flight attendant tiktoks

Free drinks and upgrades: TikTok flight attendants share their secret tips

Including what you should never drink on a plane


The one thing everyone wants to know when they go on a plane is how to get an upgrade from basic economy to first class. And now a number of flight attendant TikTokers are revealing exactly how to do it and offering plenty more essential tips you need before your next flight. Which may be a while because you know, COVID. But hey we can dream.

TikTok is full of flight attendants from across the world sharing their secret tips including how to get free drinks, more miles and how they will always know when you’re trying to join the mile high club.

We scrolled through some of the most famous TikTok flight attendants’ accounts such as Amanda Nicole, Julia Fomenco and Kat Kamalani to find their best advice. Just last week Kat went viral for sharing the actual reason they greet you at the plane doors. It’s not just to be polite but actually to identify the people who are able to help them out in an emergency.

And their insight doesn’t end there, these are the best pieces of advice about flying from TikTok flight attendants:

How to get free drinks

@katkamalaniThe hack YOU will want to know ##traveltips ##travelhacks ##flightcrew ##flightattendant ##freeflight♬ Wii – Mii Channel – Super Guitar Bros

An upgrade isn’t always easy, but getting free drinks is much more accessible. According to Kat the easiest way to get a free drink is if something is broken and they can’t fix it.

For example if your tray table or air conditioning vent is broken then tell the flight attendant and they have the option to give you a complimentary drink to apologise. However they won’t be giving you any drinks if you’re rude to them, so be nice and polite when you complain.

How to get free miles

In the same video Kat revealed the easiest way to get free miles is that when your flight is cancelled or delayed, call up customer service and they should add miles to your account free of charge.

Never drink these drinks on a flight

Ok so now you’ve got your free drink make sure it’s not just one of these. According to Kat and many other flight attendants the water tanks on flights are hardly ever cleaned.

So drinks like water, coffee and tea straight from a jug are using the water from the dirty tank. Ew. Kat suggests the best drinks are things that are in sealed bottles or cans.

These are cheapest days to fly

@weariwanderedTips for getting cheap airline tickets! ✈️ ##travelhacks ##flightattendant ##flightcrew ##traveltiktok ##greenscreen ##lifehacks♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod

We all want the cheapest flights possible and TikToker “Wear I Wandered” created a viral video which has been viewed over 1 million times revealing the best way to get cheap tickers.

She suggests flying on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday as these are the cheapest days. She also advises searching for all flights in Incognito mode on your phone or laptop.

These are the dirtiest places on the plane

In another video “Wear I Wandered” revealed the dirtiest places on a plane, and I honestly don’t think I can travel again. She said the seat pockets where everyone puts their rubbish are usually pretty dirty.

Obviously the toilets are gonna be pretty high up on the rank scale and even she said she tries to avoid using them and she literally works on the plane.

One place I hadn’t considered were the overhead vents that control your individual temperature. She said they’re always getting touched but aren’t regularly cleaned.

Finally the tray tables are some of the dirtiest places onboard as they’re not cleaned between flights and I’m never eating on a plane again.

Turbulence is worse at back of plane

US TikToker Amanda Nicole has revealed that turbulence is actually the worse at the back of the plane and so if you can, always opt to sit near to the front as possible.

This is how to get your luggage quicker

@julia.fomencoTravel Hacks ##greenscreen ##viral ##flightattendants ##cabincrew ##layedoffvibes ##fyp ##airlines ##traveltiktok ##travelhacks ##foryou ##tipsandtricks♬ Say So (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Doja Cat] – Elliot Van Coup

Julia Fomenco’s TikTok page is full of travel hacks and this is a really decent one she suggested for getting your luggage off the carousel first.

She suggests putting a fragile sticker on your suitcase as the people who load the plane will put it on top of the other bags. This means it will be one of the last to be loaded onto the plane and one of the first off.

Don’t queue up for a flight cancellation

Having your flight cancelled is a nightmare and then having to queue up to find another one just adds to the pain.

Julia suggests calling up the airline directly as they will be able to sort it out as well and you don’t have to queue.

Choose the left lane

To get through the airport faster always pick the left lane for security and check in. According to Julia it’s just human instinct to pick the right lane and so by going against this you’ll probably be in a shorter queue.

You get drunk quicker in the air

@julia.fomencoDrinking on your flight🍷##flightattendants ##cabincrew ##travel ##traveltiktok ##alcoholicdrinks ##fyp ##foryou ##viral ##tiktok ##PepsiApplePieChallenge♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

There’s a reason you get drunker faster when on a plane and that’s because one drink on the plane equals two drinks on the ground, says Julia. So just watch what you drink otherwise you could be in serious trouble with the airplane staff

How to get flight upgrades

Ok so it’s not always easy getting a flight upgrade and the main advice is always to stay loyal to one airline. However you can get an upgrade when the plane weight needs to be distributed more.

People will often be moved from the back of the plane to the front (usually where business and first class are) to distribute weight more evenly. These seats will often be offered first to frequent flyers, then other airline staff and then finally the general public. So in order to get one of these seats your best chance according to Julia is just to be nice to flight attendants.

Don’t even bother trying to get into the mile high club

Whilst a shag in the air may seem a great idea, Julia says they will always be able to catch you. Firstly the pilot has a camera outside the cockpit which usually looks onto the loo, therefore they can see if you sneak in with someone else and telephone the flight attendants to get you out.

Secondly the staff know how to open the toilet doors even when they’re locked from the inside so they can defintiely catch you in the act and cause major embarrassment.

Featured image credit before edits Ross Parmly on Unsplash  

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