# Yo, Flight Attendants! What's your problem with providing fucking CHANGE? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051 "2003-12-19T21:01:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/61 "2003-12-21T02:09:51Z")
Geez! Can I not type today? “I thinks”…? I sound like freakin’ Popeye! And “fashioned” instead of “fastened”? Ugh. Earlier today I saw a sign in the subway that said “the transit system needs federal funding” and I could’ve sworn it said “funeral funding”… Maybe I have a brain tumor. ---
**Author:** ![Akatsukami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/62 "2003-12-21T05:01:39Z")
Or you’re doped up on Dramamine? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/63 "2003-12-21T06:10:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eats\_Crayons \* > \*\*Geez! Can I not type today? “I thinks”…? I sound like freakin’ Popeye! > > And “fashioned” instead of “fastened”? Ugh. > > Earlier today I saw a sign in the subway that said “the transit system needs federal funding” and I could’ve sworn it said “funeral funding”… Maybe I have a brain tumor. \*\* You know? I never even noticed those typos, guess I’m totally used to “webspeak”. 😃 But your “I sound like freakin’ Popeye” cracked me up! ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/64 "2003-12-21T07:05:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > \*\*There are also quite a few people in the airline industry who would like very much to do away with all alcohol aboard airplanes and who therefore have no interest in making it easier for folks to buy booze. > … So carry 10 ones and you’re set. If they’re charging shit like $1.75 it ain’t gonna kill you to just hand over $2. > > …If you can’t wait that long for a beer I have to wonder if you’ve got an alcohol problem. > > …If you’re on my airplane I have a truly amazing amount of say in your life for the duration of the trip. > > On the other hand, people like you make me grateful I _don’t_ fly for the airlines. > > Not on my aircraft you won’t! > > … What they are _selling_ you is a safe trip from point A to point B. The booze, headsets, and other bullshit is an extra… > > If you find drinking more important than traveling it might be cheaper and less hassle for you to hang out at a bar. > > …You’re what? 14? 15? If not, quit acting like it. \*\* I’m surprised that you haven’t started your own airline. You clearly have the requisite complete lack of interest in customer service that virtually guarantees that your business would be a great financial success. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/65 "2003-12-21T10:46:30Z")
I can’t think of a better way to go broke than to run an airline. I have no desire to be part of that particular slice of aviation. But you’re right - the airlines really do not care about you, the customer. All they want is your money. Once you’re on board they don’t give a damn. You might as well be cattle. I can’t help but think the amount of vomiting on airplanes would go down if folks _didn’t_ drink. I’ve known a lot of people who have never been on an airplane without being sloshed - maybe if they weren’t drunk they might find it’s not so bad or illness inducing. Anyhow, the only time I fly commercial is when my company pays for it. Otherwise, I do my own flying and I don’t have to put up with crying babies, or whining crybabies ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/66 "2003-12-21T15:15:02Z")
Okay, forget making change for a second. How about the drinks themselves? I don’t drink any more, and for that matter, I don’t fly much any more, even since before 9/11. So I don’t know if the following anecdote is a common occurence, but it sure honked me off. I ask for a screwdriver. FA brings a can of orange juice, a pony bottle of vodka, and one of those little plastic cups with ice in it. Proceeds to pour the **entire** bottle of vodka into the cup, then fill in the cracks with about a milliliter of OJ. WTF? I can’t drink six parts vodka to one part orange juice! What I would have done, had I been allowed the chance, was fill the cup almost full with OJ, then add about 1/3 of the vodka, then keep topping off with more vodka **and** OJ as I went along. As it was, I had to spit out the first mouthful just to make more room in the cup to mix it the way I liked. Anyone else have that happen? ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/67 "2003-12-21T15:16:53Z")
Nothing much to add here, Just wanted to say that around where I live public transportation makes change if you need it, and I have never seen any of the Bus drivers throw a fit because someone needed change for a ten. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/68 "2003-12-21T16:51:25Z")
Wow, **Rilchiam**. I’d say that was awfully generous of her. 🙂 Actually, you can usually ask for the OJ and vodka separately. Also, with some airlines, if you ask for a Coke or any canned beverage, they only give you a little cup with Coke and save the can for themselves. In cases like this, I just ask for a can and they give it to me. I’ve flown well over a hundred times in the last six years, and have never once had a bad experience with flight attendants. I’ve also almost never had to pay for drinks. (Perhaps it’ll be changing soon, but drinks are free on most trans-Atlantic flights and some continental flights with European carriers. A major reason I don’t fly AA or United home.) What does piss me off, though, is how the domestic carriers in the US have gotten to charging for freaking headsets on their flights. I’ve experienced this for the first time last year and was absolutely appalled. What the hell am I going do with this piece of crap headset when I’m done? Just charge me the two bucks in my ticket and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/69 "2003-12-21T17:26:43Z")
I tried to make sure I have exact change by bringing twenty dollars in pennies, tucked away in sturdy sock, because they value exact change. But then I had troubles at the security checkpoint before even getting near the plane. Airlines really need to make up their mind about this kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/70 "2003-12-21T17:43:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drastic \* > \*\*Airlines really need to make up their mind about this kind of thing. \*\* 😕 What part of “they’ve been doing this for the past several decades and haven’t shown ANY signs of changing this routine” don’t people get? It’s not like this is new, or as if sometimes they do it, and sometimes they don’t, this is an industry standard. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/71 "2003-12-21T17:48:58Z")
It’s probably a good thing to assume a post talking about difficulties in carrying a makeshift blackjack onto an airline is a fully serious one. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/72 "2003-12-21T18:34:53Z")
Personally, my life has been saved many times by the seatbelt instructions. If they hadn’t told me that the damn thing doesn’t operate like my car’s seat belt, I’d be a skeletal remains traveling forever on flight 203. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/73 "2003-12-21T19:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t help but think the amount of vomiting on airplanes would go down if folks didn’t drink. I’ve known a lot of people who have never been on an airplane without being sloshed - maybe if they weren’t drunk they might find it’s not so bad or illness inducing. I dunno. I’ve only had an alcoholic drink on an airplane twice, and both times it seemed to really cut down on my motion sickness. For me, travel is always bad. Always, always, always. I don’t care if it’s riding in a car, looking at the Christmas lights, or sailing on a fairly calm day, or air travel, I’m ALWAYS trying to keep from vomiting. People who enjoy traveling seem to think that my reaction is just all in my head. Yes, it is, it’s my inner ear. Just like having a food reaction is something that one can control. You should empathize with that. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/74 "2003-12-21T20:02:39Z")
Any OTC stuff like dramamine ever help, **Lynn**? I get seasick if I go on my buddy’s boat without taking the stuff (actually, the cheaper Walmart/Eckerds brand version w/ same active ingredients). Seem to help me a lot. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/75 "2003-12-21T20:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drastic \* > \*\*It’s probably a good thing to assume a post talking about difficulties in carrying a makeshift blackjack onto an airline is a fully serious one. Carry on. \*\* Pffft, I GOT that that part was not serious, but the “make up their minds” part was what I was talking about, and not just to you. Others in this thread have also acted as if this is something astonishingly new that “they” just thought up to bug passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/76 "2003-12-22T01:26:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Any OTC stuff like dramamine ever help, **Lynn**? I get seasick if I go on my buddy’s boat without taking the stuff (actually, the cheaper Walmart/Eckerds brand version w/ same active ingredients). Seem to help me a lot. \*\* It works. The booze seems to work better, though, with a shorter period of drowsiness. What works best is just refusing all unnecessary trips, even if my mother tries to lay a big guilt trip on me. Many of her favorite activites include going somewhere just for the sake of travel. I cannot enjoy the Christmas lights if I’m trying to keep my dinner down, and frankly, I’ve seen enough bathrooms that the thought of seeing another one in a new location holds no appeal for me. She’s gotten better over the years, but she’ll STILL suggest traveling for fun, after I’ve made a 500 mile trip to see her and my other relatives. ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/77 "2003-12-22T01:51:32Z")
First off, aren’t the FA supposed to try to make the flight as pleasant as possible. Throwing a hissy fit about change is not making anyone happy. Also an irate FA could be a safety hazard if something were to go wrong. I remember a flight I took where passengers were allowed to board, full on shit faced drunk. They stumbled to their seats and took the FA’s attention with having to get them situated. On this same flight, they ran out of the earphones for the movie and started giving everyone coupons for free drinks. Great for those who were already drunk in the first place and useless for those of us who don’t drink. On the up side, I got sick on this flight and handed the vomit bag to the FA all nice and open for him to enjoy the smell. I have flown a great deal and I have had some lousy FAs and some outstanding ones. And if you want a flight with cute bimbos, I believe Hooters has started an airline. There you will be able to enjoy your archaic attitude towards women. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/78 "2003-12-22T06:03:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > I dunno. I’ve only had an alcoholic drink on an airplane twice, and both times it seemed to really cut down on my motion sickness. Hey, if it works for you I’m not going to argue. However, it doesn’t sound like you’re boarding already staggering drunk - an event I have seen all too often at commercial hubs. Such a person may already be on the verge of an upchuck for reasons having little to do with air turbulence, but the normal jostling of air travel will not help them in any way. > [@](#): > > People who enjoy traveling seem to think that my reaction is just all in my head. Yes, it is, it’s my inner ear. Just like having a food reaction is something that one can control. You should empathize with that. Believe me, I do. I have never questioned someone getting airsick. It happens. Most pilots I know haul barf bags 'cause you just never know. Most pilots I know have _been_ airsick at one point or another (the one time I had it I damn near threw up on the guy who was supposed to give my my final flight test for the pilot’s license the following week - a real good first impression, yes?) We all know there are are unfortunates such as yourself who genuinely will never enjoy travel because it’s just no fun to throw up. Truth is, nerves and habituation only make it worse. In other words, if you’re scared or nervous or under pressure you’re far more likely to get motion sickness, and any you get may be worse than the usual. Likewise, if you _always_ get sick in a moving vehicle then you get in Pavlovian learned reflexes, sometimes to the point where just _thinking_ about flying, or seeing an airplane in, say, a movie, might make you queasy. Human being are quite complex in this fashion. On the other hand, it does make me irate to see folks getting puking drunk _before_ they even board. On a real basic level it’s just _rude_. You’re locked in an aluminum tube for an hour or more with other people. Get puking drunk? Hell, how about you don’t bathe for a week? Floss your teeth while chatting with the person in the seat next to you? I’m not mad at the Lynn Bodonis of the world - for them, I will scrounge extra barf bags, apply cool washclothes, hold their hand (and their hair, and small children, etc.). I once had the misfortune to sit in front of a girl who managed to throw up continually from Detroit to Toronto to Reykavek to Brussels. Eleven hours of puking. I felt only pity. (For the trip back, we came up with a concoction that knocked her out completely. Said it was the _only_ airplane ride she had _not_ thrown up on in her life.) What my ire is for are the asshats who _come aboard_ stinking drunk, get pissy when they’re cut off, and wind up taking a shit on a food service cart (regretably, this has happened _literally_ more than once) or beat up crew or passengers. I have a great deal of respect for FA’s. They put up with a LOT of shit. On the rare occassion I do fly commercial I try to make their job as easy as possible. I say please and thank you. I recognize that, at any given moment, I may NOT be the most important person or concern on their list. Would it be nice if the airlines saw fit to make change for drink purchases? Yes, it would. Are they going to? I doubt it. Deal with it, just as you deal with security lines, crying babies, crowded cabins, and the guy sitting next to you who’s eaten waaaaaaay too much garlic this week. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/79 "2003-12-22T20:02:30Z")
Off topic a bit: What’s with the sour look from the FA when I politely refuse the meal? This has happened every time I have flown. FA brings the tray (1st or cabin, doesn’t matter), I say “Nothing for me, thank you”, a withering look like she/he is personally offended by this. I don’t get it. It’s not like he/she just spent hours preparing a home-cooked feast, so why the attitude? Then when I ask for a bottle of water, I get the oh-he’s-the-troublemaker look. Surely they realize that much of that swill is unfit for human consumption and that some of us would rather not risk the possibility of food poisoning? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051/80 "2003-12-22T20:29:51Z")
Maybe it’s a confused look, you broke their stride? Funny, I’ve never had a bad one. Last time I flew outside, the FAs told me a hilarious story. People can bring animals in the cabin if they’re small enough to fit in their carriers under the seat. Well, apparently someone had brought a couple of ferrets, and they’d figured out how to get out of their carrier. So they were sneaking all over the cabin (this was on a night flight, most people were asleep), looking over people’s shoes, poking around in purses and such. Well, they weren’t noisy, or waking anyone up, so the FAs didn’t want to make an announcement and wake anyone up (they didn’t know where they’d come from, they were looking for the carrier, but had had no luck. I don’t remember why they didn’t have the person who owned them down on the manifest, but they eventually had to radio back to the city of origin, and get the person’s name, and then go find his seat number and have him round up his ferrets. Just the thought of those mischievous litlte critters exploring the plane while everyone slept just cracked me up. I’ve never worked for an airline company, but back in the early to later 80s I worked as a jet fueler, so I got to meet a lot of FAs and other airline employees. The majority are decent people, but just like any other job, you get those bad apples. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yo-flight-attendants-whats-your-problem-with-providing-fucking-change/220051.md?page=5)