I saw an interesting discussion on the excellent Travel Hacking 101 Facebook group the other day about tipping flight attendants. Â You can see the post here, but you (probably?) have to be a member of the group to see it (it’s free)
Is tipping flight attendants a thing?
Now, I am a frugal sort of guy, and I’ve mentioned before that I think the whole US tipping culture is ridiculous. Â It would be my preference to just have a price for things and have employers pay their employees reasonably. Â However I know in US
That doesn’t mean that I never tip anywhere, and in fact have a whole post about who and how much you are supposed to tip your Amtrak attendants. Â But this was the first I had ever heard of people tipping flight attendants!
[Flight attendants hate when you order Diet Coke -10 shocking flight attendant secrets]
Responses on if you should tip flight attendants
Here are some of the responses from the Facebook post
- Quite honestly, never heard of it, or considered it. If there were extenuating circumstances I might try, but I am sure airline policy discourages it.
- My wife and I occasionally bring some chocolate for our flight staff- for long haul flights. We read about it someplace & have done it a few times. Never really noticed better service as a result. We usually gift it early on in the flight.
- I usually bring chocolates for the cabin crew on long-haul flights. They are always appreciative.
- I have a few $5 gift cards that I will give to really amazing FAs or customer service agents. DL only gives me two job well done certificates and those run out pretty quickly.
- I work for an airline, and fly primarily ultra long haul international flights in and out of San Francisco. Tipping is not something our airline encourages, nor are we technically allowed to accept. However, we don’t refuse after the second offer, as to not be rude. The best thing you can do is bring chocolates with a note attached stating your seat # and or name. Usually those on my flights who do this get treated like absolute royalty no matter their class of cabin
- Short hauls always $5, and $20 for long hauls. It makes their day and mine for bringing on the smile.
- I leave nothing. It should be that way. Flight attendant tipping should not be allowed. If so then people would be tipping to get seat upgrades. Â The response to this was “Do you tip your hotel maid“.
- We are not allowed to accept tips, but I know FAs who have been offered tips and they are appreciated. It is not a common practice, and we certainly don’t expect it. We don’t normally have the authority to upgrade pax while the boarding door is open. That is the responsibility of the gate agent. We do appreciate non edible gifts. Starbucks gift cards, mints, movie theater passes, gift cards, etc. I’ve seen chocolates get passed around and then left on the aircraft for the next crew.
Your turn: Do you tip flight attendants?  With what?
Now I’m curious to hear your take on tipping flight attendants. Â Have you ever tipped a flight attendant, and if so, how much (and what?). Â If you are (or have been) a flight attendant – what’s your take? Â Were tips allowed, expected and/or appreciated?
Leave your flight attendant tipping stories in the comments!
Flight attendant from Flickr Via CC 2.0 license
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Tipping is extremely awkward for flight crew, but if they did a truly exceptional job, well above their job description, then I might ask their permission for their name to write a letter of commendation to HQ and hopefully someone would read it and give them the appropriate recognition and reward internally.
This is the fist time i hear about tipping an attendant, but i think is bad idea. It will create a an expectation that everyone must do it, if not then service will be bad for you. Tipping at all cost must come to an end – employers must pay their worker right
Americans and tipping….Sigh.
tipping is crazy in us because everyone is not paid “fairly” according to you know who. i saw a glass jar (with a couple $ bill, probably by employees themselves) on a to go window at Starbucks I just think how low can this go.
If I’m flying near big holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years, I bring a few bags of Lindt truffles for the crew to share… But that’s more because they are working over a holiday and I want them to feel appreciated, hah.
I can see giving them a goodie, like a chocolate or mint, but I agree that tipping is out of control in the US. It has turned into the “participation trophy” for adults. Everybody thinks they deserve something just for showing up.
Forget that I would never tip a stewardess. I mean consider it this way do you tip your bus driver, doctor, or the pilot? Not that being a waiter or waitress is any less important but you don’t typically tip the previous group mentioned as they are considered professionals. They are still paid more then the typical waiter/waitress who in the USA (right or wrong) depends on those tips to survive.
I have never tipped but I have emailed the airline offering praise when a flight crew member has given exceptional service. I imagine that is worth more than a few chocolates.
I brought individually wrapped Christmas cookies, plus some store brand individually wrapped chocolates when we flew the day after Christmas this year to share with the flight crew and they were all very thankful. I think once in a while a treat is OK, but everyday tipping no.
Part of the irony and fury of America’s tipping culture…. I’m with LL’s Ollila on this one. Merika’s new Carnegies (sans conscience) push for bloggers to implore travelers to tip, tip , tip (and to be sure, I feel too the guilt when I hesitate, to not help out fellow working joes and janes)
All the while this ever insidious tipping culture makes it easier for the Trump class and their supplicant managers to lower benefits and pay for the very same Janes & Joes, while raking in bigger massive bonuses for themselves….
while having their faux media shills defend the exploitation and ironic manipulation of the public as doing their “legal fidicuary responsibility” — and anyone who objects gets tarred as a “socialist.”
BTW, anybody notice how much higher the “suggested” tip percentages have gotten on restaurant receipts.??? (I HATE that…. and they calculate it based on the total bill AFTER taxes — which in some tourist areas is now approaching 15%)
Ok, but sticking to the issue of flights and tipping…
I’m old enough to remember flying on airlines like our beloved Piedmont (before Philly based US Air ruined it)…. where they actually provided good meals, snacks, and even hot towels…. even on short flights….
For flights like that, with class and courtesy renewed (like the Gulf carriers — ahem), sure, I might be be inclined to tip. (though back then, it would have been unheard of….)
But now…. when you fly long haul with American (after gutting what was left of USAir & Piedmont), you get treated to FA’s spending most of their time with nothing to do, other than chatting loudly with each other and attending to PAYING stiffs…..
and yet the suggestion will soon be that if we want service in the cramped quarters of the aluminum tube in the sky, those of us with means should lord it over the rest of the folks in the same tube…..
Race to the bottom.
end of rant
When it comes to tipping flight attendants … or anyone … why not just do what
you feel like doing ? You don’t need approval .
Well said!
Having once being married to a United employee, I never tip with material items.
However, I do do the following:
1. FA’s: A big smile “thank you” and a squeeze of the hand [they do remember, believe me!]
2. Flight crew: A “thank you” and “Great Flight” for a good flight, a “thank you” and “Good Job” with a knowing look when bad stuff happened in the air.
THEY TRULY APPRECIATE THE RECOGNITION!
Oh, almost forgot: A super service letter to the employee’s file at the airline HQ works wonders for the employee!