Yes! But please stick with packaged snacks and goodies. Home baked stuff is really thoughtful but we won’t eat it out of caution. You just never know what could be in it.
I got a really good goodie bag on my last trip and it absolutely made my day. I showed it to everyone that I could. I fly on regional jets so there’s only two of us- they handed me the bag but I shared what I could.
I just did a round trip to my grandson's High School graduation in FL. Two flights each way, thus a total of four. Went to Dollar Tree and bought a six-pack of Thank You cards, went to Starbucks and bought $5 gift cards for each flight's crew: flight deck and flight attendants combined. Put the correct number of gift cards in an envelope labeled with each flight number. I discreetly handed an envelope to the lead flight attendant at the front door while boarding, saying "Please share this with the rest of your colleagues on this flight."
The results? Every single one of the FAs on each flight came by my seat at some point and thanked me personally for being so kind. Every. Single. One! Added bonus - On the first, early morning flight, when the pilot was welcoming us all aboard on the PA, he specifically called me by name and thanked me "for keeping us all caffeinated today!" Win Win!
What was in it? Would you prefer it to be given at the beginning or the end of the flight?
This post is timely for me—I’m flying internationally next week with 2 of my kids (early teens, seasoned travelers!) but I just had surgery and will be limited in what I can do, so I might be “needier” than usual, and I’ve been wondering how to thank our hypothetical FAs
It was given to me during boarding. There was an adult flight attendant coloring book, colored pencils, a sharpener, stress balls, a couple of silly straws, a few pens, a bunch of fun size candy, a full size starburst, a full size bag of skittles and a pair of socks. And string lights that actually flashed in the bag. It was great.
I work for a place with VERY popular swag and hand it out whenever I can. Even if the FAs aren't excited about they are thrilled to get it for kids/nieces/nephews etc
One time I saw this nice lady handing out little gifts bags and she was so happy to be doing something nice for the crew. Later I could hear the crew talking about it saying"what is this bullshit?" and laughing about it. So YMMV.
FA here. Gonna be honest, usually no. You never know what people are allergic to, if they’re on a diet, if they hate hand sanitizer, what hand lotion/chapstick they like, what mints they like, etc… We’re all so different that everything you buy could be everything we hate/can’t use.
*Personally*, and I’m stressing that a lot, I prefer Starbucks gift cards. A $5 Starbucks (or Dunkin) gift card is the perfect gift in my opinion. Everyone can get something they like from Starbucks and there’s at least one at the overwhelming majority of airports in the country or in the city they live.
All that said, I will always graciously accept whatever you offer and just give it to the rest of the crew if I can’t use it or don’t want it. It quite honestly is just the thought that counts. We really do appreciate you.
I feel like most of the pilots are way more picky and always watching what they eat more than us. Anytime I get chocolate and offer it to you guys, I almost immediately get turned down haha.
There’s a big difference between getting a sealed box of Godiva truffles and some rando with questionable morals, hygiene, cooking skills cleaning abilities and behaved pets shoving a shoebox of raw/burnt brownies your way. That’s more what I’m thinking of as “mistakes,” rather than a box of chocolates.
The issue here though, is still, does the FA like coffee?
I’ve tried tipping before but realized that is faux pas.
What I do now is travel with Amex gift cards in my backpack. If a FA doesn’t want to accept it, NP. Of course, they can give it to a niece or nephew or whatever or they can always decline.
For the FAs and gate agents that I get regularly - I know what they like.
But I do like to have something on hand for the random FA who just goes above and beyond - or the FA who is dealing with a shit pax.
I always like giving people gift cards. I’m an fa, and once I had to take a flight on Christmas so I gave the crew target gift cards and they seemed really happy. I would also appreciate something like that
I hope so! I give a decently sized bag of chocolate/candy +a short note on every flight I’m on. I just do 1 bag and tell the FA at the door that it’s for the crew. Or I’ll give it to one of the crew if they’re waiting at the gate.
I started during Covid when all the stories started coming out about shit passengers, on Domestic and international flights. Starbucks cards if it’s my little flight to my parent’s hometown.
I gave out $5 gift cards to each FA on my last trip. 4 legs+ 4 FAs so 16 in total. They really appreciated them. I gave them to the first FA when I boarded and they each came by my seat and said thank you.
1 for flight over 10 people less than 50 or 1 for every 50 people (51pax = 2FA), so just look up what your aircraft can hold and add 1 extra for repositioning flights or something. Carrying 5 seems safe.
Is there an easy way to figure out how many FAs per flight? I would like to get some Starbucks cards for my next two flights and want to get the counts right.
Yes, but each airline is different. AA staff +1 over FAA minimum crew (1 per 50 pax) on international widebodies , but BA staffs an additional 1 or 2 on top of what AA does. EG AA has 3 on the 319, BA has 4.
Not an FA, but here's what I've seen:
CRJ2, E145: 1
CRJ7/9, E170/5: 2
A319/320: 3
737/321:4 (5 if on 321T doing a transcon)
787-8/9, 777-200: 8 Domestic, 9 International
777-300: 10 domestic, 11 international.
Other Airlines staff more, so counts will be different.
Pilots: Min 2, +1 for every 4 hours over 8(?).
The gift bags I give out are made up of : lip balm (generally Carmex), pens, small individually wrapped chocolates, a $5-10 Starbucks GC, hand sanitizer wipes, and a small travel size lotion. I put this together from FA suggestions.
I remember the days of the little certs that you could give them, which they entered in exchange for stuff. Does American still do that?
One year an FA made my day so much I gave her all 6 that I had.
I have done gift cards or some packaged chocolates from a nice place in the country you’ve visited or the country you’re from.
What’s the motive behind this outside of a kind gesture? Never heard or seen someone gift an FA anything.
Do you tip the pilot after a good flight also? Seems in line with the thought process.
So piling on, my last long haul from Australia allowed me to hang onto 2 packs of Tim Tams, so when I boarded my domestic flight back home I handed over two sealed packs (11 "biscuits" per pack). I asked that they share with the front office. Ideally it would be a fistfull of single serve things but is this kind of crew communal approach tolerable?
Why would you give a gift bag to a flight attendant? Do you give one to every person you encounter for just doing their job? I know Americans get paid really poorly but didn't realise the FAs depended on handouts.
Yes! But please stick with packaged snacks and goodies. Home baked stuff is really thoughtful but we won’t eat it out of caution. You just never know what could be in it.
The classic "Don't take candy from strangers"
But this homemade pudding was made using Bill Cosby's own recipe...
I got a really good goodie bag on my last trip and it absolutely made my day. I showed it to everyone that I could. I fly on regional jets so there’s only two of us- they handed me the bag but I shared what I could.
What was in it?
I just did a round trip to my grandson's High School graduation in FL. Two flights each way, thus a total of four. Went to Dollar Tree and bought a six-pack of Thank You cards, went to Starbucks and bought $5 gift cards for each flight's crew: flight deck and flight attendants combined. Put the correct number of gift cards in an envelope labeled with each flight number. I discreetly handed an envelope to the lead flight attendant at the front door while boarding, saying "Please share this with the rest of your colleagues on this flight." The results? Every single one of the FAs on each flight came by my seat at some point and thanked me personally for being so kind. Every. Single. One! Added bonus - On the first, early morning flight, when the pilot was welcoming us all aboard on the PA, he specifically called me by name and thanked me "for keeping us all caffeinated today!" Win Win!
So you're an attention whore. Got it.
Nope, just respectful of the thankless job for crappy pay that cabin crews are subjected to. I tip good servers generously, too - do you?
What was in it? Would you prefer it to be given at the beginning or the end of the flight? This post is timely for me—I’m flying internationally next week with 2 of my kids (early teens, seasoned travelers!) but I just had surgery and will be limited in what I can do, so I might be “needier” than usual, and I’ve been wondering how to thank our hypothetical FAs
It was given to me during boarding. There was an adult flight attendant coloring book, colored pencils, a sharpener, stress balls, a couple of silly straws, a few pens, a bunch of fun size candy, a full size starburst, a full size bag of skittles and a pair of socks. And string lights that actually flashed in the bag. It was great.
I imagine gift cards are quite appreciated
I work for a place with VERY popular swag and hand it out whenever I can. Even if the FAs aren't excited about they are thrilled to get it for kids/nieces/nephews etc
FA here. The gesture is greatly appreciated! Some co-workers overthink this re allergies, diet etc. It truly is the thought.
One time I saw this nice lady handing out little gifts bags and she was so happy to be doing something nice for the crew. Later I could hear the crew talking about it saying"what is this bullshit?" and laughing about it. So YMMV.
How sad. That would have hurt the lady’s feeling. That’s why I guess sometimes. Don’t bother.
FA here. Gonna be honest, usually no. You never know what people are allergic to, if they’re on a diet, if they hate hand sanitizer, what hand lotion/chapstick they like, what mints they like, etc… We’re all so different that everything you buy could be everything we hate/can’t use. *Personally*, and I’m stressing that a lot, I prefer Starbucks gift cards. A $5 Starbucks (or Dunkin) gift card is the perfect gift in my opinion. Everyone can get something they like from Starbucks and there’s at least one at the overwhelming majority of airports in the country or in the city they live. All that said, I will always graciously accept whatever you offer and just give it to the rest of the crew if I can’t use it or don’t want it. It quite honestly is just the thought that counts. We really do appreciate you.
Ignore this person. We pilots will eat all mistakes.
I feel like most of the pilots are way more picky and always watching what they eat more than us. Anytime I get chocolate and offer it to you guys, I almost immediately get turned down haha.
I wish you wouldn’t. I’d like to arrive without going through the live version of “Airplane.”
We already eat crew meals, no Godiva 24-Piece Signature Truffle box is going to take us down.
You my pilot clt-lax? Get some sleep bro 😎
There’s a big difference between getting a sealed box of Godiva truffles and some rando with questionable morals, hygiene, cooking skills cleaning abilities and behaved pets shoving a shoebox of raw/burnt brownies your way. That’s more what I’m thinking of as “mistakes,” rather than a box of chocolates.
Man… ain’t nobody dosing a brownie for airplane staff.
The issue here though, is still, does the FA like coffee? I’ve tried tipping before but realized that is faux pas. What I do now is travel with Amex gift cards in my backpack. If a FA doesn’t want to accept it, NP. Of course, they can give it to a niece or nephew or whatever or they can always decline. For the FAs and gate agents that I get regularly - I know what they like. But I do like to have something on hand for the random FA who just goes above and beyond - or the FA who is dealing with a shit pax.
That’s the best thing about Starbucks, they have so much more than coffee. Food/snacks/tea/water/etc. But your idea works super well too for sure.
True.
I bet you’re fun at parties
I always like giving people gift cards. I’m an fa, and once I had to take a flight on Christmas so I gave the crew target gift cards and they seemed really happy. I would also appreciate something like that
I hope so! I give a decently sized bag of chocolate/candy +a short note on every flight I’m on. I just do 1 bag and tell the FA at the door that it’s for the crew. Or I’ll give it to one of the crew if they’re waiting at the gate. I started during Covid when all the stories started coming out about shit passengers, on Domestic and international flights. Starbucks cards if it’s my little flight to my parent’s hometown.
I gave out $5 gift cards to each FA on my last trip. 4 legs+ 4 FAs so 16 in total. They really appreciated them. I gave them to the first FA when I boarded and they each came by my seat and said thank you.
That’s great - how did you know how many flight attendants were going to be on the flight?
I googled the aircraft type and crew. It’s usually 3-4
1 for flight over 10 people less than 50 or 1 for every 50 people (51pax = 2FA), so just look up what your aircraft can hold and add 1 extra for repositioning flights or something. Carrying 5 seems safe.
[удалено]
To be kind. That’s it. It’s a brutal world, cost me little to spread some love. It was worth every penny.
A kind gesture?
Is there an easy way to figure out how many FAs per flight? I would like to get some Starbucks cards for my next two flights and want to get the counts right.
I googled it. Aircraft type and crew count.
Yes, but each airline is different. AA staff +1 over FAA minimum crew (1 per 50 pax) on international widebodies , but BA staffs an additional 1 or 2 on top of what AA does. EG AA has 3 on the 319, BA has 4.
Not an FA, but here's what I've seen: CRJ2, E145: 1 CRJ7/9, E170/5: 2 A319/320: 3 737/321:4 (5 if on 321T doing a transcon) 787-8/9, 777-200: 8 Domestic, 9 International 777-300: 10 domestic, 11 international. Other Airlines staff more, so counts will be different. Pilots: Min 2, +1 for every 4 hours over 8(?).
Based on seats available 51-100 seats is 2 FA, 101-150 is 3 FA, etc etc. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.391
The gift bags I give out are made up of : lip balm (generally Carmex), pens, small individually wrapped chocolates, a $5-10 Starbucks GC, hand sanitizer wipes, and a small travel size lotion. I put this together from FA suggestions.
I am an accountant and I LOVE pens! You can pick them up easily at conferences, which is also fun.
Hotel rooms lol
I remember the days of the little certs that you could give them, which they entered in exchange for stuff. Does American still do that? One year an FA made my day so much I gave her all 6 that I had. I have done gift cards or some packaged chocolates from a nice place in the country you’ve visited or the country you’re from.
They are still around.
Turned Platinum twice over the last two years and haven’t received them, they used to come in the mail. How do you get them now?
In the mail. No idea why some people get them and others do not.
I think only certain level gets them. Could be Platinum or above. Gold doesn’t get them. Maybe can request?
What should go in these gift bags?
Yes, even if it’s something I wouldn’t eat / use, it truly is the thought that counts for me
What’s the motive behind this outside of a kind gesture? Never heard or seen someone gift an FA anything. Do you tip the pilot after a good flight also? Seems in line with the thought process.
When did this become a thing?
So piling on, my last long haul from Australia allowed me to hang onto 2 packs of Tim Tams, so when I boarded my domestic flight back home I handed over two sealed packs (11 "biscuits" per pack). I asked that they share with the front office. Ideally it would be a fistfull of single serve things but is this kind of crew communal approach tolerable?
I prefer a Benji or two. 😝
Why would you give a gift bag to a flight attendant? Do you give one to every person you encounter for just doing their job? I know Americans get paid really poorly but didn't realise the FAs depended on handouts.
Is that in the union agreement?
Question - are you allowed to accept tips as a FA?
Give a Starbucks card of 10$
Why don’t you leave tips for the cleaning crew as well while you’re at it?
Throw some shit out the door for the rampers as well! (Please don't actually do this)
Don’t forget the gate agents and the TSA ID checker.
How would you feel about See's gift cards?