From Poopy Passengers To Kooky Coworkers: 24 Wild Work Encounters For Airline Staff

9.

“I’ve long since retired, so this incident happened *many* years ago. In my experience, most passengers were perfectly fine. Typically, those wearing suits were the BEST. Business flyers know the rules and routine well. They’re usually the last people to cause any issues. But NOT this guy. I was working first class, headed from Houston to LAX. A man in a business suit came onboard. He only stood out due to being a bit loud and overly gregarious. No big deal. Sometimes, nervous flyers behave that way. We understand. During the flight, Mr. Suit had three *strong* drinks while loudly talking to his increasingly annoyed seatmate. That poor guy was apparently a stranger to Mr. Suit. He eventually moved a couple of rows up to the only open seat. He enjoyed the remainder of the flight next to another passenger who was deep into a good read.”

“Upon landing, Mr. Suit rang his call button, then demanded a bottle of wine to take off the plane. I informed him that providing such a ‘gift’ would break federal laws, and so we had to politely decline his request. He then busted out the clichéd, ‘DO you know WHO I AM?!’ I replied that he appeared to be ‘someone who *may* be met by security at the gate’ if he continued his current behavior. He demanded my last name and badge number and said all he’d need was my first name and the flight number to file his formal complaint. 

I retook my jumpseat as we finished our journey to the gate. Mr. Suit scowled at me as he exited, placing his face two inches from mine in a final bullying gesture. Then, he stumbled onto the jetway, strongly smelling of alcohol. His former seatmate had just handed me his business card and a note he’d quickly written to describe the incident in case I needed backup. 

We crew members looked up Mr. Suit’s name on the flight manifest, but none of us recognized him as anyone famous (not that it would have mattered). This was before the internet, so I never learned why he thought he was so very important that any flight attendant would risk their career for him. I made sure to inform my supervisor just in case he filed a complaint once he sobered up. The supervisor just chuckled and rolled his eyes.”

—Anonymous