September 2, 2025 • 22 mins
Ever feel like your flight attendants are just out to nag you? In this episode, we’re pulling back the galley curtain to explain why those “annoying” reminders—seat belts, tray tables, and stowing your bag—are actually life-saving safety protocols. From clear-air turbulence to last-minute emergencies, we walk through the real reasons why the little things we ask of passengers matter in a big way. Trust us, it’s not about being on a power trip—we genuinely care. We’re also sharing a wild in-flight story, including an unforgettable moment that had us questioning everything we thought we knew about carry-ons (spoiler: it involves a baby in an overhead bin).
Watch the full episode on YouTube
Episode Highlights:
[0:21] Why passengers think flight attendants are “nagging”
[2:13] The 90-second evacuation rule—and why it drives everything we do
[3:58] Why seat belts matter beyond turbulence
[5:32] Seat belt signs during cruise—yes, still important!
[7:31] Turbulence is getting worse—and pilots don’t always get it right
[8:12] Overhead bins, under-seat storage, and the chaos of loose bags
[10:27] Yes, even pilots sometimes break the rules (and we call them out)
[11:48] If you ask whether you can get up—then don’t listen—why did you ask?
[13:09] Why you should actually pay attention to the safety demo
[16:29] We’re not nagging. We just want you safe.
[17:18] What Would Two Guys Do? — Drew’s wildest inflight story: Baby on an overhead bin.
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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
(00:03):
really talking about behind thegalley curtain?
Andrew (00:06):
Welcome to Two guys on a plane. Your go to podcast for an
insider look at flight attendantlife. We're your hosts, rich and
Drew, and we're here to tell youwhat really goes on at 35,000
feet. So sit back, relax. We'reready for takeoff.
Welcome back, friends. It's twoguys on a plane, and today we
are going to talk about why youthink the flight attendant is
(00:29):
always nagging you.
Rich (00:30):
Yes, the age old question, why are my flight attendants
always nagging me? We hear thata lot from passengers on the
plane and off the plane,especially from people in social
settings. They'll be like, Whyare they always bothering me
about all these little, littlethings? It's driving me crazy.
Who cares about my tray table?
Who cares about my seat back?
Who cares if my bag is all theway into the seat?
Andrew (00:51):
We do?
Rich (00:52):
We do?
Andrew (00:52):
We care?
There are reasons why we care.
So let's talk about it. So justdiving right in with in light of
recent events, why do you thinkpeople think we're nagging them?
Rich (01:01):
Yeah, I think, I think this is a really important
conversation, especially inrecent light of, you know, the
incidents that have beenhappening in aviation, I feel
like our industry kind of ebbsand flows. There's, you know,
sometimes these things come inthrees, and it's like there'll
be crashes or accidents ordifferent incidents that happen
that kind of really make us, youknow, rethink about what our job
(01:24):
is as flight attendants and whatwe're doing on the jump seat.
And I think it also makespassengers think more about
this. So we really wanted to getinto it today to talk about, you
know, some of these smallerthings that might seem
insignificant or, you know, notimportant in that moment of, you
know, flight safety, but we cantell you honestly, everything
flight attendants do is rootedin safety. Everything we do is
(01:48):
for you and to keep you safe andto keep everyone on board safe,
even the silly things, like,when it comes down to stuff
like, you know, your tray tablebeing stowed. A lot of times,
people don't think, you know,what's the big deal about this,
but in the event of an emergencyor a crash or something like
that, where we need to getpeople out of the airplane
quickly, I think people don'trealize that two seconds it
(02:09):
takes to move that tray tableout of the way could cost
somebody's life.
Andrew (02:13):
Yeah, well, I think we have to start at the beginning,
right, like we are trained toevacuate any size airplane in 90
seconds, 90 seconds or less. Sothat is not a lot of time.
One and two. That's everyairplane, no matter how many
passengers are on the plane. Sothose are things that we're
(02:34):
always considering when we'rewalking through the aisle. Is,
how do we get 240 people offthis airplane in 90 seconds?
Rich (02:40):
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that once you put that
mindset into your brain and kindof think about all the other
rules that you feel like you'refollowing on an airplane, it
starts to make sense why we'redoing that.
Andrew (02:52):
So let's start with the basic one, seat belt. Why are we
nagging people for seat belts?
Rich (02:58):
Well, and this is a great one, because I think people are
used to seat belts in onecontext, which is obviously
riding along in your car, andthe importance of that, but I
think in this context, it's alot more than just, you know,
keeping you strapped into yourseat. It's keeping you strapped
into your seat in all of thedifferent situations that could
(03:20):
occur, whether that'sturbulence. You might think
you're riding along in a smoothflight. You never know when
clear air turbulence could takethat plane and drop the plane a
few you know, a few feet, morethan a few feet, but you know
that sort of thing can lift youout of your seat, and you can
get really hurt if you're notstrapped into your seat, as well
as you know moments on theground you've got taxi and
(03:41):
things like that, where otherplanes are out there. It's like
riding your car down thehighway. A plane could bump into
another plane. A plane couldstop abruptly. There are a lot
of different reasons why keepingthat seat belt sign on for the
entire flight as much as you canreally will make a difference.
Andrew (03:58):
Yeah, and I think that particularly doing ground
movement, just driving, youknow, to and from the runway
while we're out on taxiways. Ithink people forget that we're
in a very giant piece ofmachinery, absolutely and it
takes a lot to move. It takes alot of force to move it while
we're on the ground. It takes alot of force to stop it. And
there are so many other thingsout on the taxiways. There are
(04:21):
tugs, there are, like, deliverytrucks. There are, you know,
planes, other planes on therunway, and so there's a lot of
movement and a lot of thingsthat are being watched, and the
airplane stops abruptly. So, Imean, particularly during taxi,
that's why we're so adamant thatyou're in your seat with your
seat belt fastened one it's afederal regulation. Obviously,
(04:42):
our job is there to remind youof those. I think that people
forget that we're in a giantpiece of machinery with other
giant machinery around us,because they see just the small
bit of the airplane that they'rein.
Rich (04:53):
Yeah, it's so true. And they think, Okay, I'm in, I'm in
my seat. Like, what? What couldpossibly happen? And I feel like
that's a. People's brains go,and it's like the possibilities
are endless, so endless to sixweeks of flight and learn about
all the possibilities of thingsthat can happen,
Andrew (05:09):
right? Well, and the same for takeoff, right? Like we
can't take off if anyone's upout of their seat. And again,
I'm going to go back to a giantpiece of machinery being thrown
into the air that it takes a lotof force to get an airplane up.
It really does. And we want yousafe, because we don't know how
the weather is, what the windis, what could go wrong. I mean,
literally anything could gowrong. So we want you seated
(05:31):
with your seat belts on
Rich (05:32):
absolutely and I think people often think there's like,
a safe part of the flight, so tospeak, like we're cruising along
say, you know, on a longerflight you want to take a nap.
You might be more comfortablewith your seat belts off, but I
promise you, it's still not agreat idea. I remember, I was
working a flight last summer,some red eye from like LA to
(05:54):
Philly or something like that.
And I remember this guy, he wasjust he came on half asleep
anyway, which Good for him. It'sa red eye flight. You should be
half asleep. I'm excited for youto take the best nap of your
life. But where I'm walkingthrough the cabin, and it's, you
know, pretty dark, we're donethe service. Everything's quiet,
everyone's sleeping. And I seein the aisle his seat belt just
kind of dangling there. And so Iknow he's not buckled in. I know
(06:16):
the seat belt sign is on too.
And so I woke him up and I toldhim to put his seat belts on.
And I think a lot of peoplethink, Gosh, how annoying is
this flight attendant. You justwoke me up. I'm trying to get
sleep on this red eye before Igo about my day the next day.
And you woke me up for that. AndI didn't say this to this guy,
(06:37):
but all I could think in thatmoment was like, Yeah, I woke
you up for this. You're notgonna sleep through turbulence
where you hit the ceiling, solike, you're gonna be a lot
better off if you're sitting inyour seat with your seat belt
on, like, and people just reallysee it as us just being annoying
and looking through and being ona power trip and asking about
(06:57):
very specific things. But youknow, the reality is we really,
truly honest to God, want you tobe safe. We want all of our
passengers, all we're lookingfor. And it seems like nagging,
but we're not. It's we genuinelycare,
Andrew (07:10):
yeah, and regardless of what you think, you don't fly
more than us, right? You're oneflight to wherever we did floor
today. You did not fly more thanus. You don't fly more than us,
but I think that also theweather is changing a lot, and
it's been consistently moreturbulent in the last couple
years than I remember in mycareer.
Rich (07:31):
Oh, absolutely, yeah. I mean, it just seems like every
every year, especially in thesummer, with summer storms like
it, just these rides get bumpierand bumpier and more
unpredictable too. I mean, weoften joke the pilots are always
okay goes going to be a smoothflight today, and we're like,
sure
Andrew (07:48):
the moment he says that we are in for bumping up the
whole flight
Rich (07:52):
like we I, I love the pilots to death, but, like a lot
of times, these turbulencereports are inaccurate, so we
always kind of have to err onthe side of caution. But what
are some other little rules andfederal aviation regulations you
feel like we have to comply withas flight attendants that drive
passengers crazy, that theymight not understand why we do
Andrew (08:12):
The other big one for me are the bags. I think that we're
it.
always asking people to put traytables up, but I think that,
like visually, you can see howthat would block people. I mean,
so why that would be? We wouldneed that up at certain times.
But I don't think people trulyunderstand the significance of
their bags, or, you know why itneeds to be in an overhead bin,
(08:34):
or underneath the seat, like,fully underneath the seat, and
not just literally stuck at yourfeet. I don't think people see
it as the tripping hazard thatit is, or the loose object
that's going to roll around ifwe get tossed around.
Rich (08:47):
Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I The things like
even a backpack strap leaningout into the aisle. I mean, that
can be hazardous, whether it's aflight attendant walking through
and maybe tripping, uh, youknow, on a regular day, or if
it's in an emergency situation,if someone gets stuck, I think
people don't really want to facethe reality of worst case
(09:07):
scenario, which I get you wantto feel safe and comfortable
within, you know, your flightand within the plane. But when
you really think about how someof these scenarios might play
out, you start to see why thesethings are important. You know,
we ask you to tuck that bag allthe way under with the strap all
the way tucked in, because thatone thing could have such a
(09:28):
ripple effect. If that bag isout a little bit and the person
next to you, or even you arerushing it out of, say, a
burning airplane, if that youtrip and fall, someone could
trip and fall on you. You couldget trampled. I mean, I know
these things are not, not thingspeople want to think about on a
regular basis, but, you know, Ido wish sometimes people would
(09:48):
think a little bit morecontextually about what this
might mean. And why are theflight attendants saying this?
Andrew (09:54):
it's never the window seat person either that has And
their stuff out. It's always,always the seat person. And I'm
like. There's two other peoplebeside you. Think of them. I was
flying the other day, and I hada dude in an exit row who, like,
scoffed at me. He was sitting inthe exit seat scoffed at me when
I asked him to put his bag underand I was like, sir, this is
literally people's way out.
Like, how how do you not seewhat you're doing? How do you
(10:16):
not understand? I didn't eventhink I was asking anything
crazy? No, I had a pilot golf atme. I was like, Excuse me, sir,
yeah, I beg your pardon.
Rich (10:27):
I had a pilot do this the other day, and I it's always
awkward when, like, we have coworkers who are flying on our
flights and aren't following therules when they're supposed to
be following them. And I hadthis pilot sitting in the
window, and he literally had alaptop out on his lap, as we're
taxing, and his big like flightbag sitting by his feet,
directly in front of the window.
And I was like, if you don'tmind, just go ahead and store
(10:48):
your laptop and make sure yourbags push all the way forward.
And he goes, Yeah, I know whatI'm doing. And I didn't say it
in the moment, but I reallywanted to be like, well, it
doesn't look like you had pleasedo it next time. But, yeah, no,
just with that sort of thing.
It's just really, like, there'sa bigger picture here. And
please trust that we're not justnagging you. We're we're really
(11:10):
doing this for a reason. It'srooted in something,
Andrew (11:13):
right? And if you are going to ask if something is
safe to do, don't disregard ouranswer. Like, if you're gonna
get up and go to the laboratoryanyways, don't ask as if you can
do it, because we have to tellyou that the seat belt sign is
on. I mean, that's literally myjob. But then for you to be
like, whatever, it doesn'tmatter, right? Why did you ask?
(11:33):
It obviously mattered. You knowit matters. You know it matters
enough to ask the person on theplane that's working there, if
it's okay to be up, and when wesay, No, it's not really safe,
the seat belt sign is on. You'relike, whatever. I have to go to
the bathroom.
Rich (11:46):
Yeah, right, then, then don't ask.
Andrew (11:48):
Just do what you're gonna do. When have we ever
wrestled you back into a seat?
Rich (11:52):
Oh, I want to watch. That sounds highly entertaining,
Andrew (11:57):
right? It's not. I mean, I mean, most of our job is to
offer friendly reminders. We getthat we understand, and I think
we generally, as flightattendants, we do that really
well. I think it's theperception that we're being mean
when you obviously knew youshouldn't be up, or you wouldn't
have asked if it was okay to beup, but then to, like, watch me
(12:17):
walk away and disregard what Ijust said. Why did you ask?
Rich (12:21):
I know, and you know what I you know what I actually
really love. And I'm seeing moreof this lately, which I kind of
appreciate, is when passengersa, when they're looking at the
safety card, I kind of lovethat, because it's like, okay,
you're invested in this, and I'mreally into the fact that you're
invested. And B, people that askquestions, like, I've had people
not, you know, the exit row,yes, but, like, just generally,
(12:43):
people being like, so if thishappens, what, what's next? Or
they ask, you know, I get, I getthat you need me to do this.
But, but why, right? And I don'tmind answering why. Like, I
actually love having thatconversation with passengers,
because I think it makes you abetter passenger. I think it
makes their, you know, a deeper,broader understanding of
(13:03):
aviation and air travel andsafety, and I think it makes for
a better experience for everyoneon board.
Andrew (13:09):
And I tell people all the time, take your headphones
out. Like, direct your attentionto the flight attendants. Like,
we ask you to, like, obviouslyyou've heard the safety demo a
million times. You know how tofasten a seat belt, but all
airplanes are different, right?
Oxygen mask fall from differentplaces. They're in different
compartments and overhead bins.
Exits are located in differentplaces. We're telling you where
(13:31):
those are. It's just a moment tolike re familiarize yourself.
When I sat down in the jumpseat, I re familiarize myself
with where things are and whatthings are doing, so that if, if
it becomes necessary, I'mprepared to do it. So, like, our
safety demo is for you to take amoment to, like, re familiarize
yourself with what's going on,what kind of airplane you're on.
(13:53):
It'll give you a minute to lookaround, take your headphones
out, listen to what we'resaying, because somebody sitting
beside you may not have, may notbe a frequent flyer like you,
and it's going to prompt them toalso direct their attention to
the flight attendants, becausethey may have missed that in the
announcement that we weremaking.
Rich (14:08):
Absolutely, yeah, everything really is rooted in
safety. Another thing I alwaysthink about is when you have a
passenger come on board and theyleft something in the terminal,
and we require you, typically,to take all your stuff with you,
and then we need to know whereyou were sitting as well before
you go back into the terminal.
And people are like, but I'mcoming right back, like, why
(14:30):
can't I just leave my things onthe plane? And it's like, once
again, this is a safety relatedthing. What if you get off that
plane because there wassomething suspicious in your
bag. You know, we we always kindof have this, like, flight
attendants are always judgingyou, both in a fun way and a
serious way, but like, we reallyjust need to kind of assess
every passenger and kind of sussthings out and see okay, why are
(14:53):
you getting off the plane? Andif you are and take all your
stuff with you, and if. You findyour iPad on the terminal and
get back right on board with us.
That's great, but you know, ifnot, we need to make sure that
your stuff goes with you if youget off the plane. So it's just,
it's really deep rooted in,like, everything that we do,
even more than you might evenrealize,
Unknown (15:15):
oh,
Andrew (15:16):
literally, everything that we do, from the way that
we're standing during boarding,like, literally everything is
safety in mind, where we'restanding, how we're standing,
when we're looking at you, whatwe're looking at, like, all of
it, from the moment we check infor work until the moment we
walk off that plane, our entirereason for being there is
safety. So there's literallynothing we're asking or talking
(15:39):
about that isn't because, ifit's not your safety we're
worried about, it's the personbehind you. That's why we're
asking you to bring your seatback up, right that that one's
twofold, because your seat backlocks, and if we hit the ground
wrong, it's not going to flyforward and fold over on you,
and also it's not going to be anobstacle for the person behind
you to get, to get out of right?
Because you've limited theirspace. So, like, literally
(16:02):
everyone, and that's such alittle thing that people are
always like, I didn't put itback. I didn't ask if you put it
back. I'm just saying it needsto come out. I know.
Rich (16:11):
I promise. I'm not nagging you. I just need to make sure
all the things are done, right?
That's it. So, yeah, that's ourrant for today about flight
attendants nagging you. It mightseem like we are, but you know
what, we're really not. Ipromise we're doing this because
we care and we love you, and wewant you to come back and fly
with us again
Andrew (16:29):
so many times. We want you on our airplane all the
time, and we want to laugh andgiggle. We don't want to nag you
at all.
Rich (16:37):
All right, before we go, we do have one quick segment
that we want to do are, whatwould two guys do segment, and
in this segment, we are going tofeature your stories from your
in flight craziness andpassenger stories, whether
you're a flight attendant, crewmember, passenger, we've all
seen some things in the skies,so please send us your
submissions, and we couldfeature you out loud on our
(16:59):
Podcast. So just go to two guysin a plane.com/podcast to submit
your story, and we'll read themout loud on the podcast. But for
today, we thought, what would bemore fun than sharing our own
wild and in flight stories? Sotoday, we're going to have
Andrew share what is thecraziest thing that's ever
happened to you on a flight.
Andrew,
Andrew (17:18):
of course, he's going to put me on the spot, but the
craziest thing that has happenedto me on an airplane did not
even happen during flight. Itwas during boarding.
Rich (17:29):
Oh gosh. Boarding is always chaotic.
Andrew (17:30):
Boarding is always chaotic. We had finished
boarding, and at the end ofevery boarding, we're required
to confirm how many passengersand like things are on the
plane, like infants, pets, allof those things. It's our our
job as flight attendants to,like, confirm the information
that the agent has brought downto us is correct. So I was
(17:51):
working an aircraft by myself. Iwas on a 50 seater, I guess she
brought down the numbers andthis many passengers, this many
infants, this many wheelchairs,or other specials. And so I'm
walking through the airplane andI'm doing my little count, and
I'm like, I was like, Okay,well, I found all the
passengers, but we don't haveany infants. And she was like,
No, we boarded an infant. And Isaid, No, you didn't. You did
(18:14):
not board an infant. She said,you see the infant? No, I didn't
see an infant. Come on. And thenshe tells me that there's this
many people plus an infant. AndI was like, Nope, no infants.
And she was like, Yeah. And Iwas like, Okay, well, I need you
to get me a seat number then,because I don't see any right?
Do you remember what the personlooks like or like? Help me
figure this out, because Icannot find an infant on an
(18:38):
airplane.
Rich (18:38):
Yeah, if there's a big man board, I kind of want to know
where it is.
Andrew (18:38):
So she runs up to her computer, she comes back down,
and she was like, okay, theinfant seated in this seat. And
I was like, okay, so I walk overand I like, look in the row, and
there's, like, nothing that evenleads me to believe that an
infant was carried on. There'sno diaper bag. There's no, like,
toys or blankets or anything.
It's just a lady sitting there.
And I was like, Um, excuse me,ma'am. And she was like, Yes.
And I was like, um, I'm beingtold that you have a baby on the
(19:03):
plane with us today. And shesaid, I do. And I said, Um,
okay, but where can you tell me?
Where the right, where is thebaby? And she was like, oh, it's
in the overhead bin. And I waslike, oh, excuse me. She was
like, Yeah, you said to putcarry on items in the overhead
bin. And I carried the baby onso like I opened the overhead
bin and laid out on like a pileof blankets with all of her toys
(19:25):
is the baby.
Rich (19:30):
Like she thought her baby was a carry on item.
Andrew (19:34):
She placed her baby in the overhead bin because we had
instructed them to puteverything that they carried on
either under the seat or in anoverhead bin. And she did not
think it was safe for the babyto be under the seat because it
was gross, so she laid out allthe blankets and put the baby at
an overhead bin. So, you know,as polite as I could explain,
because it's clearly a firsttime traveler like this isn't
(19:56):
something we're new to. Babiesobviously, like, I don't. Don't
think, right? We're new tobabies. We're clearly new to
travel. So I politely explained,like the procedure and how the
baby was supposed to travel withher on her lap, and all of those
sort of things.
Rich (20:12):
What a well timed story for this episode about nagging
passengers, about following therules. Because on one hand, I
really want to say, You knowwhat good for you, lady, for
listening to our announcementsand doing what you're told. But
also, Mom, you have a baby, andyour baby should not be in an
overhead compartment.
Andrew (20:30):
Mind blown. I was like, I don't, I don't even understand
what? But it was so cute. Theblankets were laid out. Like, I
mean, basically, the only thingwas missing was the thing that
you put over the babies to,like, play with, because she had
built a whole,
Rich (20:43):
like a whole crib, which would be fine if it was secure,
and there was ventilation andall sorts of things that could
be happening up there.
Andrew (20:52):
Wildest things ever happened to me. I will never,
never forget this wholeinteraction.
Rich (20:57):
I don't think I will either.
Andrew (20:59):
So what would you have done?
Rich (21:00):
What would I have done? I mean, this one guy on a plane
would probably would have had anequal combination of laughter
and crying, because I It's soridiculous, it's funny, but at
the same time, like, I'm kind ofworried about this mom and her
baby now, like, I wish we couldfind her and get like, a Where
are they now? Story,
Andrew (21:21):
15 years ago? Yeah, so long.
Rich (21:24):
Oh, my God, that kids in high school probably, yikes.
Well, that was a good one. Ilove that. So yeah, keep sending
us your stories. We love them,and we'll share some more of our
own as the show goes on. Butthat's it for today's episode.
Thank you guys so much fortuning in. Make sure to follow
the podcast and subscribewherever you get your podcasts
(21:45):
and check us out on socialmedia. We are all over the
place, and we'd always love tohear from you and leave a review
if you had a good time with ustoday.
Andrew (21:51):
Well, folks join us next time for more humor, heart and
stories from our beverage cart.
Rich (21:56):
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Buzz Burbank (22:14):
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I C, K, media.com you
You ever wondered what your flight attendants are
(00:03):
really talking about behind thegalley curtain?
Andrew (00:06):
Welcome to Two guys on a plane. Your go to podcast for an
insider look at flight attendantlife. We're your hosts, rich and
Drew, and we're here to tell youwhat really goes on at 35,000
feet. So sit back, relax. We'reready for takeoff.
Welcome back, friends. It's twoguys on a plane, and today we
are going to talk about why youthink the flight attendant is
(00:29):
always nagging you.
Rich (00:30):
Yes, the age old question, why are my flight attendants
always nagging me? We hear thata lot from passengers on the
plane and off the plane,especially from people in social
settings. They'll be like, Whyare they always bothering me
about all these little, littlethings? It's driving me crazy.
Who cares about my tray table?
Who cares about my seat back?
Who cares if my bag is all theway into the seat?
Andrew (00:51):
We do?
Rich (00:52):
We do?
Andrew (00:52):
We care?
There are reasons why we care.
So let's talk about it. So justdiving right in with in light of
recent events, why do you thinkpeople think we're nagging them?
Rich (01:01):
Yeah, I think, I think this is a really important
conversation, especially inrecent light of, you know, the
incidents that have beenhappening in aviation, I feel
like our industry kind of ebbsand flows. There's, you know,
sometimes these things come inthrees, and it's like there'll
be crashes or accidents ordifferent incidents that happen
that kind of really make us, youknow, rethink about what our job
(01:24):
is as flight attendants and whatwe're doing on the jump seat.
And I think it also makespassengers think more about
this. So we really wanted to getinto it today to talk about, you
know, some of these smallerthings that might seem
insignificant or, you know, notimportant in that moment of, you
know, flight safety, but we cantell you honestly, everything
flight attendants do is rootedin safety. Everything we do is
(01:48):
for you and to keep you safe andto keep everyone on board safe,
even the silly things, like,when it comes down to stuff
like, you know, your tray tablebeing stowed. A lot of times,
people don't think, you know,what's the big deal about this,
but in the event of an emergencyor a crash or something like
that, where we need to getpeople out of the airplane
quickly, I think people don'trealize that two seconds it
(02:09):
takes to move that tray tableout of the way could cost
somebody's life.
Andrew (02:13):
Yeah, well, I think we have to start at the beginning,
right, like we are trained toevacuate any size airplane in 90
seconds, 90 seconds or less. Sothat is not a lot of time.
One and two. That's everyairplane, no matter how many
passengers are on the plane. Sothose are things that we're
(02:34):
always considering when we'rewalking through the aisle. Is,
how do we get 240 people offthis airplane in 90 seconds?
Rich (02:40):
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that once you put that
mindset into your brain and kindof think about all the other
rules that you feel like you'refollowing on an airplane, it
starts to make sense why we'redoing that.
Andrew (02:52):
So let's start with the basic one, seat belt. Why are we
nagging people for seat belts?
Rich (02:58):
Well, and this is a great one, because I think people are
used to seat belts in onecontext, which is obviously
riding along in your car, andthe importance of that, but I
think in this context, it's alot more than just, you know,
keeping you strapped into yourseat. It's keeping you strapped
into your seat in all of thedifferent situations that could
(03:20):
occur, whether that'sturbulence. You might think
you're riding along in a smoothflight. You never know when
clear air turbulence could takethat plane and drop the plane a
few you know, a few feet, morethan a few feet, but you know
that sort of thing can lift youout of your seat, and you can
get really hurt if you're notstrapped into your seat, as well
as you know moments on theground you've got taxi and
(03:41):
things like that, where otherplanes are out there. It's like
riding your car down thehighway. A plane could bump into
another plane. A plane couldstop abruptly. There are a lot
of different reasons why keepingthat seat belt sign on for the
entire flight as much as you canreally will make a difference.
Andrew (03:58):
Yeah, and I think that particularly doing ground
movement, just driving, youknow, to and from the runway
while we're out on taxiways. Ithink people forget that we're
in a very giant piece ofmachinery, absolutely and it
takes a lot to move. It takes alot of force to move it while
we're on the ground. It takes alot of force to stop it. And
there are so many other thingsout on the taxiways. There are
(04:21):
tugs, there are, like, deliverytrucks. There are, you know,
planes, other planes on therunway, and so there's a lot of
movement and a lot of thingsthat are being watched, and the
airplane stops abruptly. So, Imean, particularly during taxi,
that's why we're so adamant thatyou're in your seat with your
seat belt fastened one it's afederal regulation. Obviously,
(04:42):
our job is there to remind youof those. I think that people
forget that we're in a giantpiece of machinery with other
giant machinery around us,because they see just the small
bit of the airplane that they'rein.
Rich (04:53):
Yeah, it's so true. And they think, Okay, I'm in, I'm in
my seat. Like, what? What couldpossibly happen? And I feel like
that's a. People's brains go,and it's like the possibilities
are endless, so endless to sixweeks of flight and learn about
all the possibilities of thingsthat can happen,
Andrew (05:09):
right? Well, and the same for takeoff, right? Like we
can't take off if anyone's upout of their seat. And again,
I'm going to go back to a giantpiece of machinery being thrown
into the air that it takes a lotof force to get an airplane up.
It really does. And we want yousafe, because we don't know how
the weather is, what the windis, what could go wrong. I mean,
literally anything could gowrong. So we want you seated
(05:31):
with your seat belts on
Rich (05:32):
absolutely and I think people often think there's like,
a safe part of the flight, so tospeak, like we're cruising along
say, you know, on a longerflight you want to take a nap.
You might be more comfortablewith your seat belts off, but I
promise you, it's still not agreat idea. I remember, I was
working a flight last summer,some red eye from like LA to
(05:54):
Philly or something like that.
And I remember this guy, he wasjust he came on half asleep
anyway, which Good for him. It'sa red eye flight. You should be
half asleep. I'm excited for youto take the best nap of your
life. But where I'm walkingthrough the cabin, and it's, you
know, pretty dark, we're donethe service. Everything's quiet,
everyone's sleeping. And I seein the aisle his seat belt just
kind of dangling there. And so Iknow he's not buckled in. I know
(06:16):
the seat belt sign is on too.
And so I woke him up and I toldhim to put his seat belts on.
And I think a lot of peoplethink, Gosh, how annoying is
this flight attendant. You justwoke me up. I'm trying to get
sleep on this red eye before Igo about my day the next day.
And you woke me up for that. AndI didn't say this to this guy,
(06:37):
but all I could think in thatmoment was like, Yeah, I woke
you up for this. You're notgonna sleep through turbulence
where you hit the ceiling, solike, you're gonna be a lot
better off if you're sitting inyour seat with your seat belt
on, like, and people just reallysee it as us just being annoying
and looking through and being ona power trip and asking about
(06:57):
very specific things. But youknow, the reality is we really,
truly honest to God, want you tobe safe. We want all of our
passengers, all we're lookingfor. And it seems like nagging,
but we're not. It's we genuinelycare,
Andrew (07:10):
yeah, and regardless of what you think, you don't fly
more than us, right? You're oneflight to wherever we did floor
today. You did not fly more thanus. You don't fly more than us,
but I think that also theweather is changing a lot, and
it's been consistently moreturbulent in the last couple
years than I remember in mycareer.
Rich (07:31):
Oh, absolutely, yeah. I mean, it just seems like every
every year, especially in thesummer, with summer storms like
it, just these rides get bumpierand bumpier and more
unpredictable too. I mean, weoften joke the pilots are always
okay goes going to be a smoothflight today, and we're like,
sure
Andrew (07:48):
the moment he says that we are in for bumping up the
whole flight
Rich (07:52):
like we I, I love the pilots to death, but, like a lot
of times, these turbulencereports are inaccurate, so we
always kind of have to err onthe side of caution. But what
are some other little rules andfederal aviation regulations you
feel like we have to comply withas flight attendants that drive
passengers crazy, that theymight not understand why we do
Andrew (08:12):
The other big one for me are the bags. I think that we're
it.
always asking people to put traytables up, but I think that,
like visually, you can see howthat would block people. I mean,
so why that would be? We wouldneed that up at certain times.
But I don't think people trulyunderstand the significance of
their bags, or, you know why itneeds to be in an overhead bin,
(08:34):
or underneath the seat, like,fully underneath the seat, and
not just literally stuck at yourfeet. I don't think people see
it as the tripping hazard thatit is, or the loose object
that's going to roll around ifwe get tossed around.
Rich (08:47):
Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I The things like
even a backpack strap leaningout into the aisle. I mean, that
can be hazardous, whether it's aflight attendant walking through
and maybe tripping, uh, youknow, on a regular day, or if
it's in an emergency situation,if someone gets stuck, I think
people don't really want to facethe reality of worst case
(09:07):
scenario, which I get you wantto feel safe and comfortable
within, you know, your flightand within the plane. But when
you really think about how someof these scenarios might play
out, you start to see why thesethings are important. You know,
we ask you to tuck that bag allthe way under with the strap all
the way tucked in, because thatone thing could have such a
(09:28):
ripple effect. If that bag isout a little bit and the person
next to you, or even you arerushing it out of, say, a
burning airplane, if that youtrip and fall, someone could
trip and fall on you. You couldget trampled. I mean, I know
these things are not, not thingspeople want to think about on a
regular basis, but, you know, Ido wish sometimes people would
(09:48):
think a little bit morecontextually about what this
might mean. And why are theflight attendants saying this?
Andrew (09:54):
it's never the window seat person either that has And
their stuff out. It's always,always the seat person. And I'm
like. There's two other peoplebeside you. Think of them. I was
flying the other day, and I hada dude in an exit row who, like,
scoffed at me. He was sitting inthe exit seat scoffed at me when
I asked him to put his bag underand I was like, sir, this is
literally people's way out.
Like, how how do you not seewhat you're doing? How do you
(10:16):
not understand? I didn't eventhink I was asking anything
crazy? No, I had a pilot golf atme. I was like, Excuse me, sir,
yeah, I beg your pardon.
Rich (10:27):
I had a pilot do this the other day, and I it's always
awkward when, like, we have coworkers who are flying on our
flights and aren't following therules when they're supposed to
be following them. And I hadthis pilot sitting in the
window, and he literally had alaptop out on his lap, as we're
taxing, and his big like flightbag sitting by his feet,
directly in front of the window.
And I was like, if you don'tmind, just go ahead and store
(10:48):
your laptop and make sure yourbags push all the way forward.
And he goes, Yeah, I know whatI'm doing. And I didn't say it
in the moment, but I reallywanted to be like, well, it
doesn't look like you had pleasedo it next time. But, yeah, no,
just with that sort of thing.
It's just really, like, there'sa bigger picture here. And
please trust that we're not justnagging you. We're we're really
(11:10):
doing this for a reason. It'srooted in something,
Andrew (11:13):
right? And if you are going to ask if something is
safe to do, don't disregard ouranswer. Like, if you're gonna
get up and go to the laboratoryanyways, don't ask as if you can
do it, because we have to tellyou that the seat belt sign is
on. I mean, that's literally myjob. But then for you to be
like, whatever, it doesn'tmatter, right? Why did you ask?
(11:33):
It obviously mattered. You knowit matters. You know it matters
enough to ask the person on theplane that's working there, if
it's okay to be up, and when wesay, No, it's not really safe,
the seat belt sign is on. You'relike, whatever. I have to go to
the bathroom.
Rich (11:46):
Yeah, right, then, then don't ask.
Andrew (11:48):
Just do what you're gonna do. When have we ever
wrestled you back into a seat?
Rich (11:52):
Oh, I want to watch. That sounds highly entertaining,
Andrew (11:57):
right? It's not. I mean, I mean, most of our job is to
offer friendly reminders. We getthat we understand, and I think
we generally, as flightattendants, we do that really
well. I think it's theperception that we're being mean
when you obviously knew youshouldn't be up, or you wouldn't
have asked if it was okay to beup, but then to, like, watch me
(12:17):
walk away and disregard what Ijust said. Why did you ask?
Rich (12:21):
I know, and you know what I you know what I actually
really love. And I'm seeing moreof this lately, which I kind of
appreciate, is when passengersa, when they're looking at the
safety card, I kind of lovethat, because it's like, okay,
you're invested in this, and I'mreally into the fact that you're
invested. And B, people that askquestions, like, I've had people
not, you know, the exit row,yes, but, like, just generally,
(12:43):
people being like, so if thishappens, what, what's next? Or
they ask, you know, I get, I getthat you need me to do this.
But, but why, right? And I don'tmind answering why. Like, I
actually love having thatconversation with passengers,
because I think it makes you abetter passenger. I think it
makes their, you know, a deeper,broader understanding of
(13:03):
aviation and air travel andsafety, and I think it makes for
a better experience for everyoneon board.
Andrew (13:09):
And I tell people all the time, take your headphones
out. Like, direct your attentionto the flight attendants. Like,
we ask you to, like, obviouslyyou've heard the safety demo a
million times. You know how tofasten a seat belt, but all
airplanes are different, right?
Oxygen mask fall from differentplaces. They're in different
compartments and overhead bins.
Exits are located in differentplaces. We're telling you where
(13:31):
those are. It's just a moment tolike re familiarize yourself.
When I sat down in the jumpseat, I re familiarize myself
with where things are and whatthings are doing, so that if, if
it becomes necessary, I'mprepared to do it. So, like, our
safety demo is for you to take amoment to, like, re familiarize
yourself with what's going on,what kind of airplane you're on.
(13:53):
It'll give you a minute to lookaround, take your headphones
out, listen to what we'resaying, because somebody sitting
beside you may not have, may notbe a frequent flyer like you,
and it's going to prompt them toalso direct their attention to
the flight attendants, becausethey may have missed that in the
announcement that we weremaking.
Rich (14:08):
Absolutely, yeah, everything really is rooted in
safety. Another thing I alwaysthink about is when you have a
passenger come on board and theyleft something in the terminal,
and we require you, typically,to take all your stuff with you,
and then we need to know whereyou were sitting as well before
you go back into the terminal.
And people are like, but I'mcoming right back, like, why
(14:30):
can't I just leave my things onthe plane? And it's like, once
again, this is a safety relatedthing. What if you get off that
plane because there wassomething suspicious in your
bag. You know, we we always kindof have this, like, flight
attendants are always judgingyou, both in a fun way and a
serious way, but like, we reallyjust need to kind of assess
every passenger and kind of sussthings out and see okay, why are
(14:53):
you getting off the plane? Andif you are and take all your
stuff with you, and if. You findyour iPad on the terminal and
get back right on board with us.
That's great, but you know, ifnot, we need to make sure that
your stuff goes with you if youget off the plane. So it's just,
it's really deep rooted in,like, everything that we do,
even more than you might evenrealize,
Unknown (15:15):
oh,
Andrew (15:16):
literally, everything that we do, from the way that
we're standing during boarding,like, literally everything is
safety in mind, where we'restanding, how we're standing,
when we're looking at you, whatwe're looking at, like, all of
it, from the moment we check infor work until the moment we
walk off that plane, our entirereason for being there is
safety. So there's literallynothing we're asking or talking
(15:39):
about that isn't because, ifit's not your safety we're
worried about, it's the personbehind you. That's why we're
asking you to bring your seatback up, right that that one's
twofold, because your seat backlocks, and if we hit the ground
wrong, it's not going to flyforward and fold over on you,
and also it's not going to be anobstacle for the person behind
you to get, to get out of right?
Because you've limited theirspace. So, like, literally
(16:02):
everyone, and that's such alittle thing that people are
always like, I didn't put itback. I didn't ask if you put it
back. I'm just saying it needsto come out. I know.
Rich (16:11):
I promise. I'm not nagging you. I just need to make sure
all the things are done, right?
That's it. So, yeah, that's ourrant for today about flight
attendants nagging you. It mightseem like we are, but you know
what, we're really not. Ipromise we're doing this because
we care and we love you, and wewant you to come back and fly
with us again
Andrew (16:29):
so many times. We want you on our airplane all the
time, and we want to laugh andgiggle. We don't want to nag you
at all.
Rich (16:37):
All right, before we go, we do have one quick segment
that we want to do are, whatwould two guys do segment, and
in this segment, we are going tofeature your stories from your
in flight craziness andpassenger stories, whether
you're a flight attendant, crewmember, passenger, we've all
seen some things in the skies,so please send us your
submissions, and we couldfeature you out loud on our
(16:59):
Podcast. So just go to two guysin a plane.com/podcast to submit
your story, and we'll read themout loud on the podcast. But for
today, we thought, what would bemore fun than sharing our own
wild and in flight stories? Sotoday, we're going to have
Andrew share what is thecraziest thing that's ever
happened to you on a flight.
Andrew,
Andrew (17:18):
of course, he's going to put me on the spot, but the
craziest thing that has happenedto me on an airplane did not
even happen during flight. Itwas during boarding.
Rich (17:29):
Oh gosh. Boarding is always chaotic.
Andrew (17:30):
Boarding is always chaotic. We had finished
boarding, and at the end ofevery boarding, we're required
to confirm how many passengersand like things are on the
plane, like infants, pets, allof those things. It's our our
job as flight attendants to,like, confirm the information
that the agent has brought downto us is correct. So I was
(17:51):
working an aircraft by myself. Iwas on a 50 seater, I guess she
brought down the numbers andthis many passengers, this many
infants, this many wheelchairs,or other specials. And so I'm
walking through the airplane andI'm doing my little count, and
I'm like, I was like, Okay,well, I found all the
passengers, but we don't haveany infants. And she was like,
No, we boarded an infant. And Isaid, No, you didn't. You did
(18:14):
not board an infant. She said,you see the infant? No, I didn't
see an infant. Come on. And thenshe tells me that there's this
many people plus an infant. AndI was like, Nope, no infants.
And she was like, Yeah. And Iwas like, Okay, well, I need you
to get me a seat number then,because I don't see any right?
Do you remember what the personlooks like or like? Help me
figure this out, because Icannot find an infant on an
(18:38):
airplane.
Rich (18:38):
Yeah, if there's a big man board, I kind of want to know
where it is.
Andrew (18:38):
So she runs up to her computer, she comes back down,
and she was like, okay, theinfant seated in this seat. And
I was like, okay, so I walk overand I like, look in the row, and
there's, like, nothing that evenleads me to believe that an
infant was carried on. There'sno diaper bag. There's no, like,
toys or blankets or anything.
It's just a lady sitting there.
And I was like, Um, excuse me,ma'am. And she was like, Yes.
And I was like, um, I'm beingtold that you have a baby on the
(19:03):
plane with us today. And shesaid, I do. And I said, Um,
okay, but where can you tell me?
Where the right, where is thebaby? And she was like, oh, it's
in the overhead bin. And I waslike, oh, excuse me. She was
like, Yeah, you said to putcarry on items in the overhead
bin. And I carried the baby onso like I opened the overhead
bin and laid out on like a pileof blankets with all of her toys
(19:25):
is the baby.
Rich (19:30):
Like she thought her baby was a carry on item.
Andrew (19:34):
She placed her baby in the overhead bin because we had
instructed them to puteverything that they carried on
either under the seat or in anoverhead bin. And she did not
think it was safe for the babyto be under the seat because it
was gross, so she laid out allthe blankets and put the baby at
an overhead bin. So, you know,as polite as I could explain,
because it's clearly a firsttime traveler like this isn't
(19:56):
something we're new to. Babiesobviously, like, I don't. Don't
think, right? We're new tobabies. We're clearly new to
travel. So I politely explained,like the procedure and how the
baby was supposed to travel withher on her lap, and all of those
sort of things.
Rich (20:12):
What a well timed story for this episode about nagging
passengers, about following therules. Because on one hand, I
really want to say, You knowwhat good for you, lady, for
listening to our announcementsand doing what you're told. But
also, Mom, you have a baby, andyour baby should not be in an
overhead compartment.
Andrew (20:30):
Mind blown. I was like, I don't, I don't even understand
what? But it was so cute. Theblankets were laid out. Like, I
mean, basically, the only thingwas missing was the thing that
you put over the babies to,like, play with, because she had
built a whole,
Rich (20:43):
like a whole crib, which would be fine if it was secure,
and there was ventilation andall sorts of things that could
be happening up there.
Andrew (20:52):
Wildest things ever happened to me. I will never,
never forget this wholeinteraction.
Rich (20:57):
I don't think I will either.
Andrew (20:59):
So what would you have done?
Rich (21:00):
What would I have done? I mean, this one guy on a plane
would probably would have had anequal combination of laughter
and crying, because I It's soridiculous, it's funny, but at
the same time, like, I'm kind ofworried about this mom and her
baby now, like, I wish we couldfind her and get like, a Where
are they now? Story,
Andrew (21:21):
15 years ago? Yeah, so long.
Rich (21:24):
Oh, my God, that kids in high school probably, yikes.
Well, that was a good one. Ilove that. So yeah, keep sending
us your stories. We love them,and we'll share some more of our
own as the show goes on. Butthat's it for today's episode.
Thank you guys so much fortuning in. Make sure to follow
the podcast and subscribewherever you get your podcasts
(21:45):
and check us out on socialmedia. We are all over the
place, and we'd always love tohear from you and leave a review
if you had a good time with ustoday.
Andrew (21:51):
Well, folks join us next time for more humor, heart and
stories from our beverage cart.
Rich (21:56):
This episode was brought to you by staff traveler, the
number one non rev app. If youtravel on standby tickets and
are looking to make your journeyeasy and stress free, check out
the staff traveler app in theApple App Store or Google Play
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more and sign up
Buzz Burbank (22:14):
an ironic media production. Visit us at I R O N,
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