"Treats" and "goodie bags" for flight attendants - why?

Free drinks? No kidding. Probably people just being nice.

If I was flight crew I wouldn't use, much less eat any product that was given to me by a passenger. The world is just too big and random.

I'm going to guess that a whole lot of the stuff in goody bags gets a hearty "thank you! You're so sweet." And then go straight in the garbage.

I don't think it is all that common. It certainly isn't my practice.

I agree. Is it transactional - do they hope for an upgrade or free drinks? Do they hand out gifts to everyone who serves them in any capacity? I know FAs work really hard and are there for our safety - but that goes for so many workers. Perhaps these are travelers who fly the same route regularly and have built a relationship. Or maybe it's more of the US's love affair with tipping everyone everywhere. OK, those who do this - fill us in.

Some think if they do so they will get better service. Some people just like to do it. I don’t and I don’t think it is necessary. Just my opinion.

I see a lot of this discussion on a FB page I belong to for an airline FF program. I just can't imagine doing this and trying to figure out how many staff will be on board, then carrying the goodie bags and contents. I've done it for friends I was traveling with and that was fun but it was a max of 4! I don't think the FAs expect this!

Starbucks cards and local candy seem to be in the lead for things to give out.

So now we are expected to tip the flight attendants?

I've never heard of this. Does the goodie bag count against the carryon luggage limit?

A couple of months ago, I bought a sealed box of chocolates for a group of gate agents at CDG. The flight I was supposed to take home had rolling delays, was maybe flying/maybe not due to a maintenance issue. The agents helped me got to another flight that was taking off later, so I had time on my hands and needed lunch. I saw the GA's were getting a bit roughed up by some other passengers, so along with my sandwich got the chocolates. When the dust settled (that flight did eventually leave) I handed it to the lead, thanked her again, then turned around and walked away. I was neither expecting nor received anything in return, was just trying to recognize their hard work. Only time I've done this, but they seemed to appreciate it.

Larry:

So now we are expected to tip the flight attendants?

Not at all. The discussion was about "treats" and "goodie bags". AFAIK, FAs are forbidden from accepting tips. But they are permitted to accept a small, inexpensive gift. I hope these so called "goodie bags" don't contain any hand made food stuffs. Surely people aren't that stupid. My daughter was once given a box of Godiva chocolates as a Christmas present by one of her classes. The next day, while boarding a long haul flight, she passed it along to her FA, asking her to share it with her team. While absolutely not her intent, she did get several top ups on her sparkling wine.

But I think most cabin crew would appreciate a well behaved and cooperative cabin full of passengers more than a pile of stuff they have to figure out what to do with.

I was a gate passenger services agent once. As some chocolate or stuff may have ingredients like tree nuts that many are allergic to, it is horrible idea to give that as .sympathy. Airline personnel are trained to deal with delays, lost baggage, and the anger this triggers in passengers. We liked to get cash secretly given to us when no one was looking, as this is against the rules of airlines, or monetary awards or extra travel benefits from management based on the good feedback management got from customers.

I've heard of people with children/babies doing that and not only a small gift to flight attendants but also folks sitting around them.

I read once that Sarah Murdoch, former RS guide and of "Adventures with Sarah", did the chocolate/goodie bags. At the time, I thought it was a little odd, and I still do.

How about a smile, kind words, and knowing drink and food preference so the flight attendants don't have to keep repeating as they move through the plane.

”But I think most cabin crew would appreciate a well behaved and cooperative cabin full of passengers more than a pile of stuff they have to figure out what to do with.”

I agree. I haven’t nor do I intend to bring items along on a flight for flight attendants. What you can do is mention them by name during the surveys emailed to you after a flight to share that someone went above the normal expectations.

I have a friend who is a senior flight attendant for Delta Airlines, (which is probably the Facebook group where this is such a popular event. It’s turned into a competition on there to see how much people can “claim to be giving”. (there is some definite exaggeration going on in that group)

All I can say is if you get her and you try to give her a gift of cash she’s going to be insulted, you’re not going to get free drinks and better service. She feels like she’s professional and she’s not a waitress working for your tip. So be careful.

It seems pretty bizarre- I'd certainly not heard of it before (alhough I don't fly in the US normally). You're paying for your ticket, and you deserve (and generally receive) good service. In return, crew deserve to be treated politely and with respect as the professionals they are. Giving a gift seems weird, and I would have thought unwanted as well.

As we were coming out of the worst of the pandemic and people were starting to fly again, it seemed like there were an unusually high number of violent or rude airline passengers. The first time I flew (I think toward the end of 2021) on a domestic flight around the holidays, I took big gourmet chocolate bars, each tied with a ribbon, one for each check-in desk person, gate agent, and flight crew. They all seemed very pleasantly surprised. The flight attendant gave me a huge smile every time she passed by. The crew in the cockpit squabbled over who got which flavor. I got nothing in return except the joy of knowing that, on that day, some very hard-working people knew their efforts were appreciated.

I have a friend who was a FA with a major airline and know how hard they work.
I have twice brought bars of Lindt chocolate for the FA’s on my flights, and they were so happy to be recognized.
I always try to be a super polite passenger, and did not want or expect anything in return.
As a nurse, we also worked hard….and dealt with the public….(roll eyes)…and we always appreciated a kind gesture from patients and families.
It’s just a way of thanking someone who is working hard for you.

It's something I've seen from 'influencers' who have claimed that they've received better service, upgrades etc most of which I believe is exaggeration or simply not true. Cue a slew of gullible people who think they're going to receive the same and hence the deluge of competitive gift giving (allegedly) and so called bragging rights. It's a sad indictment of our social media driven world and I believe most of it is false.

If you want to receive an upgrade be prepared to pay for it officially and/or hold a high airline loyalty status. As for receiving better service, simply being polite will do.

I wonder if some day tipping or gift bags or whatever you want to call it will expand to now unheard of levels.

Why not tip the pilot, your health care provider, sanitation workers, or... anyone providing a service?

As for free drinks, well, I'd suggest alcohol will make you even more dehydrated. Drink more water and you will thank me upon arrival on a long haul flight. You will feel much better.

Dick, you should do standup comedy.

Most people would love to be given a sealed box of chocolates or bag of Hershey's kisses. You should do this for your child's teachers too! Not to get special treatment but just to brighten their day.

Cjean: The old duck text. if it looks like a tip, it walks like a tip, it talks like a tip, then it’s a tip. That it is not hard currency is irrelevant, it is the offering of something to curry additional favors. Will the next step be a line on your airline ticket purchase to complete to offer these? Will Europeans flying on their European lines now be complaining that American tipping culture is messing them up? What’s next- train conductors? Bus drivers?

I'm assuming there must be policy against flight crew eating something (or using lotion, cosmetics, etc) given by a passenger. Even a "sealed" bag of candy could be dosed with acid for instance, or worse, via a slim hypodermic needle. I for one don't want the people in charge of my flight staying safe and in the air ingesting ANYTHING handed to them by a stranger.

I'm certain that 9 out of 10 gifts to flight crews are 100% just a nice person being nice. The thoughtfulness is sweet. And then the other 10% a little play at quid pro quo. But if it becomes a normative practice, it becomes a window for bad people looking to do bad things.

This practice may have become more common when people started flying again during the pandemic. With so much bad passenger behavior, many travelers felt bad about what FAs had to put up with. I heard more than once of someone buying a bunch of $5 Starbucks GCs and handing them out to the FAs as a "thank you, I appreciate you" gesture.

I have also heard of parents traveling with infants handing out little bags containing earplus and chocolate to the passengers in the rows around them.

Perhaps if one feels a need to provide some type of gift, then when leaving the plane seems like the best time, so it doesn't appear like you're bribing the flight attendants.

Parents are often bringing in sweets of some sort for teachers. I'd suggest a fruit or vegetable bowl would be more considerate as we have a LOT of overweight and obese staff, which of course leads to myriad health problems. Really, they need to eat less junk.

Big Mike, down here we consider chocolate to be a vegetable(its a bean), like hummus is made from chickpeas, so quite appropriate for teachers.

"(which is probably the Facebook group where this is such a popular event. It’s turned into a competition on there to see how much people can “claim to be giving”. (there is some definite exaggeration going on in that group)"

@Carol...nail-->head....exactly...the Sky Miles Life group. I'm not sure what I joined for because you are right it's a lot of competition and "let me top that" behavior. Yuck. Fortunately I don't look at it so it's not really in my FB feed unless I go looking for it.

It seems to me that the subject of "tipping" FAs has come up before here, and if I'm not mistaken, there was some support for the idea. Nevertheless, the idea of giving (and accepting) gifts seems to undermine that whole idea of FAs being trained professionals doing a job to ensure safety, rather than underpaid restaurant servers. As BMWBGV suggests, gift the pilot and luggage handlers if you want to thank someone.

And there seems to be some little old-fashioned stereotypes in assuming they're all chocolate-loving females. As a 21st Century male, I can't imagine it being socially acceptable for me to give a gift to either male or female FAs in what is purely a business relationship. .

I always find interesting the differing views that are driven by our life experiences.

In the industry I've worked in for decades, the front-line workers go to customer's homes and provide a service. These workers are not only stereotypically male, they are in fact almost exclusively male (90%+).

These workers, on occasion, receive both cash tips or some other gift, which is often food. This can range from lemons from the tree in the customer's backyard, to home-made cookies, to, yes, boxes of chocolates.

I certainly cannot speak for all the workers in my industry, but in my experience these gifts are received with thanks, and the understanding that they are a token of appreciation.

I do understand that this isn't everybody's experience, so appreciate reading the viewpoints of others.

I walked away from that Delta SkyMiles group. . But I can tell you that I know someone who posted there. And he posted this big long story about how much he gives the flight attendants. He’s never given a penny. but every time the tipping the flight attendant comes up he shows up with his big gifts that he gives away.

Of course the truth is he has not been on a plane in years

My sister-in-law is a flight attendant for Delta, and the only time she has accepted a gift was if it was from someone she knew, or there was some special thing going on that warranted it (for example, like someone posted above, a person offering the entire crew a box of chocolate to share). But having some random person give her a gift would make her uncomfortable, so she just tells them she's not allowed to accept it.

Our very 1st First Class flight was Delta One, LAX to Boston in fall 2021. After reading about all of the crazies on planes, I thought it would be nice to give something to the FAs. I made little drawstring bags, & put in unscented hand cream, hand sanitizer from Bath & Bodyworks, chapstick, & a handful of Dove chocolates. I had enough for all of the FAs, & gave them to ours after meal service. She passed them out, & every FA came by to say thank you. Our FA wrote a lovely note, saying that we'd made her day, as she'd never flown that route, & was worried about problem passengers. I believe she gave us a few snacks when we were leaving, but the note was way more important to me. It never hurts to be kind.

I started giving bags of wrapped chocolates to flight attendants shortly before the pandemic. I just realized that this was an opportunity to add a little extra smile to somebody’s day. I get the mixed Lindt truffles or Ghirardelli squares, or if I’m really lucky the snack size of Tony’s Chocolonelys; those are the best! If it’s a long flight I get the larger bag since there are usually more flight attendants on those planes, and a smaller bag for shorter hops. I don’t worry about counting how many flight attendants will be present; I just hand the bag to the person who is usually standing at the door welcoming us and handing out sanitizing wipes as we board, saying “Here is a little thank you for all of the hard work that you all do to keep us safe and comfortable.”

I always get a smile in return, and often other FAs will stop by my seat during the flight to thank me. Sometimes I have gotten extra treats or a note of thanks, which is nice, but that’s not why I do it. I agree with gototea that there is always room for more kindness in the world.