Working as a flight attendant offers a good study in personalities as we watch how people react to situations or we watch for body language and what that can tell us. Here are some of my observations working on an Embraer 170 and 175 Regional jet that seat 76 or 86 passengers.

It’s interesting, and sometimes entertaining, to observe passengers trying to place a 14 inch bag in the 11 inch overhead space. Oh, and the look of confusion, then frustration, and some embarrassment when we realize it will not fit, even if I’m told it fit before. I enjoy watching the elderly gentleman walk on board the aircraft, ticket stub in one hand reading glasses in the other and no baggage. 🙂

Weather delays or mechanical delays can mess up the best laid plans for travelers. It’s not unusual to have passengers hitting their call buttons to ask us about their connecting flights. We can feel helpless in these situations as we know very little about what is going to happen 1-2 hours from now. Time travel is what people want rather than being present to where they are, after all they are taking traveling. My response; turn you phone off and fasten your seatbelt. We go nowhere until they do. Just kidding. 🙂

Some passengers wear suits or a sport coat, nice dresses, casual slacks, and loafers. While some passengers wear pajamas, really short shorts/mini-skirts, or pants halfway down their butts (which requires one hand to always hold them up), flip-flops, and tank tops. The second group almost always asks for blankets and pillows then get frustrated because we do not carry them on our size of aircraft. Dress for the occasion: layer next time. 🙂

But, and there’s always a but, we do feel for those who have been traveling for the past 20 hours and sometimes with small children. Or those who are on their way to a funeral, or going say good-bye to a dying family member or friend, or carrying the ashes of a daughter killed in a war, or are afraid to fly, or have constant back pain, a bum knee. The list could go on but will say that a good flight attendant will observe body and facial language. When we see those signs we try our best to make the next hour or two a pleasant experience for them. More importantly we want to get them to their destination safely because maybe they are going to see their new grandbaby.

Not really a post about photography but what the heck, it was on my mind. Okay, I’m done ranting.