they say they're "going back to base"?

To find out, Islands asked a veteran flight attendant named Barbi, who has clocked 40 years of flying time with a major United States airline, to peel back the curtain on just what that and other intriguing phrases mean. "Going back to base means that a flight attendant returns to the station where they are based," Barbi says. "For example, if a flight attendant is in San Fransisco, California, but their base of operation is Dallas, Texas, all of their trips begin and end in Dallas. We refer to that as 'base,' which is similar to someone in the military who is based, or stationed, in Germany but is in another country doing work."

Going back to base is a hot topic of conversation in the air because unpredictability is one of the worst parts of a flight attendant's job. Like long-haul truckers, flight attendants are often away from home for days at a time, and time at home — sorry, time at base — can be precious.

When Islands asked Barbi why her profession has a secret language or code, she laughed. "Funny, when I asked many of my colleagues this question, the consensus was, 'We do?! When you find out what it is, please let us know.'" It isn't a secret she says, just professional jargon. Still, she admits, "There are words related to the industry that outsiders don't know. Some examples are turn, commuter, galley queen, crash pad, and jumpseat therapy, to name a few."

A turn is a shift where a flight attendant works a round-trip, starting and ending their day at base; a commuter is a flight attendant who lives somewhere other than their base and must fly to get there, often because they don't have enough schedule seniority to fly out of their hometown; a galley queen is a flight attendant who rules the roost in the plane's galley, or kitchen, often shooing passengers out (hint: hanging out in the galley is one of the things flight attendants wish you'd stop doing); and a crash pad is an apartment shared by flight attendants — sometimes outfitted with bunks like a hostel — where they crash when they can't get "back to base."

As for jumpseat therapy, that's what flight attendants call it when they buckle up for take-off next to a colleague who shares details about relationship troubles, family woes, or medical conditions. While this can lead to awkward conversations and oversharing, Barbi notes that the practice can also include sage advice and support from crewmembers, and even lead to lifelong friendships.

Some flight attendant jargon is technical, but these seasoned pros also have inside jokes they use to help them decompress from stress. "There are a few things flight attendants say that are kind of like inside jokes to the rest of the crew," Barbi told Islands, "like 'Jetbridge Jesus strikes again,' 'The Cartel,' and 'The Kardashians overwing want more drinks.'"

A Jetbridge Jesus or Jetway Jesus refers to a passenger who uses a wheelchair to board, but miraculously stands up and walks off the plane at their destination — the implication being that they faked or exaggerated their disability just to get early boarding. Cartel, meanwhile, refers to a group of senior flight attendants who organized to sell their more desirable shifts to junior flight attendants for cash — a frowned-upon practice that's been cracked down upon. 

Kardashians is obviously shorthand for entitled passengers who might treat flight attendants like servants by crying, "More champagne Jeeves!" You already know that being rude to flight attendants is a rookie passenger move, right? However, it's a little-known fact that Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner once worked as a flight attendant, so the brood may be less entitled than you'd expect when flying commercial: One FA who dished on serving Kim K reported that, far from getting her Skims in a bunch, the famous underwear entrepreneur was actually quite nice.