Why flight attendants hate it when you press the call button (and why you shouldn’t stop doing it)
A cabin crew website asks when the flight attendant call button can be pressed.
- It matters which airline you fly with. An Asian or Middle Eastern airline may not be a problem for you, but flight attendants in the US often hate them.
- It matters what phase of the flight you are in. During taxiing, takeoff and landing, cabin crew may not be able to fulfill drink requests. During boarding, they may be busy or may miss you during meal service.
- It matters what class of service you are in. Although business class passengers are sometimes treated shabbily, their wishes are more likely to be accommodated than are economy class passengers.
However, this describes how to predict a flight attendant’s reaction. It doesn’t really answer the question of whether or not pressing the call button is the right thing to do. In other words, if you are met with contempt, is it because you did something wrong when you pressed the button, or was the flight attendant wrong to treat you that way?
The WashingtonPost is supposed to offer “The 52 Most Important Rules of Flight” as a guide to airline etiquette. Although it sounds mostly superficial, they claim that “the flight attendant button is not a vodka and tonic button.”
Think of it as heaven’s distress call – something to be used in an emergency, not to quench your thirst.
I once wrote about a Delta Airlines flight attendant who warned a passenger, “DO NOT TOUCH THAT BUTTON AGAIN,” after he used it to order a drink.
The president of the largest flight attendants’ union, Sara Nelson, says you should never press the flight attendants’ call button for a drink. She has even tried to get the government to ban alcohol on airplanes, which would limit her members’ service. (She has also tried to get the federal government to ban leisure travel during the pandemic.)
This is 100% wrong.
- The alternative to pressing the call button to tell a flight attendant that you would like a drink is go to the galleyHowever, flight attendants do not want to push a constant stream of passengers toward the galley and block the aisles, and airlines often announce that people are not allowed to gather in the galley.
- In Ms Nelson’s world, passengers would simply not drink. Cabin crew would not provide service. And people would sit back and keep their mouths shut about it.
- The call button exists. What does she think it’s for? She says it’s there so individual passengers can press it to identify themselves when asked to do so by a crew member. And if you’re going to use it for something like a glass of water, you’d better damn well have some compelling moral justification for doing so (“Maybe you’re a mother holding a baby and you need help”).
- However, the airlines themselves claim otherwise. For example, Emirates flight attendants were reminded Do not ignore the passenger call buttonAccording to this airline, it is not the “911 of the sky”. In fact, They monitor response times to customer requests.
- It is not an “emergency button” but a call button. If you need a drink, it is best to let a crew member know that you need one.
Flight attendants don’t “just” serve drinks. Most airlines have them on board because the FAA requires them to do so, as they are assigned safety duties. (Although airlines often employ more cabin crew than necessary, especially on international flights, to provide better service.) However, on most flights, flight attendants do not perform safety duties for the majority of the flight and may ignore the call button if there are more pressing matters.
So the flight attendant call button is ultimately there to get a flight attendant’s attention. That said, if you need a drink, just ask. But be aware that you may have to wait, and if you’re flying Spirit, you may have to pay for it. Your crew member may also make you wait out of spite for pressing the call button.
