Cabin crew are often the thing that makes the difference between a bad flight and a good flight. From serving up a meal to being on hand to assist with passenger queries, flight attendants have a busy job. On top of that, they are known to work incredibly long hours with the added pressure of time zones to contend with. It’s no surprise then that some passengers want to offer a reward for their service, but this is a bad idea.
While it might be second nature to tip a good server in a restaurant when it comes to cabin crew this is not necessarily the case according to experts.
Although cabin crew do serve up food and drinks, their job goes far beyond service, and they are actually trained in everything from first aid to fire fighting.
As part of this role, many flight attendants are instructed by their company that they must not accept tips.
Corey Cadwell, spokesperson for Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) told USA Today: “Passengers should not tip flight attendants because flight attendants should not accept tips.
“As professionals, as first responders, just like police and firefighters, a flight attendant’s first mission is to maintain the safety and security of passengers in the cabin.
“There are other ways that are much more beneficial when it comes to thanking them.”
However, this does not mean that there are no ways to show your appreciation following a good flight.
Despite many airlines advise crew not to take cash tips, there are often no rules to say that crew members can’t accept small gifts from happy customers.
Flight attendant Sharon Chen shared her point of view on web question and answer forum Quora: “More commonly, passengers bring a small gift for the crew, like chocolates or candies or once, Starbucks gift cards.
“These gifts aren’t merit-based and definitely not expected, but they are highly appreciated and may increase your chance of receiving exceptional service.”
Travel site Budget Traveller also reveals that gifts aren’t the only way to say thank you to hardworking crew members.
It states: “When you receive truly extraordinary service, though, a letter or email to the airline praising the work of a specific flight attendant or crew is most appreciated and can sincerely help a flight attendant’s career.”
However, this is largely dependent on the airline you fly with.
While UK airlines such as British Airways do not encourage crew to take money from passengers, one US airline has recently changed its stance.
Frontier Airlines announced in January that passengers would now be able to offer a tip to their flight crew if they had an enjoyable experience.
Customers who order a drink or a snack aboard one of the Frontier flights are not prompted by a message on the card reader saying “gratuities are appreciated!”
They then have the option of adding a tip of 14, 20 or 25 per cent.
A spokesman from Frontier told MarketWatch.com said: “We appreciate the great work of our flight attendants and know that our customers do as well, so it gives passengers the option to tip.
“It’s entirely at the customer’s discretion and many do it.”
Meanwhile, the Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson released a statement regarding the policy change, saying: “Flight Attendants are certified for our safety, health, and security work; safety is not variable and therefore base compensation for a safety job cannot be variable.”