For most people, how much they know about airplane travel is somewhere between “blissfully unaware” to “aware that they’re flying through the air in a metal tube and that’s it, thank god.” I wish I could say that there’s a benefit to knowing more about the experience, but according to the airline employees who shared their employer’s biggest secrets on Reddit, being ignorant might be more of a luxury than traveling in first class. I know I wish I could unread some of these things.
1. The pillows and blankets that flight attendants hand out are often reused.
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2. Not locking your luggage (with a TSA-approved lock) puts your bags at risk of being opened by ramp agents, gate agents, and even fellow passengers.
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3. Even though they come wrapped in plastic, those headphones the airline give you are far from new.
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4. If a flight attendant hears anything vibrating in your bag while they put it in an overheard compartment, they will have to open the bag up and inspect it.
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5. Most of the items found in the SkyMall magazine can be found on the Internet for a much smaller price.
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6. The water used to brew coffee and tea aboard the plane may not be as clean as you’d like it to be.
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7. A hard landing on a rainy day is actually an intentional move by the pilot. This helps them break through the slick surface that coats the runway during a storm.
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8. There’s a secret lock on the outside of an airplane bathroom that will allow flight attendants to unlock the door if somewhere were to lock themselves in.
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9. Tip your flight attendant to ensure that you’ll have first-class service no matter where you sit.
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10. Some pilots sleep during flights.
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11. Gate check luggage to avoid bigger fees.
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12. A pilot is authorized to make arrests once the plane’s doors are closed.
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13. Despite the difference in rank, the pilot and copilot often distribute their workload into equal parts.
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14. Your flight may very well be transporting human organs as well.
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15. Flying with a big airline does not necessarily mean you’ll have an experienced pilot.
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16. Most flight attendants don’t turn their cell phones off after they ask the passengers to.
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17. Airplanes get struck by lightning all of the time.
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18. Pilots are given a different meal than the passengers.
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19. Airplane lights are dimmed while landing to make things easier on your eyes should you need to evacuate the plane as a result of an emergency.
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20. The oxygen masks that come down from above your seat have about 15 minutes of oxygen in them.
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(via Reddit, helloU, Distractify)
Yikes! Unless it’s how to fly the plane myself, I refuse to learn anything more about how airplane travel works. That, or how to get more peanuts.
