It's well known that passengers act completely differently as soon as they enter an aircraft, whether its nerves, excitement or the trauma of the airport, everything changes. Cabin crew sometimes joke that the passengers must pack their brains in their hold luggage. Here we take a look at the worst habits that have been spotted by cabin crew.

Asking for an upgrade

This is ok in itself but gets embarrassing when the passenger gets 'stroppy'. The seats have already been assigned and meals loaded, and only the ground staff can offer a true upgrade. The only upgrades we are allowed to do are for an extra charge, or occasionally we may upgrade someone if it's a family member of the crew, for example. The passenger who didn't get their company to upgrade them can get angry at the cabin crew and sometimes create a drama when there is nothing we can do - apart from offload you from the flight.

Eurowings cabin crew working in the cabin
The top of descent passenger announcement also signals for the crew to complete the service and secure the cabin. Photo: Eurowings

The frequent flyer

Again usually not a huge issue. Until these words are mentioned 'I've flown more times than you...' Probably not, as cabin crew have a very heavy schedule, but it is annoying and patronizing to be talked down to, when the statement is quite possibly untrue. Why even say it?

The mile high club

It is a very rare thing, but the cabin crew will know what's going on and can open the lavatory from the outside and also have to do safety checks on the lavatories every 20 or 30 minutes to make sure there are no fire hazards. What really puzzles us as to why you'd want to do that in a probably ancient aircraft lavatory with various liquids splashed on the floor (it's not just water), and they are not the cleanest.

Passengers with no shoes

Fine if you are seated, but I would not go bare-footed or only socked into the lavatory, please see above. Also, putting your feet on the bulkhead (or divider) - would you go to a strangers house and put your feet up on their sofa?

Economy Cabin United
Photo: United Airlines

Baby changing

There are baby changing tables in the lavatories, but cabin crew would rather not see this happening on the tray table or on their crew seat, and yes, we have all seen it!

Galley gym

Especially on long hauls flights, when passengers take a break from their seats, we are not entirely sure why passengers suddenly appear in our galley (often when we are in the middle of service and don't have enough space already) and perform a random set of stretches. We are a small kitchen and not a gym.

Flight-attendant American Airlines
A flight attendant waits for the galley gym to start. Photo: American Airlines

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

Taking photos of us without permission

You may be taking photos or videos to show off your vacation on Instagram, but seriously the cabin crew don't want to be in them. Most cabin crew like privacy (and sometimes airlines ask us to sign confidentiality agreements) and prefer not to be seen all over Facebook.

Abusive passengers

Cabin crew don't want to see very drunk, aggressive behavior onboard an aircraft, and we don't take kindly to verbally abuse, name-calling or sexual harassment. We can however arrange for the police to meet you on landing.

Stealing the crew meals

We have our crew meals, similar to the passenger meal but don't always have time to eat them. Sometimes, we might have to leave them half-finished in the galley whilst we answer a passenger call bell. Please do not steal our meal because you are hungry or it looks better than yours, that might be our only meal that shift.

Simple Flying will be at the Farnborough Airshow next week. For all the latest news from the show click here!

Any toe picking or cutting of nails can happen ever!

Enough said.

Politeness

Cabin crew are polite by nature and we really try to make the flight as pleasant, safe, and friendly as possible. It's not easy us being trapped with you in this metal tube in the sky, but we love a thank you - it makes our day.