10 airline secrets you didn’t know before – As revealed by the crew
If you are an ardent traveller who likes exploring destinations on a regular basis, then you must be a frequent flyer. After all, what’s a better way to commute between destinations than on an aeroplane. The sheer comfort, efficiency, and cheaper prices have made them the numero uno option. While you have little to no information on what is happening in the background, there is actually a plenty. On the same note, here are the 10 airline secrets you didn’t know before. As revealed by the airline crew on Reddit.
1. Premise to a disaster movie
“That there’s a huge list of things that can be missing from the aircraft while still being allowed to fly.” – unimproved
Don’t be too scared. There is something called Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) that every aircraft must satisfy before they take off. This list includes a set of instruments, equipment, and onboard systems that can be inoperative during flight.
Interesting read: 12 things that people do on a plane that annoy you
2. Invasion is inevitable
“Locks on zippered bags are useless. You can pop a zipper with a pen and drag the locked zipper pulls around the bag to close them back up. I’ve done this many times to identify bags that are tagless and locked.” – nunswithknives
Having realized this, it’s not completely useless to put a lock on the zippers. Because not many people might know this and in some cases, the lock also keeps the zipper intact.
3. New achievement unlocked
“You know how all the other armrests can be raised except for the one next to the aisle? Turns out that one can be raised as well via a small button in a divot on the underside of the armrest. Useful if you want to spread out a bit more, though some flight attendants may tell you to put it back in place.” – Goat_Porker
Now, you can stretch a bit more even in the economy class and pretend it is first class.
4. Joey doesn’t share food
“2 pilots are served different meals and cannot share, this is done in case of food poisoning.” – ichigo29
This is something very interesting. It’s so good to know that flight operators are taking so much caution in flying us safely.
5. May the force be with you
“Almost every commercial flight you ride on has a dead body on board. Possibly 2 if you’re on a wide body (large) aircraft.” – mm_cake
A good omen, maybe?
6. Perks of well…being born
“Employees and their families get “ID tickets” (ID is for “industry discount”), which means they only pay taxes and fees and nothing for the actual ticket.
The airlines basically let them fly for free. And not just with their own airline, but with every airline in any alliance. The tickets are standby tickets, so you’re not guaranteed to get on board, but you get a seat more often than not. The family members can travel on these tickets without the employee.
My dad worked for an airline in Star Alliance, so I used to get free tickets with airlines in One World and SkyTeam as well as Star Alliance. I usually travelled in business class, all around the world. A return trip between Europe and Japan was something like 200 USD in business class, and maybe 50 USD in the economy.
I don’t get any perks anymore, as it was only valid until I turned 25.” – kjerstih
Yes, we are doing this. Any airline operators if you are reading this, we are ready to be adopted you know!
Interesting read: Lean, Mean, and low cost; Unraveling airline industry secrets
7. Coffee? Errrrr, no please
“The coffee is absolutely disgusting because no one washes the container that goes out every morning. The station agents who get paid way too little don’t give a shit about cleaning it. I certainly didn’t when I worked for AA.
Also, because we weren’t given the proper supplies to clean it. We pretty much just rinsed it out and dumped coffee into it.” – WorseToWorser
Well, no more coffee on the plane.
8. Welcome to miracle flights
“People fake needing a wheelchair to gain boarding priority. 10 wheelchairs get on and only 1 person needs it getting off. We call um miracle flights.” – tagt8er
It’s sad we didn’t know this trick before. Definitely going to use this the next time and yes, miracle flights is upon us.
9. Peekaboo, anyone?
“There is a small latch hidden inside the lavatory sign on the bathroom door, which will open the door when pulled, even when it’s locked. Airplane Peekaboo!” – anony_meows
Please don’t try this though 😀
10. Struggles of being a bag
“Baggage handlers see hundreds of bags a day. No bag is treated special unless it is OBVIOUS. Even then, depending on the person, sometimes they’re not (which is rare). Bags are not intentionally harmed. They are, however, intentionally thrown, slid, jostled, stacked under hundreds of pounds of other bags, and exposed to the elements because that is the nature of the job. You can safely assume that your bag is touched and handled by at least 7-8 people, per flight segment, if you are connecting, at least 10 different people, not including TSA.” – Mudbutt7
Invest in a good travel bag and forget about the rest. A good travel bag can handle any amount of stress.
For travel without hassles, try Pickyourtrail.
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