July 22, 2025 • 28 mins
Ever wondered if you should be tipping your flight attendants? In this episode, we break down the complex world of in-flight tipping and gifting. We dive into what tipping means in our industry, the fine line between appreciation and expectation, and why a genuine "thank you" can go further than a $5 bill. We also share some of our favorite (and cringiest) experiences receiving treats, tips, and thoughtful surprises in the sky. We talk all things passenger courtesy, the psychology of gifting, and how the culture of tipping affects the airline world. Plus, Rich shares a wild layover story from a pilot friend in our “What Would Two Guys Do?” segment that had Drew in tears.
Episode Highlights:
[0:00] - Should passengers be tipping flight attendants? Let's talk about it.
[1:22] - Drew's heartwarming layover story with a new hire who just gets it.
[3:25] - Rich escapes to Boston while navigating the non-rev jungle (and shares some StaffTraveler hacks).
[5:48] - We dig into tipping—why it’s complicated, appreciated, and sometimes awkward.
[10:03] - Comparing tipping vs. gifting: is one better than the other?
[12:00] - The problem with performative gifting—expecting upgrades or perks.
[14:25] - Creative and actually useful gifts that flight attendants love.
[17:19] - PSA: Be a kind passenger—sometimes, that’s more appreciated than any gift.
[19:13] - Take off your headphones and speak up! A rant about common courtesy in the cabin.
[22:54] - Story Time! A pilot’s hilarious confession about a misdirected, uh… delivery.
[26:04] - Keep your stories coming and a special thanks to our Patreon fam.
Thoughts on this episode? Text us!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rich (00:00):
You ever wondered what your flight attendants are
really talking about behind thegalley curtain? Welcome
Andrew (00:06):
to Two guys on a plane.
Your go to podcast for aninsider look at flight attendant
life.
Rich (00:11):
We're your hosts, rich and Drew, and we're here to tell you
what really goes on at 35,000feet.
Andrew (00:16):
So sit back, relax.
We're ready for takeoff.
Rich (00:21):
All right, everybody.
Welcome back to two guys on aplane. We are so excited to be
back in the studio. Today. Weare going to talk about
something fun. And this questionis, should you tip your flight
attendants? We get asked thisquestion all the time because we
have such a weird, unique jobwhere it's like everything is
kind of safety related, like 90%of what we do on the plane,
(00:43):
though, you know, ends up beingservice related. So it's like
you're a first responder, butyou also just serve me a drink.
Do I tip you? Is that insulting?
Is it not insulting? So wewanted to talk about that along
with gifts. We do often gettreats and things from
passengers, and those are verymuch appreciated, but they're
not required. But people arealways asking us, should I tip
(01:06):
my flight attendants? Should Ibring them gifts? What should I
bring? If I do bring something,what will people like? What will
people not like? Will peoplefind useful? What will people
not find useful? So we're goingto dive into that a little bit
today, and before we do that,though, Andrew, how's flying
going for you? Lately,
Andrew (01:22):
flying has been super fun, good. Actually, I've had a
few really good trips recently,and one really memorable one, we
were overnighting, and I we hada reserve on our trip, first,
very first trip, and she was soexcited to be at work, which,
oh, I love that. You know how itis you get on with somebody
(01:44):
that's like, new and also reallygood at their job. It's so
satisfying. Like, she was reallygood at her job. And, like, very
inquisitive, asking questions,good energy. And, like, just
brings up the whole energy ofthe plane. And then we get to
her overnight, which is on anisland, and she was so excited
to be out and exploring. So wewent out for dinner as a crew.
(02:05):
There were like, three or fourof us that, not the whole crew,
but like three or four of usthat went out to dinner, and it
was just so fun. And then, youknow, being the most senior, I
don't know, I think you all havethis tradition, but like,
usually the senior, or someonesenior pays for drinks and like,
Rich (02:22):
it is like an artificial rule. I feel like it's, it's
nice to treat the new peoplewhen you can, because we were
all broken and there at onepoint in our career. But
Andrew (02:31):
it was just so fun. She was like, she was so thankful
for dinner or whatever. And shewas like, I just, I'm so
appreciative of all of thiswhole experience has been great.
And I was like, I just, I knowthat you'll have the chance to,
like, pass this along one day,like, I have no doubt she's
gonna be a flight attendant forlike, 30 years. She was so good
at it. It was so refreshing.
Rich (02:50):
I love that. That is really refreshing. Because
sometimes you fight with newpeople and you're like, Oh,
you're just, how do you alreadyhate this job? Yeah, they either
already hate it, or it's likeyou're just not getting it like
you're like, bare, bare minimumhere, and you're just, you can't
pull it together. I don'tunderstand. I don't get it. Um,
but, yeah, that's awesome thatyou had that experience. Yeah,
it was really fun. How about youwere sweet to her too? Yeah?
Andrew (03:12):
Well, I mean, I don't know why everybody thinks I'm
such an asshole all the time,right? I'm really nice to
Rich (03:17):
people. Yeah, most, most, that's mostly true.
Andrew (03:23):
What about you? How's wait? You've been off?
Rich (03:25):
I have. I've had a few days off, which has been really
nice. I made a quick trip up toBoston to see my mom, which was
nice. She just got back fromthis like insane around the
world adventure jealousy wenton. I know, listen to this. My
mom flew to Australia, visitedfriends that she met on a cruise
randomly for a couple weeks inBrisbane, and then they flew to
(03:47):
Sydney, and they took her aroundSydney, and then she took a
cruise all the way across thePacific Ocean, stopping in like
Fiji, Hawaii, all these islands,and then up to Seattle, and like
she's gone for six weeks orsomething. I mean, so jealous.
That sounds amazing, anexplorer. Yes. Dora the
Explorer, the Explorer. Judy theExplorer. So, yeah, so I went up
(04:08):
to Boston to visit her, andthank God for jump seats and
stuff like that, because nonriving to and from Boston. It's
either like flights are wideopen or everything is completely
oversold. And I was in theoversold category this time. And
we know non revving, like firstflight of the day is usually
your best bet, but I could notbring myself to get on a 6am
flight. I was like, I just can'tdo it. And I was looking at
(04:30):
staff traveler, and I waschecking flight loads my life
say you're a lifesaver. If youguys don't have staff traveler,
you need to download and it'sfree. Go to staff
traveler.com/two, guys for thelink to download to your phone.
But it's a completely free app.
You get flight loads. You canput in city pairings, you can
add connections. You can do daysand times and all these
different things and check, youknow, seat of availability, how
(04:52):
many people are listed onstandby. You know if there's
first class seats open or not?
First class. Seats open, and allthat sort of stuff. And it's
really great. And you can earncredits in the app by filling
out, filling, fulfillingrequests for your own airline
about seat availability onflights for you. And then you
earn credits that way. You canpay for credits too, if you
(05:14):
really want to, but the best wayto do it is you get free credits
by answering and so the morepeople that are on the app, the
better it works. It's seriouslylifesaver. I don't know how many
times we've been stuck in anairport, and you're like, do we
have to check staff traveler?
Like, who's got seats?
Somebody's gonna have seats. Andhalf the time, you'll search
like, Philly, Boston, andthere'll be some random airline,
and you're like, I didn't evenknow they flew this route.
Andrew (05:35):
Or I don't know anyone at that airline to text to get
exactly for sorry, friends Iknow like four in the morning.
Sometimes I am used to but stafftraveler has helped. I no longer
text friends at four in themorning freaking out, being
like, why are the lows?
Rich (05:48):
Staff traveler has definitely changed things, and I
keep learning about new routesthat I didn't know existed by
using it. Sometimes I justrandomly search routes, and I'm
like, Oh, I didn't know youcould go from here to here,
right? So great, great tool, ifyou don't already, and they help
sponsor our podcasts, and wecould not make the show without
them. So thank you. Downloadstaff traveler today at staff
traveler.com/two guys, and getthe app today, we are going to
(06:13):
talk about tipping your flightattendants. And this is
definitely something that I feellike people like flight
attendants have kind of strongopinions on like, some people
really like it, some people,some people don't. How do you
feel about that? Andrew, do youlike tips? Do not like tips? I
mean, sounds like a crazyquestion. Who doesn't want free
money, right? Who doesn't lovetips? Right? Right? Just the
(06:36):
tip. Yeah. Sorry. I'll see forthose of you watching on camera,
yourself out right? For those ofyou watching on camera, I might
be drinking some crew juicetoday, and it might be kicking
in. You
Andrew (06:49):
know, I am torn on it, just like everyone else is. I
don't mind receiving a tip whenI know that I've done a good
job, like you are during serviceand you're taking care of
people. And, you know, I don't,I don't mind getting it, but I
also definitely hear thosepeople that think that we are
safety professionals because weare, and feel that it, you know,
(07:10):
cheapens our profession. And Iget that too,
Rich (07:12):
yeah, yeah, I agree with that. I mean, it's some airlines
allow tipping on their devices.
Some are, it's a hard No, andthen some airlines it's like,
okay if you politely declineonce or twice. And now it's
becoming problematic that youdon't accept their tip and
they're annoyed. Just take thetip at that point. You know, you
don't really tick off a customerwho's trying to do something
(07:33):
nice for you. Like that seems alittle outrageous, but I
definitely I have mixed feelingsabout it, too. I always feel
like, some days it's like, Iworked my ass off. And, you know
what, if you want to slip me at10, or it's 20 or whatever,
like, that's great. Now I canbuy lunch and, like, I don't
have to stress. Like, it's kindof amazing. But then other days
I am like, no, like, I had amedical once, and this guy,
(07:55):
like, passed out, and then like,tipped me after, and I'm like,
it's like, tipping your nurselike that. That's weird, right?
I don't know. Wait, do peopletip nurses? Nurses weigh in? I
know a lot of like, dents ornurses.
Andrew (08:10):
It's a hard thing to to like, come to an answer for
because as a society, we'vebecome like, particularly here
in America, we've become such
Rich (08:20):
tippers, yeah? Like, tipping culture in the US,
definitely everywhere.
Andrew (08:25):
These days, you can't do anything, I mean, to go orders
and people want tips for them.
So, like, right? I understandtip fatigue, and I don't know, I
don't know that there's a goodanswer for this one. I mean,
like I said, I think if I'vedone a good job and throughout
service, you were, you know, Icame back to you and checked on
you and like you felt like yougot really good service. Like,
(08:47):
I'm really okay with the tippersonally, but I just, I don't
know, I feel like tipping is away for these large corporations
to get around paying as what wedeserve absolutely
Rich (09:02):
like, how about we just pay people a livable wage,
right? There's no subsidizingyour income with tips, because
corporations don't want to paytheir employees, right?
Andrew (09:11):
The CEOs aren't. CEOs aren't relying on tips. Yeah,
you know, no,
Rich (09:16):
they're just relying on those million dollar bonuses
that they get every quarter.
Sucks to be there. So, yeah, if
Andrew (09:21):
you're sitting in a seat and you got really good service
and you're like, you know what?
You work fun and kind and like,go have a drink on me later.
Like, tip away, yeah? But like,I don't think it needs to be
something that becomes the normin our industry. I would
completely agree with that. SoI'm I feel like there should be
no hard rule that we can'taccept them. I don't think there
should be a hard rule that welike that's how we're
(09:43):
subsidizing our pay by allowingyou to accept them on your thing
but on your tablets or whatever.
But if you got really goodservice and you really liked the
flight attendants or the flightcrew that day, I don't see the
difference between accepting atip and accepting a $5 like star
of. Gift card when you boardedthe airplane. Like, there's no
difference to me,
Rich (10:03):
no, totally. And I really, I think the tipping thing, like,
if you're a passenger and youwant to tip your your flight
attendant because they were niceor whatever, like, go for it.
That's fine. Just sometimesthey're gonna say no, and
sometimes you have to kind ofpush and be like, no, please
take this in order for them tobe able to and then sometimes
it's just going to be a hard No,and that's okay too. Like, for
(10:24):
me, it's all about the gesture.
Yeah, you did something nice.
You wanted to tip them if theysay yes or no, that's on them,
but it's not required, right?
And don't feel like you have tosame, because we are really
there to take care of you,Safety Service and all of the
above. The point is to get youfrom point A to point B safely
and securely and comfortably,and so that's our job, and
that's what we're paid to do, sono need to pay extra. But also,
(10:45):
if you want to buy me a drinkcleaner, you know what? Maybe
that's okay. Maybe that's okaywith me, but you mentioned
Starbucks gift cards, and I feellike the tipping thing. We don't
see super often, but we areseeing gifts more and more
lately, like people wanting totreat us with like chocolates or
Starbucks gift cards and thingslike that. How do you feel about
(11:07):
that? Versus tipping?
Andrew (11:11):
They're both the same to me, like, honestly, I was having
a conversation with a friend.
Were you there? I don't rememberif you were we having a
conversation with a friend aboutthis, but they were wondering if
people were bringing gifts moreto like, try to get things like
get upgrades, or get free drinksor things like that.
Rich (11:28):
Someone commented on our YouTube, and they had mentioned
how it seems like people aredoing it more and more,
expecting things in return, andlike there's been too many
tiktoks and viral blogs andthings like that out there. I
think that have kind of made itseem like, get your flight
attendants a buck, like a box ofchocolates and you'll drink for
free. And it's like, no, no,we're not playing that game,
(11:48):
like we take care of the peoplewho treat us well, yeah, yes,
for sure, but like, don't doanything expecting something in
return. I just don't thinkthat's how you should live life,
let alone, you know, tips andtreats
Andrew (12:00):
on planes, like, the coffee thing, like, you're on an
early flight, you brought aStarbucks gift card because, you
know, we don't get the time toget off the plane so much. Or,
like, yeah, a cup of coffee isnice. Like, great. Appreciate
that. Like, totally. Will itbring attention to you, to the
flight attendant? Will we maybepay more attention to you?
Probably yes. But like, and Iwork a lot of vacation routes,
(12:22):
and I always find it really niceif you're gonna bring candies or
something. Like, I had somebodycome on the other day, and she,
like, brought wherever we werefrom, wherever we were going. It
was, like, chocolate from thatplace. Oh, nice. And she was
like, I know you always don'tget off the plane, and I really
love these. So I wanted to bringyou a part of my vacation. And,
like, that's just thoughtful.
Like, I appreciate those kind ofgifts,
Rich (12:42):
but it wasn't some generic candy. It was like a legitimate
gesture through and correct,
Andrew (12:47):
yeah, and even with the Starbucks gift cards, I
appreciate them. I love them alot, yeah? But I had someone get
on the plane the other day, andhe was in line for coffee and
grabbed one, like, four ofthose, like, canned coffee. Oh,
yeah, that all of the placesdraft lattes, sure, but most
places have some of those, someversion of that now. And he
(13:07):
brought like, three or four ofthose canned coffees for the
crew that's and he was like, Iso I was in line for coffee.
Didn't know if you guys hadtime. So here's coffee for
everyone. And we were like, wasso
Rich (13:17):
sweet. That is really sweet. I had someone bring,
like, a tray of just like blackcoffee zones, and I felt, Oh, I
felt so bad because you're notdrinking. We can't take that.
Like, I don't know what you putin that coffee. And while you
might seem like a sweet littleold lady, I don't know if you
had some eye drops in your purseand thought these flight
attendants are gonna have theruns the day, right? Like, given
(13:39):
the nature of our job, I know sobad when people are like, my No,
no, made these for you and I'mlike, Oh, that was so sweet.
Yeah, I know I do feel bad,because there's certain things
where it's like, I am going topolitely accept this because I
don't want to hurt yourfeelings. But we can't take open
(14:01):
things or things that aren't prepackaged or just safety
precaution. You know, that's thewhole nature of our job. We
can't always accept things likethat.
Andrew (14:10):
Seen a shift recently, have you? The gifts aren't food
so much. We're getting more likeface masks and hand sanitizers
and little packs of band aidsand those sort of things. And I
really love those kind of giftsa lot. I do too. I think it's
just
Rich (14:25):
thoughtful to be like, Okay, maybe you don't want
candy, maybe sanitizer would behelpful, or lip balm or
something like that. Yeah,things like that are always just
really nice gestures becausethey're useful. We're gonna put
stuff like that in our bag andwe're gonna use it, and we're
gonna think, God, this passengeris great. Yeah, I got one of
those hand sanitizers. They're,like, expensive. I can't they're
(14:45):
refillable ones. I can'tremember that the brand name
now, but a passenger broughtthose for us. And I was like,
Oh, nice. And my friend waslike, those are, like, 20 bucks.
And I was like, what? Right?
They spent $100 on handsanitizer. Are you free later?
That's. Oh, just kidding, butyeah, no, I love those little
thoughtful gestures that peopledo. And
Andrew (15:06):
if you're bringing it to say, thank you for being at
work, or I know you've been athome, away from home for a long
time, here's a little pick me uplike we love those. But if
you're doing it, and I promise,we can tell the difference, oh,
we 100% Lee, can tell thedifference whether you're
bringing home because you'relike, thanks for being here and
being away from home and yourfamily for four or five days, or
(15:27):
I brought you this because Ithink you'll sneak me into a
premium seat. Yeah, becausewe're I'm not doing it.
Rich (15:33):
I had a guy, literally, just so bold, gets on the plane
with this bag of chocolate, andhe goes, I'm in 7c or whatever.
And we're like, oh, things like,that's so nice. And he goes, so
do I get, like, a free drink orsomething? You get your candy
back? Oh, that's exactly what Idid. That's exactly what I did.
I said, Oh, what a nice gesture.
No. And I handed the candy back.
(15:56):
And I was like, enjoy yourflight. Drinks are $10 like, I
just It's entitled. Are youdoing this to be nice, or you're
doing this to get something? Andlike you said, we can always
tell, even if you're not thatblatant about it, we can see
right through it, like our jobis literally to read people.
We're really good at it, sodon't try us. Right?
Andrew (16:13):
Yeah, I think it's all about delivery and what you do
and who you give it to, and whyyou're giving it. But, yeah,
food tips, I
Rich (16:21):
bring things to like, I always think I thank you for
this, actually, because I usedto bring chocolate, like, little
lint truffles or something,because they're, like,
individually wrapped, so they'reeasy to share among your crew.
And then you were like, I'm nota huge, like, chocolate fan. And
I remember being like, Huh?
Like, because I've always lovedchocolate, but you're right, so
I always try to get a mixture ofthings. Like, if I do bring
(16:41):
candy, I'll bring like, onething that's chocolate, and then
I'll get, like, Starburst,starbust, wow, Starburst,
because they're individuallywrapped, and again, they're easy
to share among the crew. Like,stuff like that. I don't know,
you don't really think aboutuntil you're on the receiving
end of these gifts, and you'relike, oh, wait, that actually
makes a lot of sense, you know?
Like, it's nice that peoplebring M M's and things, but then
(17:01):
you're like, trying to figureout, Okay, do we divvy these up
so all of our hands aren't like,in the same bag and and things
like that. But yeah, I always, Itry to think outside the box
now, and I thank you for thatfor the most part, because I
definitely was like, chocolate.
Sure, cool, great. But there'sother things out there that are
there are really helpful.
Andrew (17:19):
Your chocolate is going to melt in the cubby by my
coffee pot.
Rich (17:23):
That's the worst. Or you, like, put it near an oven or
something, and you forget, andthen it's just like, melted
mess, delicious, but messy. Buthonestly, I, as much as I love
the gifts and I love the tips, Ijust at the end of the day, like
it goes so much further. Ifyou're just a nice passenger,
like, things you can do to makeyour flight attendants happy and
(17:45):
get on our good side, thathonestly will probably still get
you a free drink or something.
Is like, don't ignore us duringboarding. We say, Hello, good
morning. How are you nothing?
You know, half the time you justget no response from people. And
it's like, Do you know howannoying and like, hurtful it is
to be ignored by 250 people,like in a row when you're trying
(18:05):
really hard to be nice andcreate this, like, welcoming
environment, and then to not getanything out of those people
until they need you or want youfor something, and they're
poking you and they're askingfor stuff. It's like, I know
that's what we're there for, butat the end of the day, we're
people, and if you treat us likepeople, we're going to treat you
really well as a result. Becausea lot of times we're not seen as
(18:26):
like actual human beings by theairline or by passengers,
honestly. Yeah. So things likethat.
Andrew (18:32):
If you right, take your headphones off. Say good morning
when you board the airplane.
Yep. Take your headphones off.
Pay attention when we'restanding in the aisle doing the
demo. Take your headphones off.
Pay attention when we have theservice card out. There are just
very easy ways to make us yourbest friend, and most of it at
these days involves taking yourheadphones off for
Rich (18:55):
a few seconds. Common courtesy, self respect. I mean,
we shouldn't have to ask, Whatdo you want to drink? Like 87
times, you know we're becausewe're not going to we're gonna
move past you, and then they'regonna be mad that we skipped you
or whatever. And it's like, justpay attention. Be aware of
what's around you and what'shappening.
Andrew (19:13):
And for this old lady, can you shout your drink order
to me? Because between thoseoverhead bins, like it is a cone
of silence, don't realize that,right? Telling you in between,
I'm telling all of you that arelistening today that um, in
between the overhead bins, it isa cone of silence up there. So
like, if you're in the windowseat, maybe yell at my old ears,
(19:34):
because they've been on thatairplane for a very long time,
and I cannot hear you
Rich (19:37):
so true longer. I fly them around, like what I assume it's
so bad, and like, the air isblowing in the bins, and like,
you really can't hear anything.
And I swear you ask someone torepeat something and get
quieter. I don't know if this issomething that should be
studied. Like psychologists outthere looking for something to
study. Please study that. Like,can you repeat? Eat that louder,
(19:59):
and then they whisper more. AndI'm like, Girl, I can't help
you. I think about, do youremember that scene in pitch
perfect when the girl who'slike, super quiet, she's like, I
set fire to feel joy, like Ithat's like those passengers and
like a Diet Coke. And I'm like,come on, spit it out. Say words.
It always kills me.
Andrew (20:22):
Yeah, I I also love when they like, have the menus out,
and they like point to things.
I'm like, we're not looking atthe same things. Words, please.
Well, and they want to face
Rich (20:35):
the menu too. They're pointing one of these, one of
these, and I want to be facingaway from me. Yeah, tell me
what's on the menu. I don'tknow. I'm proud of you for
finding the menu Correct.
They're
Andrew (20:46):
hidden most of the time in the back of a magazine or
something. Thank you for findingit. Thank you for using it, but
use your words, please.
Rich (20:56):
So that's pretty much it, you know. So don't feel like you
have to tip your flightattendants. Don't feel like you
have to bring us gifts, but ifyou decide you want to be nice
to us, that'll really go a longway in the long run. So thanks
for being good passengers, andwe appreciate that. But before
we go today, I think we shoulddo a little story time in our
(21:16):
what would two guys do seriessegment? So we have a really
funny story today. You guys aregonna love this. I hear them
blind with you. Rich does allthe picking so that I can blind
react to it, because I thinkit's fun. I think this is fun
and this story, let me juststart by saying it's from a
pilot, and it's from a pilotI've flown with, and I love this
(21:39):
man. He's a great guy, takescare of his crew, makes all the
corny pilot jokes, but he's justlike an all around, really great
guy. And this story is funny. Sothis is from Steve in Philly. I
mean, he there's 1000 states inPhilly, so every Steve you meet
(22:00):
asking the business story sothey were on a DC layover. He
said, back in my regional days,I flew a small jet that held
about 50 passengers. The entirecrew was just two pilots and one
flight attendant, and we paperbid then, so we had all the same
line for the entire month,unless you were able to trade
with someone or called in sick,we were all together for pretty
much the entire month. I was thefo back then, and I was paired
(22:22):
up with a captain that I gotalong well with, and a flight
attendant who was originallyfrom Haiti. She was hilarious,
had a potty mouth and didn'ttake attitude from anybody.
Sounds about right? We were allLaGuardia based back then, and
sometimes during the month, wefound ourselves in one of our
frequent DCA layovers. This islong before smartphones were
things. So when we checked intothe hotel, we'd write each
(22:43):
other's room number on a keypacket, just in case there was a
delay or cancelation. Was nicebeing able to dial a crew member
directly, instead of having tocall the front desk and get
transferred. I mean, I still dothat, honestly. I need
Andrew (22:54):
you to pause for just a minute, because as a regional
flight attendant, the story upuntil this part is so nostalgic
for me. Oh, no,
Rich (23:00):
crew taking care of each other.
Unknown (23:03):
I miss my baby. Jazz, okay, continue.
Rich (23:06):
He said, anyway, we had a van time at the crack of dawn
the morning after our DCAlayover, the captain and I were
waiting in the lobby, and ourpotty mouth flight attendant
came charging off the elevatorover to us and said, You are not
gonna fucking believe this at1am while I was fast asleep, a
prostitute comes knocking at mydoor.
Unknown (23:25):
Let me
Rich (23:27):
repeat this, that 1am while I was fast asleep last
night, a prostitute comesknocking at my door. You can't
make this shit up.
Andrew (23:38):
Sorry, that was an awful story, good to do. Keep going.
We're
Rich (23:42):
not even, or not even there yet. And she asked if I
ordered her and I was like, Iwas like, what? That's crazy.
I'm sure she continued tocomplain about it on the short
van ride to the airport. And I'msure I continued to be
dumbfounded. We arrived at theairport, set up, the airplane,
boarded, got underway. We got tocruise altitude, and the captain
(24:03):
looks over at me and he says, soI have a confession to make. I
nervously said, okay, he went onthat prostitute last night that
the flight attendant was talkingabout was for me when I called
in to order her. That soundsawful. I guess I mistakenly
looked at the flight attendantsroom number on my key packet and
accidentally sent her to thewrong room. I was wondering why
(24:26):
she never showed up. And itwasn't until this morning, when
our flight attendant told usabout the knock on her door that
I realized what I'd done. Icracked up about this, but I had
a million questions, because Iwanted to know if this is a
regular thing he did or what.
And remember, we were all pairedtogether for the rest of the
month, so I had to keep this asecret. Well, until now, I'm
sure, I'm sure the captainstarted checking the room number
(24:48):
of his key packet a lot moreclosely after that, Steve, this
is one of those situations wherethe title of our segment, what
would two guys do? I. Have noidea I would have, would you
inquired more from this captain?
For
Andrew (25:04):
sure, I would have been, I would have been the same
flight attendant lobby and beenlike, which one of you did this
to me?
Rich (25:10):
Well, that's the thing.
Actually, you're right. I thinkthe flight attendant should have
known better. I think she shouldhave been like, Did one of you
Andrew (25:16):
order something she did?
I thought she said. I thought hesaid, she did. Did you do this?
Did you order her something likethat? I thought that was a part
of the story, which would havebeen the flight attendant I
would have been. I would havehad a lot of questions all day
long, every time we landed andthe flight deck door opened, I
would have had a million
Rich (25:31):
No. He never said that to her. She never said that. She
just was like, Can I believethis wild thing happened last
night? I would have first personor what a question was the
captain, and then the fo andthen the fo finances. And
Andrew (25:43):
then every time I open the flight deck door, and every
time we landed, I've been like,I know one of you is lying to
me, and I'm gonna figure outwhich one,
Rich (25:51):
honestly I would mess with them every leg of that entire
month, anytime the flight deckdoor open, I'd like to one of
you ordered
Andrew (25:58):
me make like, a little out of napkins, and then, like,
it's me, I'm here.
Rich (26:04):
Oh God, keep these stories coming, you guys, because we are
loving every minute. People justdon't believe these stories are
real, and they are. But keepsending us your stories. Go to
two guys on a plane.com/podcastand you can tell us your story.
You can be anonymous or notanonymous, if you have something
you want to share and maybedon't want to tell people who
(26:24):
you were, so yeah, go ahead andsubmit those stories. And we
also want to give a specialshout out to our Patreon
subscribers. As you guys know,we are independent podcasters,
and we cannot do this showwithout you. So thank you so
much for all of your support. Goto patreon.com/two guys on a
plane. There are different tierlevels. You'll get access to
episodes early. You'll get bonusfootage behind the seats,
(26:45):
content and more. So thank youso much for subscribing to our
show. Leave a review, tell yourfriends about it, and we can't
wait to see you next time. Joinus again for more humor, heart
and stories from our beveragecart and maybe more from Steve.
Lol. Definitely we're gonna haveSteve on by you guys. This
(27:08):
episode was brought to you bystaff traveler, the number one
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to make your journey easy andstress free, check out the staff
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Visit staff traveler.com/twoguys to learn more and sign up
Buzz Burbank (27:25):
an ironic media production. Visit us at i r, O
N, I C, K, media.com you.
You ever wondered what your flight attendants are
really talking about behind thegalley curtain? Welcome
Andrew (00:06):
to Two guys on a plane.
Your go to podcast for aninsider look at flight attendant
life.
Rich (00:11):
We're your hosts, rich and Drew, and we're here to tell you
what really goes on at 35,000feet.
Andrew (00:16):
So sit back, relax.
We're ready for takeoff.
Rich (00:21):
All right, everybody.
Welcome back to two guys on aplane. We are so excited to be
back in the studio. Today. Weare going to talk about
something fun. And this questionis, should you tip your flight
attendants? We get asked thisquestion all the time because we
have such a weird, unique jobwhere it's like everything is
kind of safety related, like 90%of what we do on the plane,
(00:43):
though, you know, ends up beingservice related. So it's like
you're a first responder, butyou also just serve me a drink.
Do I tip you? Is that insulting?
Is it not insulting? So wewanted to talk about that along
with gifts. We do often gettreats and things from
passengers, and those are verymuch appreciated, but they're
not required. But people arealways asking us, should I tip
(01:06):
my flight attendants? Should Ibring them gifts? What should I
bring? If I do bring something,what will people like? What will
people not like? Will peoplefind useful? What will people
not find useful? So we're goingto dive into that a little bit
today, and before we do that,though, Andrew, how's flying
going for you? Lately,
Andrew (01:22):
flying has been super fun, good. Actually, I've had a
few really good trips recently,and one really memorable one, we
were overnighting, and I we hada reserve on our trip, first,
very first trip, and she was soexcited to be at work, which,
oh, I love that. You know how itis you get on with somebody
(01:44):
that's like, new and also reallygood at their job. It's so
satisfying. Like, she was reallygood at her job. And, like, very
inquisitive, asking questions,good energy. And, like, just
brings up the whole energy ofthe plane. And then we get to
her overnight, which is on anisland, and she was so excited
to be out and exploring. So wewent out for dinner as a crew.
(02:05):
There were like, three or fourof us that, not the whole crew,
but like three or four of usthat went out to dinner, and it
was just so fun. And then, youknow, being the most senior, I
don't know, I think you all havethis tradition, but like,
usually the senior, or someonesenior pays for drinks and like,
Rich (02:22):
it is like an artificial rule. I feel like it's, it's
nice to treat the new peoplewhen you can, because we were
all broken and there at onepoint in our career. But
Andrew (02:31):
it was just so fun. She was like, she was so thankful
for dinner or whatever. And shewas like, I just, I'm so
appreciative of all of thiswhole experience has been great.
And I was like, I just, I knowthat you'll have the chance to,
like, pass this along one day,like, I have no doubt she's
gonna be a flight attendant forlike, 30 years. She was so good
at it. It was so refreshing.
Rich (02:50):
I love that. That is really refreshing. Because
sometimes you fight with newpeople and you're like, Oh,
you're just, how do you alreadyhate this job? Yeah, they either
already hate it, or it's likeyou're just not getting it like
you're like, bare, bare minimumhere, and you're just, you can't
pull it together. I don'tunderstand. I don't get it. Um,
but, yeah, that's awesome thatyou had that experience. Yeah,
it was really fun. How about youwere sweet to her too? Yeah?
Andrew (03:12):
Well, I mean, I don't know why everybody thinks I'm
such an asshole all the time,right? I'm really nice to
Rich (03:17):
people. Yeah, most, most, that's mostly true.
Andrew (03:23):
What about you? How's wait? You've been off?
Rich (03:25):
I have. I've had a few days off, which has been really
nice. I made a quick trip up toBoston to see my mom, which was
nice. She just got back fromthis like insane around the
world adventure jealousy wenton. I know, listen to this. My
mom flew to Australia, visitedfriends that she met on a cruise
randomly for a couple weeks inBrisbane, and then they flew to
(03:47):
Sydney, and they took her aroundSydney, and then she took a
cruise all the way across thePacific Ocean, stopping in like
Fiji, Hawaii, all these islands,and then up to Seattle, and like
she's gone for six weeks orsomething. I mean, so jealous.
That sounds amazing, anexplorer. Yes. Dora the
Explorer, the Explorer. Judy theExplorer. So, yeah, so I went up
(04:08):
to Boston to visit her, andthank God for jump seats and
stuff like that, because nonriving to and from Boston. It's
either like flights are wideopen or everything is completely
oversold. And I was in theoversold category this time. And
we know non revving, like firstflight of the day is usually
your best bet, but I could notbring myself to get on a 6am
flight. I was like, I just can'tdo it. And I was looking at
(04:30):
staff traveler, and I waschecking flight loads my life
say you're a lifesaver. If youguys don't have staff traveler,
you need to download and it'sfree. Go to staff
traveler.com/two, guys for thelink to download to your phone.
But it's a completely free app.
You get flight loads. You canput in city pairings, you can
add connections. You can do daysand times and all these
different things and check, youknow, seat of availability, how
(04:52):
many people are listed onstandby. You know if there's
first class seats open or not?
First class. Seats open, and allthat sort of stuff. And it's
really great. And you can earncredits in the app by filling
out, filling, fulfillingrequests for your own airline
about seat availability onflights for you. And then you
earn credits that way. You canpay for credits too, if you
(05:14):
really want to, but the best wayto do it is you get free credits
by answering and so the morepeople that are on the app, the
better it works. It's seriouslylifesaver. I don't know how many
times we've been stuck in anairport, and you're like, do we
have to check staff traveler?
Like, who's got seats?
Somebody's gonna have seats. Andhalf the time, you'll search
like, Philly, Boston, andthere'll be some random airline,
and you're like, I didn't evenknow they flew this route.
Andrew (05:35):
Or I don't know anyone at that airline to text to get
exactly for sorry, friends Iknow like four in the morning.
Sometimes I am used to but stafftraveler has helped. I no longer
text friends at four in themorning freaking out, being
like, why are the lows?
Rich (05:48):
Staff traveler has definitely changed things, and I
keep learning about new routesthat I didn't know existed by
using it. Sometimes I justrandomly search routes, and I'm
like, Oh, I didn't know youcould go from here to here,
right? So great, great tool, ifyou don't already, and they help
sponsor our podcasts, and wecould not make the show without
them. So thank you. Downloadstaff traveler today at staff
traveler.com/two guys, and getthe app today, we are going to
(06:13):
talk about tipping your flightattendants. And this is
definitely something that I feellike people like flight
attendants have kind of strongopinions on like, some people
really like it, some people,some people don't. How do you
feel about that? Andrew, do youlike tips? Do not like tips? I
mean, sounds like a crazyquestion. Who doesn't want free
money, right? Who doesn't lovetips? Right? Right? Just the
(06:36):
tip. Yeah. Sorry. I'll see forthose of you watching on camera,
yourself out right? For those ofyou watching on camera, I might
be drinking some crew juicetoday, and it might be kicking
in. You
Andrew (06:49):
know, I am torn on it, just like everyone else is. I
don't mind receiving a tip whenI know that I've done a good
job, like you are during serviceand you're taking care of
people. And, you know, I don't,I don't mind getting it, but I
also definitely hear thosepeople that think that we are
safety professionals because weare, and feel that it, you know,
(07:10):
cheapens our profession. And Iget that too,
Rich (07:12):
yeah, yeah, I agree with that. I mean, it's some airlines
allow tipping on their devices.
Some are, it's a hard No, andthen some airlines it's like,
okay if you politely declineonce or twice. And now it's
becoming problematic that youdon't accept their tip and
they're annoyed. Just take thetip at that point. You know, you
don't really tick off a customerwho's trying to do something
(07:33):
nice for you. Like that seems alittle outrageous, but I
definitely I have mixed feelingsabout it, too. I always feel
like, some days it's like, Iworked my ass off. And, you know
what, if you want to slip me at10, or it's 20 or whatever,
like, that's great. Now I canbuy lunch and, like, I don't
have to stress. Like, it's kindof amazing. But then other days
I am like, no, like, I had amedical once, and this guy,
(07:55):
like, passed out, and then like,tipped me after, and I'm like,
it's like, tipping your nurselike that. That's weird, right?
I don't know. Wait, do peopletip nurses? Nurses weigh in? I
know a lot of like, dents ornurses.
Andrew (08:10):
It's a hard thing to to like, come to an answer for
because as a society, we'vebecome like, particularly here
in America, we've become such
Rich (08:20):
tippers, yeah? Like, tipping culture in the US,
definitely everywhere.
Andrew (08:25):
These days, you can't do anything, I mean, to go orders
and people want tips for them.
So, like, right? I understandtip fatigue, and I don't know, I
don't know that there's a goodanswer for this one. I mean,
like I said, I think if I'vedone a good job and throughout
service, you were, you know, Icame back to you and checked on
you and like you felt like yougot really good service. Like,
(08:47):
I'm really okay with the tippersonally, but I just, I don't
know, I feel like tipping is away for these large corporations
to get around paying as what wedeserve absolutely
Rich (09:02):
like, how about we just pay people a livable wage,
right? There's no subsidizingyour income with tips, because
corporations don't want to paytheir employees, right?
Andrew (09:11):
The CEOs aren't. CEOs aren't relying on tips. Yeah,
you know, no,
Rich (09:16):
they're just relying on those million dollar bonuses
that they get every quarter.
Sucks to be there. So, yeah, if
Andrew (09:21):
you're sitting in a seat and you got really good service
and you're like, you know what?
You work fun and kind and like,go have a drink on me later.
Like, tip away, yeah? But like,I don't think it needs to be
something that becomes the normin our industry. I would
completely agree with that. SoI'm I feel like there should be
no hard rule that we can'taccept them. I don't think there
should be a hard rule that welike that's how we're
(09:43):
subsidizing our pay by allowingyou to accept them on your thing
but on your tablets or whatever.
But if you got really goodservice and you really liked the
flight attendants or the flightcrew that day, I don't see the
difference between accepting atip and accepting a $5 like star
of. Gift card when you boardedthe airplane. Like, there's no
difference to me,
Rich (10:03):
no, totally. And I really, I think the tipping thing, like,
if you're a passenger and youwant to tip your your flight
attendant because they were niceor whatever, like, go for it.
That's fine. Just sometimesthey're gonna say no, and
sometimes you have to kind ofpush and be like, no, please
take this in order for them tobe able to and then sometimes
it's just going to be a hard No,and that's okay too. Like, for
(10:24):
me, it's all about the gesture.
Yeah, you did something nice.
You wanted to tip them if theysay yes or no, that's on them,
but it's not required, right?
And don't feel like you have tosame, because we are really
there to take care of you,Safety Service and all of the
above. The point is to get youfrom point A to point B safely
and securely and comfortably,and so that's our job, and
that's what we're paid to do, sono need to pay extra. But also,
(10:45):
if you want to buy me a drinkcleaner, you know what? Maybe
that's okay. Maybe that's okaywith me, but you mentioned
Starbucks gift cards, and I feellike the tipping thing. We don't
see super often, but we areseeing gifts more and more
lately, like people wanting totreat us with like chocolates or
Starbucks gift cards and thingslike that. How do you feel about
(11:07):
that? Versus tipping?
Andrew (11:11):
They're both the same to me, like, honestly, I was having
a conversation with a friend.
Were you there? I don't rememberif you were we having a
conversation with a friend aboutthis, but they were wondering if
people were bringing gifts moreto like, try to get things like
get upgrades, or get free drinksor things like that.
Rich (11:28):
Someone commented on our YouTube, and they had mentioned
how it seems like people aredoing it more and more,
expecting things in return, andlike there's been too many
tiktoks and viral blogs andthings like that out there. I
think that have kind of made itseem like, get your flight
attendants a buck, like a box ofchocolates and you'll drink for
free. And it's like, no, no,we're not playing that game,
(11:48):
like we take care of the peoplewho treat us well, yeah, yes,
for sure, but like, don't doanything expecting something in
return. I just don't thinkthat's how you should live life,
let alone, you know, tips andtreats
Andrew (12:00):
on planes, like, the coffee thing, like, you're on an
early flight, you brought aStarbucks gift card because, you
know, we don't get the time toget off the plane so much. Or,
like, yeah, a cup of coffee isnice. Like, great. Appreciate
that. Like, totally. Will itbring attention to you, to the
flight attendant? Will we maybepay more attention to you?
Probably yes. But like, and Iwork a lot of vacation routes,
(12:22):
and I always find it really niceif you're gonna bring candies or
something. Like, I had somebodycome on the other day, and she,
like, brought wherever we werefrom, wherever we were going. It
was, like, chocolate from thatplace. Oh, nice. And she was
like, I know you always don'tget off the plane, and I really
love these. So I wanted to bringyou a part of my vacation. And,
like, that's just thoughtful.
Like, I appreciate those kind ofgifts,
Rich (12:42):
but it wasn't some generic candy. It was like a legitimate
gesture through and correct,
Andrew (12:47):
yeah, and even with the Starbucks gift cards, I
appreciate them. I love them alot, yeah? But I had someone get
on the plane the other day, andhe was in line for coffee and
grabbed one, like, four ofthose, like, canned coffee. Oh,
yeah, that all of the placesdraft lattes, sure, but most
places have some of those, someversion of that now. And he
(13:07):
brought like, three or four ofthose canned coffees for the
crew that's and he was like, Iso I was in line for coffee.
Didn't know if you guys hadtime. So here's coffee for
everyone. And we were like, wasso
Rich (13:17):
sweet. That is really sweet. I had someone bring,
like, a tray of just like blackcoffee zones, and I felt, Oh, I
felt so bad because you're notdrinking. We can't take that.
Like, I don't know what you putin that coffee. And while you
might seem like a sweet littleold lady, I don't know if you
had some eye drops in your purseand thought these flight
attendants are gonna have theruns the day, right? Like, given
(13:39):
the nature of our job, I know sobad when people are like, my No,
no, made these for you and I'mlike, Oh, that was so sweet.
Yeah, I know I do feel bad,because there's certain things
where it's like, I am going topolitely accept this because I
don't want to hurt yourfeelings. But we can't take open
(14:01):
things or things that aren't prepackaged or just safety
precaution. You know, that's thewhole nature of our job. We
can't always accept things likethat.
Andrew (14:10):
Seen a shift recently, have you? The gifts aren't food
so much. We're getting more likeface masks and hand sanitizers
and little packs of band aidsand those sort of things. And I
really love those kind of giftsa lot. I do too. I think it's
just
Rich (14:25):
thoughtful to be like, Okay, maybe you don't want
candy, maybe sanitizer would behelpful, or lip balm or
something like that. Yeah,things like that are always just
really nice gestures becausethey're useful. We're gonna put
stuff like that in our bag andwe're gonna use it, and we're
gonna think, God, this passengeris great. Yeah, I got one of
those hand sanitizers. They're,like, expensive. I can't they're
(14:45):
refillable ones. I can'tremember that the brand name
now, but a passenger broughtthose for us. And I was like,
Oh, nice. And my friend waslike, those are, like, 20 bucks.
And I was like, what? Right?
They spent $100 on handsanitizer. Are you free later?
That's. Oh, just kidding, butyeah, no, I love those little
thoughtful gestures that peopledo. And
Andrew (15:06):
if you're bringing it to say, thank you for being at
work, or I know you've been athome, away from home for a long
time, here's a little pick me uplike we love those. But if
you're doing it, and I promise,we can tell the difference, oh,
we 100% Lee, can tell thedifference whether you're
bringing home because you'relike, thanks for being here and
being away from home and yourfamily for four or five days, or
(15:27):
I brought you this because Ithink you'll sneak me into a
premium seat. Yeah, becausewe're I'm not doing it.
Rich (15:33):
I had a guy, literally, just so bold, gets on the plane
with this bag of chocolate, andhe goes, I'm in 7c or whatever.
And we're like, oh, things like,that's so nice. And he goes, so
do I get, like, a free drink orsomething? You get your candy
back? Oh, that's exactly what Idid. That's exactly what I did.
I said, Oh, what a nice gesture.
No. And I handed the candy back.
(15:56):
And I was like, enjoy yourflight. Drinks are $10 like, I
just It's entitled. Are youdoing this to be nice, or you're
doing this to get something? Andlike you said, we can always
tell, even if you're not thatblatant about it, we can see
right through it, like our jobis literally to read people.
We're really good at it, sodon't try us. Right?
Andrew (16:13):
Yeah, I think it's all about delivery and what you do
and who you give it to, and whyyou're giving it. But, yeah,
food tips, I
Rich (16:21):
bring things to like, I always think I thank you for
this, actually, because I usedto bring chocolate, like, little
lint truffles or something,because they're, like,
individually wrapped, so they'reeasy to share among your crew.
And then you were like, I'm nota huge, like, chocolate fan. And
I remember being like, Huh?
Like, because I've always lovedchocolate, but you're right, so
I always try to get a mixture ofthings. Like, if I do bring
(16:41):
candy, I'll bring like, onething that's chocolate, and then
I'll get, like, Starburst,starbust, wow, Starburst,
because they're individuallywrapped, and again, they're easy
to share among the crew. Like,stuff like that. I don't know,
you don't really think aboutuntil you're on the receiving
end of these gifts, and you'relike, oh, wait, that actually
makes a lot of sense, you know?
Like, it's nice that peoplebring M M's and things, but then
(17:01):
you're like, trying to figureout, Okay, do we divvy these up
so all of our hands aren't like,in the same bag and and things
like that. But yeah, I always, Itry to think outside the box
now, and I thank you for thatfor the most part, because I
definitely was like, chocolate.
Sure, cool, great. But there'sother things out there that are
there are really helpful.
Andrew (17:19):
Your chocolate is going to melt in the cubby by my
coffee pot.
Rich (17:23):
That's the worst. Or you, like, put it near an oven or
something, and you forget, andthen it's just like, melted
mess, delicious, but messy. Buthonestly, I, as much as I love
the gifts and I love the tips, Ijust at the end of the day, like
it goes so much further. Ifyou're just a nice passenger,
like, things you can do to makeyour flight attendants happy and
(17:45):
get on our good side, thathonestly will probably still get
you a free drink or something.
Is like, don't ignore us duringboarding. We say, Hello, good
morning. How are you nothing?
You know, half the time you justget no response from people. And
it's like, Do you know howannoying and like, hurtful it is
to be ignored by 250 people,like in a row when you're trying
(18:05):
really hard to be nice andcreate this, like, welcoming
environment, and then to not getanything out of those people
until they need you or want youfor something, and they're
poking you and they're askingfor stuff. It's like, I know
that's what we're there for, butat the end of the day, we're
people, and if you treat us likepeople, we're going to treat you
really well as a result. Becausea lot of times we're not seen as
(18:26):
like actual human beings by theairline or by passengers,
honestly. Yeah. So things likethat.
Andrew (18:32):
If you right, take your headphones off. Say good morning
when you board the airplane.
Yep. Take your headphones off.
Pay attention when we'restanding in the aisle doing the
demo. Take your headphones off.
Pay attention when we have theservice card out. There are just
very easy ways to make us yourbest friend, and most of it at
these days involves taking yourheadphones off for
Rich (18:55):
a few seconds. Common courtesy, self respect. I mean,
we shouldn't have to ask, Whatdo you want to drink? Like 87
times, you know we're becausewe're not going to we're gonna
move past you, and then they'regonna be mad that we skipped you
or whatever. And it's like, justpay attention. Be aware of
what's around you and what'shappening.
Andrew (19:13):
And for this old lady, can you shout your drink order
to me? Because between thoseoverhead bins, like it is a cone
of silence, don't realize that,right? Telling you in between,
I'm telling all of you that arelistening today that um, in
between the overhead bins, it isa cone of silence up there. So
like, if you're in the windowseat, maybe yell at my old ears,
(19:34):
because they've been on thatairplane for a very long time,
and I cannot hear you
Rich (19:37):
so true longer. I fly them around, like what I assume it's
so bad, and like, the air isblowing in the bins, and like,
you really can't hear anything.
And I swear you ask someone torepeat something and get
quieter. I don't know if this issomething that should be
studied. Like psychologists outthere looking for something to
study. Please study that. Like,can you repeat? Eat that louder,
(19:59):
and then they whisper more. AndI'm like, Girl, I can't help
you. I think about, do youremember that scene in pitch
perfect when the girl who'slike, super quiet, she's like, I
set fire to feel joy, like Ithat's like those passengers and
like a Diet Coke. And I'm like,come on, spit it out. Say words.
It always kills me.
Andrew (20:22):
Yeah, I I also love when they like, have the menus out,
and they like point to things.
I'm like, we're not looking atthe same things. Words, please.
Well, and they want to face
Rich (20:35):
the menu too. They're pointing one of these, one of
these, and I want to be facingaway from me. Yeah, tell me
what's on the menu. I don'tknow. I'm proud of you for
finding the menu Correct.
They're
Andrew (20:46):
hidden most of the time in the back of a magazine or
something. Thank you for findingit. Thank you for using it, but
use your words, please.
Rich (20:56):
So that's pretty much it, you know. So don't feel like you
have to tip your flightattendants. Don't feel like you
have to bring us gifts, but ifyou decide you want to be nice
to us, that'll really go a longway in the long run. So thanks
for being good passengers, andwe appreciate that. But before
we go today, I think we shoulddo a little story time in our
(21:16):
what would two guys do seriessegment? So we have a really
funny story today. You guys aregonna love this. I hear them
blind with you. Rich does allthe picking so that I can blind
react to it, because I thinkit's fun. I think this is fun
and this story, let me juststart by saying it's from a
pilot, and it's from a pilotI've flown with, and I love this
(21:39):
man. He's a great guy, takescare of his crew, makes all the
corny pilot jokes, but he's justlike an all around, really great
guy. And this story is funny. Sothis is from Steve in Philly. I
mean, he there's 1000 states inPhilly, so every Steve you meet
(22:00):
asking the business story sothey were on a DC layover. He
said, back in my regional days,I flew a small jet that held
about 50 passengers. The entirecrew was just two pilots and one
flight attendant, and we paperbid then, so we had all the same
line for the entire month,unless you were able to trade
with someone or called in sick,we were all together for pretty
much the entire month. I was thefo back then, and I was paired
(22:22):
up with a captain that I gotalong well with, and a flight
attendant who was originallyfrom Haiti. She was hilarious,
had a potty mouth and didn'ttake attitude from anybody.
Sounds about right? We were allLaGuardia based back then, and
sometimes during the month, wefound ourselves in one of our
frequent DCA layovers. This islong before smartphones were
things. So when we checked intothe hotel, we'd write each
(22:43):
other's room number on a keypacket, just in case there was a
delay or cancelation. Was nicebeing able to dial a crew member
directly, instead of having tocall the front desk and get
transferred. I mean, I still dothat, honestly. I need
Andrew (22:54):
you to pause for just a minute, because as a regional
flight attendant, the story upuntil this part is so nostalgic
for me. Oh, no,
Rich (23:00):
crew taking care of each other.
Unknown (23:03):
I miss my baby. Jazz, okay, continue.
Rich (23:06):
He said, anyway, we had a van time at the crack of dawn
the morning after our DCAlayover, the captain and I were
waiting in the lobby, and ourpotty mouth flight attendant
came charging off the elevatorover to us and said, You are not
gonna fucking believe this at1am while I was fast asleep, a
prostitute comes knocking at mydoor.
Unknown (23:25):
Let me
Rich (23:27):
repeat this, that 1am while I was fast asleep last
night, a prostitute comesknocking at my door. You can't
make this shit up.
Andrew (23:38):
Sorry, that was an awful story, good to do. Keep going.
We're
Rich (23:42):
not even, or not even there yet. And she asked if I
ordered her and I was like, Iwas like, what? That's crazy.
I'm sure she continued tocomplain about it on the short
van ride to the airport. And I'msure I continued to be
dumbfounded. We arrived at theairport, set up, the airplane,
boarded, got underway. We got tocruise altitude, and the captain
(24:03):
looks over at me and he says, soI have a confession to make. I
nervously said, okay, he went onthat prostitute last night that
the flight attendant was talkingabout was for me when I called
in to order her. That soundsawful. I guess I mistakenly
looked at the flight attendantsroom number on my key packet and
accidentally sent her to thewrong room. I was wondering why
(24:26):
she never showed up. And itwasn't until this morning, when
our flight attendant told usabout the knock on her door that
I realized what I'd done. Icracked up about this, but I had
a million questions, because Iwanted to know if this is a
regular thing he did or what.
And remember, we were all pairedtogether for the rest of the
month, so I had to keep this asecret. Well, until now, I'm
sure, I'm sure the captainstarted checking the room number
(24:48):
of his key packet a lot moreclosely after that, Steve, this
is one of those situations wherethe title of our segment, what
would two guys do? I. Have noidea I would have, would you
inquired more from this captain?
For
Andrew (25:04):
sure, I would have been, I would have been the same
flight attendant lobby and beenlike, which one of you did this
to me?
Rich (25:10):
Well, that's the thing.
Actually, you're right. I thinkthe flight attendant should have
known better. I think she shouldhave been like, Did one of you
Andrew (25:16):
order something she did?
I thought she said. I thought hesaid, she did. Did you do this?
Did you order her something likethat? I thought that was a part
of the story, which would havebeen the flight attendant I
would have been. I would havehad a lot of questions all day
long, every time we landed andthe flight deck door opened, I
would have had a million
Rich (25:31):
No. He never said that to her. She never said that. She
just was like, Can I believethis wild thing happened last
night? I would have first personor what a question was the
captain, and then the fo andthen the fo finances. And
Andrew (25:43):
then every time I open the flight deck door, and every
time we landed, I've been like,I know one of you is lying to
me, and I'm gonna figure outwhich one,
Rich (25:51):
honestly I would mess with them every leg of that entire
month, anytime the flight deckdoor open, I'd like to one of
you ordered
Andrew (25:58):
me make like, a little out of napkins, and then, like,
it's me, I'm here.
Rich (26:04):
Oh God, keep these stories coming, you guys, because we are
loving every minute. People justdon't believe these stories are
real, and they are. But keepsending us your stories. Go to
two guys on a plane.com/podcastand you can tell us your story.
You can be anonymous or notanonymous, if you have something
you want to share and maybedon't want to tell people who
(26:24):
you were, so yeah, go ahead andsubmit those stories. And we
also want to give a specialshout out to our Patreon
subscribers. As you guys know,we are independent podcasters,
and we cannot do this showwithout you. So thank you so
much for all of your support. Goto patreon.com/two guys on a
plane. There are different tierlevels. You'll get access to
episodes early. You'll get bonusfootage behind the seats,
(26:45):
content and more. So thank youso much for subscribing to our
show. Leave a review, tell yourfriends about it, and we can't
wait to see you next time. Joinus again for more humor, heart
and stories from our beveragecart and maybe more from Steve.
Lol. Definitely we're gonna haveSteve on by you guys. This
(27:08):
episode was brought to you bystaff traveler, the number one
non rev app if you travel onstandby tickets and are looking
to make your journey easy andstress free, check out the staff
traveler app in the Apple AppStore or Google Play Store.
Visit staff traveler.com/twoguys to learn more and sign up
Buzz Burbank (27:25):
an ironic media production. Visit us at i r, O
N, I C, K, media.com you.
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