Skyscanner's first survey of international cabin crew uncovers the secrets of airline travel. According to the survey, the biggest gripe for a quarter of cabin crew (26%) is passengers who click their fingers at them to get their attention.
EDINBURGH – A survey of more than 700 international cabin crew members, from 85 countries by global travel search site Skyscanner has revealed their perfect airline passenger, and it’s a surprising result. The perfect passenger according to cabin crew is male; he travels alone for pleasure rather than business, he’s in his 30s and is European. And, sorry Beckham but he’s not a celebrity, or at least not one who’d travel premium class as economy passengers top the perfect passenger survey.
For cabin crew operating in UK airspace, it’s English men who are overwhelmingly voted as perfect passenger, with over half the vote. Men from Wales were deemed the least favourite passengers amongst British travellers.
Seen by many, as one of the most glamorous and desirable jobs, cabin crew are in the unique position to meet and greet people from all walks of life. However, with nearly 3 million people sitting in the sky every day, some regular habits and requests can understandably get under their skin more than others.
According to the survey, the biggest gripe for a quarter of cabin crew (26%) is passengers who click their fingers at them to get their attention. Other annoying habits at 30,000ft include the scramble to leave the plane before the seat belt signs are switched off (13%), passengers trying to cram too much hand baggage in the overhead lockers (11%) and one in ten say their pet peeve is when passengers talk through the safety demonstration, suggesting that many frequent flyers do not pay attention in spite of increasing requests by cabin staff to do to. Stuffing rubbish in the seat compartments (7%) also completed the list of cabin crew gripes.
Skyscanner’s Sam Poullain said: “This is the first time that we’ve surveyed international cabin crew and the findings give us a real insight into what they really think of passengers. It’s interesting to see that it’s the men who get the vote for the perfect passenger, and while many of us would love to travel business or first class, cabin crew prefer to work in economy.
“It must be frustrating for cabin crew when passengers try and cram as much hand baggage in the overhead locker as humanly possible, however carrying only hand luggage can save passengers quite a lot of money as the cost of putting baggage in the hold can be very expensive. Unless airlines charge less for hold luggage, I don’t see this changing.”
The most annoying habits of air passengers
– 1.Clicking fingers to get your attention: 26%
– 2.Leaving seat at the end before the light goes off: 13%
– 3.Stuffing too many bags into overhead locker: 11%
– 4.Complaining there’s no space for their bag in the locker : 10%
– 5.Talking through the safety demo: 9%
– 6.Asking for more blankets/pillows: 8%
– 7.Stuffing rubbish in the seat pocket: 7%
– 8.Asking for a different meal: 6%
– 9.Ringing the attendant bell to complain about temperature: 6%
– 10.Asking for a specific brand of drink: 4%
The Perfect Passenger
– Male
– Travelling alone
– Age 31-40
– Sitting in Economy
– Reason for travel: leisure.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
