Are you supposed to tip flight attendants?

We spoke to American Airlines, Delta, and United, and each airline generally discourages flight attendants from accepting tips. That's pretty much the rule across the board — except for Frontier Airlines. In 2019, the airline introduced tipping options for onboard purchases of food and drink.



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Given all this discussion, you might be wondering if you should tip the flight attendants you interact with during your travels. While it's true that flight attendants serve you food and beverages, we don't advise offering them tips.

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We spoke to American Airlines, Delta, and United, and each airline generally discourages flight attendants from accepting tips. That's pretty much the rule across the board — except for Frontier Airlines. In 2019, the airline introduced tipping options for onboard purchases of food and drink.

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Flight attendants are allowed to receive small gifts from passengers, and there are no hard and fast rules to doing so, other than not to put you both in an uncomfortable situation: Cash bribe attempts at an upgrade, for example, simply won't fly (pun intended).

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When airport porters help you check your bags curbside, you should tip $2 for the first bag and $1 for each additional bag; over-sized bags should be tipped at a rate of $2 per bag. No tip is required if you wheel your own bags to the check-in counter.

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Ashlee Loree, a flight attendant for Delta, sees most gifts as a kind gesture that brightens her day and gives her hope. “We are all doing our best and trying our hardest every day, and we are so grateful when that doesn't go unnoticed,” she said.

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When you're standing there going 'buh-bye, thank you, take care' etc when you see someone you fancy, you say 'cheerio'. Cheerio!

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How to make your flight attendant like you
  1. Say hi back. If a flight attendant greets you upon boarding, don't just ignore them. ...
  2. Listen to the safety demo. It's just polite. ...
  3. Headphones off! ...
  4. Be specific when ordering. ...
  5. Same for cold drinks. ...
  6. Say please and thank you. ...
  7. Magazines! ...
  8. Treats.


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When in doubt, especially if you've experienced service that goes above and beyond, it never hurts to offer a tip to the person helping. In most cases, if it's an airline employee, he or she will decline taking your money. For airport employees, tips ($5 is customary) are appreciated.

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Do you tip at the airport? How much do you tip for baggage? Senning recommends $1 or $2 per bag for curbside baggage handlers and offsite airport shuttle drivers who help load and unload luggage.

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Flight attendants are not paid for boarding to help airlines save money and lower ticket and in-flight purchases for customers. Traditionally most airlines have conducted business this way.

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Because their first concern is safety, what flight attendants notice about you has much to do with your ability to keep yourself and others safe. They'll make a mental note of passengers who are in good shape and who can help lift heavy items and lend a hand if necessary.

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The unnamed cabin crew member who called the show explained: “We have a little game called 'find the Bob' and basically Bob stands for best on board. So, you just find the best looking person on the plane and you call them Bob the whole day.

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Flight benefits for family and friends
Some airlines also provide additional free flights in the form of buddy passes. Flight attendants usually receive a certain number of passes within a year, and they can give them to friends or other family members.

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We will not refuse it. Thats a VERY nice gesture and it is appreciated, never expected. FAs deal with alot of nasty attitudes so a simple surprise goes a long way in brightening our day.

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It varies, but many flight attendants easily make six figures a year. This is because they fly a lot, are topped out in pay, and have great seniority at one of the highest-paying airlines.

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Though this is a great advantage for the guests, oftentimes it devalues the work of housekeepers due to people forgetting that they're even doing work or should be tipped. Despite this, you should definitely tip your housekeeper if you're staying at any kind of hotel, even if it's just for one night.

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While flight attendants spend most of the flight providing service to customers, unlike other people in service industries, they shouldn't be tipped. There's no expectation to tip flight attendants, and for that matter some airlines have policies against tipping flight attendants.

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