While these days flying can be a hassle, there is still some mystery for travelers when it comes to what goes on behind-the-scenes, and now some experts are here to clue folks in on things they probably should know.
Someone posed the question on Reddit, “People who work in the airline industry, what are some things you think everyone should know about flying?,” and folks were glad to chime in with interesting, and sometimes helpful tidbits.
Responses include:
- "Former pilot here — turbulence will break your nose or your neck before it knocks the plane out of the sky. Buckle up when the light is on and take comfort in the fact that turbulence hasn’t crashed a plane since the 1970s."
- "Both pilots are equally qualified — the captain just has more responsibility and more experience (usually). We trade off who is flying and who is monitoring the radios every other flight (sometimes every two flights)."
- "There is very little we can actually do to 'make-up time.' The longer the flight, the more we can do, but still, we're talking 5-10 minutes, not an hour."
- "There are no parachutes on commercial flights, so please stop asking. Parachutes require training on how to use. Accidents rarely happen mid-air. Therefore, having them wouldn't make sense/be practical."
- "Interfering with the air crew is a felony. If you have grievances, you can address them with the airline after you disembark."
- "We fly with broken sh*t on the airplane all the time. We have a list that tells us what can be broken and still be able to fly safely and legally."
- "Your tastebuds are reduced by 30-60% on flights. So more salt and seasoning are added to the food so it doesn't seem bland. Might also be the reason so many people crave tomato juice or bloody mary mix ONLY on planes."
- “Every bag gets thrown. The sorting system isn’t soft. Containers get filled by thrown bags. Get a good bag and stop worrying."
Source: BuzzFeed