What Flight Attendants Wish Passengers Knew About "The Rules"

Ever feel like your flight attendants are just out to nag you? In this episode, we’re pulling back the galley curtain to explain why those “annoying” reminders—seat belts, tray tables, and stowing your bag—are actually life-saving safety protocols. From clear-air turbulence to last-minute emergencies, we walk through the real reasons why the little things we ask of passengers matter in a big way. Trust us, it’s not about being on a power trip—we genuinely care. We’re also sharing a wild in-flight story, including an unforgettable moment that had us questioning everything we thought we knew about carry-ons (spoiler: it involves a baby in an overhead bin). 

Episode Highlights:

[0:21] Why passengers think flight attendants are “nagging”
 [2:13] The 90-second evacuation rule—and why it drives everything we do
 [3:58] Why seat belts matter beyond turbulence
 [5:32] Seat belt signs during cruise—yes, still important!
 [7:31] Turbulence is getting worse—and pilots don’t always get it right
 [8:12] Overhead bins, under-seat storage, and the chaos of loose bags
 [10:27] Yes, even pilots sometimes break the rules (and we call them out)
 [11:48] If you ask whether you can get up—then don’t listen—why did you ask?
 [13:09] Why you should actually pay attention to the safety demo
[16:29] We’re not nagging. We just want you safe.
[17:18] What Would Two Guys Do? — Drew’s wildest inflight story: Baby on an overhead bin. 

Transcript

Rich: 0:00

You ever wondered what your flight attendants are really talking about behind the galley curtain?

Andrew: 0:06

Welcome to Two guys on a plane. Your go to podcast for an insider look at flight attendant life. We're your hosts, rich and Drew, and we're here to tell you what really goes on at 35,000 feet. So sit back, relax. We're ready for takeoff. Welcome back, friends. It's two guys on a plane, and today we are going to talk about why you think the flight attendant is always nagging you.

Rich: 0:30

Yes, the age old question, why are my flight attendants always nagging me? We hear that a lot from passengers on the plane and off the plane, especially from people in social settings. They'll be like, Why are they always bothering me about all these little, little things? It's driving me crazy. Who cares about my tray table? Who cares about my seat back? Who cares if my bag is all the way into the seat?

Andrew: 0:51

We do?

Rich: 0:52

We do?

Andrew: 0:52

We care? There are reasons why we care. So let's talk about it. So just diving right in with in light of recent events, why do you think people think we're nagging them?

Rich: 1:01

Yeah, I think, I think this is a really important conversation, especially in recent light of, you know, the incidents that have been happening in aviation, I feel like our industry kind of ebbs and flows. There's, you know, sometimes these things come in threes, and it's like there'll be crashes or accidents or different incidents that happen that kind of really make us, you know, rethink about what our job is as flight attendants and what we're doing on the jump seat. And I think it also makes passengers think more about this. So we really wanted to get into it today to talk about, you know, some of these smaller things that might seem insignificant or, you know, not important in that moment of, you know, flight safety, but we can tell you honestly, everything flight attendants do is rooted in safety. Everything we do is for you and to keep you safe and to keep everyone on board safe, even the silly things, like, when it comes down to stuff like, you know, your tray table being stowed. A lot of times, people don't think, you know, what's the big deal about this, but in the event of an emergency or a crash or something like that, where we need to get people out of the airplane quickly, I think people don't realize that two seconds it takes to move that tray table out of the way could cost somebody's life.

Andrew: 2:13

Yeah, well, I think we have to start at the beginning, right, like we are trained to evacuate any size airplane in 90 seconds, 90 seconds or less. So that is not a lot of time. One and two. That's every airplane, no matter how many passengers are on the plane. So those are things that we're always considering when we're walking through the aisle. Is, how do we get 240 people off this airplane in 90 seconds?

Rich: 2:40

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that once you put that mindset into your brain and kind of think about all the other rules that you feel like you're following on an airplane, it starts to make sense why we're doing that.

Andrew: 2:52

So let's start with the basic one, seat belt. Why are we nagging people for seat belts?

Rich: 2:58

Well, and this is a great one, because I think people are used to seat belts in one context, which is obviously riding along in your car, and the importance of that, but I think in this context, it's a lot more than just, you know, keeping you strapped into your seat. It's keeping you strapped into your seat in all of the different situations that could occur, whether that's turbulence. You might think you're riding along in a smooth flight. You never know when clear air turbulence could take that plane and drop the plane a few you know, a few feet, more than a few feet, but you know that sort of thing can lift you out of your seat, and you can get really hurt if you're not strapped into your seat, as well as you know moments on the ground you've got taxi and things like that, where other planes are out there. It's like riding your car down the highway. A plane could bump into another plane. A plane could stop abruptly. There are a lot of different reasons why keeping that seat belt sign on for the entire flight as much as you can really will make a difference.

Andrew: 3:58

Yeah, and I think that particularly doing ground movement, just driving, you know, to and from the runway while we're out on taxiways. I think people forget that we're in a very giant piece of machinery, absolutely and it takes a lot to move. It takes a lot of force to move it while we're on the ground. It takes a lot of force to stop it. And there are so many other things out on the taxiways. There are tugs, there are, like, delivery trucks. There are, you know, planes, other planes on the runway, and so there's a lot of movement and a lot of things that are being watched, and the airplane stops abruptly. So, I mean, particularly during taxi, that's why we're so adamant that you're in your seat with your seat belt fastened one it's a federal regulation. Obviously, our job is there to remind you of those. I think that people forget that we're in a giant piece of machinery with other giant machinery around us, because they see just the small bit of the airplane that they're in.

Rich: 4:53

Yeah, it's so true. And they think, Okay, I'm in, I'm in my seat. Like, what? What could possibly happen? And I feel like that's a. People's brains go, and it's like the possibilities are endless, so endless to six weeks of flight and learn about all the possibilities of things that can happen,

Andrew: 5:09

right? Well, and the same for takeoff, right? Like we can't take off if anyone's up out of their seat. And again, I'm going to go back to a giant piece of machinery being thrown into the air that it takes a lot of force to get an airplane up. It really does. And we want you safe, because we don't know how the weather is, what the wind is, what could go wrong. I mean, literally anything could go wrong. So we want you seated with your seat belts on

Rich: 5:32

absolutely and I think people often think there's like, a safe part of the flight, so to speak, like we're cruising along say, you know, on a longer flight you want to take a nap. You might be more comfortable with your seat belts off, but I promise you, it's still not a great idea. I remember, I was working a flight last summer, some red eye from like LA to Philly or something like that. And I remember this guy, he was just he came on half asleep anyway, which Good for him. It's a red eye flight. You should be half asleep. I'm excited for you to take the best nap of your life. But where I'm walking through the cabin, and it's, you know, pretty dark, we're done the service. Everything's quiet, everyone's sleeping. And I see in the aisle his seat belt just kind of dangling there. And so I know he's not buckled in. I know the seat belt sign is on too. And so I woke him up and I told him to put his seat belts on. And I think a lot of people think, Gosh, how annoying is this flight attendant. You just woke me up. I'm trying to get sleep on this red eye before I go about my day the next day. And you woke me up for that. And I didn't say this to this guy, but all I could think in that moment was like, Yeah, I woke you up for this. You're not gonna sleep through turbulence where you hit the ceiling, so like, you're gonna be a lot better off if you're sitting in your seat with your seat belt on, like, and people just really see it as us just being annoying and looking through and being on a power trip and asking about very specific things. But you know, the reality is we really, truly honest to God, want you to be safe. We want all of our passengers, all we're looking for. And it seems like nagging, but we're not. It's we genuinely care,

Andrew: 7:10

yeah, and regardless of what you think, you don't fly more than us, right? You're one flight to wherever we did floor today. You did not fly more than us. You don't fly more than us, but I think that also the weather is changing a lot, and it's been consistently more turbulent in the last couple years than I remember in my career.

Rich: 7:31

Oh, absolutely, yeah. I mean, it just seems like every every year, especially in the summer, with summer storms like it, just these rides get bumpier and bumpier and more unpredictable too. I mean, we often joke the pilots are always okay goes going to be a smooth flight today, and we're like, sure

Andrew: 7:48

the moment he says that we are in for bumping up the whole flight

Rich: 7:52

like we I, I love the pilots to death, but, like a lot of times, these turbulence reports are inaccurate, so we always kind of have to err on the side of caution. But what are some other little rules and federal aviation regulations you feel like we have to comply with as flight attendants that drive passengers crazy, that they might not understand why we do

Andrew: 8:12

The other big one for me are the bags. I think that we're it. always asking people to put tray tables up, but I think that, like visually, you can see how that would block people. I mean, so why that would be? We would need that up at certain times. But I don't think people truly understand the significance of their bags, or, you know why it needs to be in an overhead bin, or underneath the seat, like, fully underneath the seat, and not just literally stuck at your feet. I don't think people see it as the tripping hazard that it is, or the loose object that's going to roll around if we get tossed around.

Rich: 8:47

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I The things like even a backpack strap leaning out into the aisle. I mean, that can be hazardous, whether it's a flight attendant walking through and maybe tripping, uh, you know, on a regular day, or if it's in an emergency situation, if someone gets stuck, I think people don't really want to face the reality of worst case scenario, which I get you want to feel safe and comfortable within, you know, your flight and within the plane. But when you really think about how some of these scenarios might play out, you start to see why these things are important. You know, we ask you to tuck that bag all the way under with the strap all the way tucked in, because that one thing could have such a ripple effect. If that bag is out a little bit and the person next to you, or even you are rushing it out of, say, a burning airplane, if that you trip and fall, someone could trip and fall on you. You could get trampled. I mean, I know these things are not, not things people want to think about on a regular basis, but, you know, I do wish sometimes people would think a little bit more contextually about what this might mean. And why are the flight attendants saying this?

Andrew: 9:54

it's never the window seat person either that has And their stuff out. It's always, always the seat person. And I'm like. There's two other people beside you. Think of them. I was flying the other day, and I had a dude in an exit row who, like, scoffed at me. He was sitting in the exit seat scoffed at me when I asked him to put his bag under and I was like, sir, this is literally people's way out. Like, how how do you not see what you're doing? How do you not understand? I didn't even think I was asking anything crazy? No, I had a pilot golf at me. I was like, Excuse me, sir, yeah, I beg your pardon.

Rich: 10:27

I had a pilot do this the other day, and I it's always awkward when, like, we have co workers who are flying on our flights and aren't following the rules when they're supposed to be following them. And I had this pilot sitting in the window, and he literally had a laptop out on his lap, as we're taxing, and his big like flight bag sitting by his feet, directly in front of the window. And I was like, if you don't mind, just go ahead and store your laptop and make sure your bags push all the way forward. And he goes, Yeah, I know what I'm doing. And I didn't say it in the moment, but I really wanted to be like, well, it doesn't look like you had please do it next time. But, yeah, no, just with that sort of thing. It's just really, like, there's a bigger picture here. And please trust that we're not just nagging you. We're we're really doing this for a reason. It's rooted in something,

Andrew: 11:13

right? And if you are going to ask if something is safe to do, don't disregard our answer. Like, if you're gonna get up and go to the laboratory anyways, don't ask as if you can do it, because we have to tell you that the seat belt sign is on. I mean, that's literally my job. But then for you to be like, whatever, it doesn't matter, right? Why did you ask? It obviously mattered. You know it matters. You know it matters enough to ask the person on the plane that's working there, if it's okay to be up, and when we say, No, it's not really safe, the seat belt sign is on. You're like, whatever. I have to go to the bathroom.

Rich: 11:46

Yeah, right, then, then don't ask.

Andrew: 11:48

Just do what you're gonna do. When have we ever wrestled you back into a seat?

Rich: 11:52

Oh, I want to watch. That sounds highly entertaining,

Andrew: 11:57

right? It's not. I mean, I mean, most of our job is to offer friendly reminders. We get that we understand, and I think we generally, as flight attendants, we do that really well. I think it's the perception that we're being mean when you obviously knew you shouldn't be up, or you wouldn't have asked if it was okay to be up, but then to, like, watch me walk away and disregard what I just said. Why did you ask?

Rich: 12:21

I know, and you know what I you know what I actually really love. And I'm seeing more of this lately, which I kind of appreciate, is when passengers a, when they're looking at the safety card, I kind of love that, because it's like, okay, you're invested in this, and I'm really into the fact that you're invested. And B, people that ask questions, like, I've had people not, you know, the exit row, yes, but, like, just generally, people being like, so if this happens, what, what's next? Or they ask, you know, I get, I get that you need me to do this. But, but why, right? And I don't mind answering why. Like, I actually love having that conversation with passengers, because I think it makes you a better passenger. I think it makes their, you know, a deeper, broader understanding of aviation and air travel and safety, and I think it makes for a better experience for everyone on board.

Andrew: 13:09

And I tell people all the time, take your headphones out. Like, direct your attention to the flight attendants. Like, we ask you to, like, obviously you've heard the safety demo a million times. You know how to fasten a seat belt, but all airplanes are different, right? Oxygen mask fall from different places. They're in different compartments and overhead bins. Exits are located in different places. We're telling you where those are. It's just a moment to like re familiarize yourself. When I sat down in the jump seat, I re familiarize myself with where things are and what things are doing, so that if, if it becomes necessary, I'm prepared to do it. So, like, our safety demo is for you to take a moment to, like, re familiarize yourself with what's going on, what kind of airplane you're on. It'll give you a minute to look around, take your headphones out, listen to what we're saying, because somebody sitting beside you may not have, may not be a frequent flyer like you, and it's going to prompt them to also direct their attention to the flight attendants, because they may have missed that in the announcement that we were making.

Rich: 14:08

Absolutely, yeah, everything really is rooted in safety. Another thing I always think about is when you have a passenger come on board and they left something in the terminal, and we require you, typically, to take all your stuff with you, and then we need to know where you were sitting as well before you go back into the terminal. And people are like, but I'm coming right back, like, why can't I just leave my things on the plane? And it's like, once again, this is a safety related thing. What if you get off that plane because there was something suspicious in your bag. You know, we we always kind of have this, like, flight attendants are always judging you, both in a fun way and a serious way, but like, we really just need to kind of assess every passenger and kind of suss things out and see okay, why are you getting off the plane? And if you are and take all your stuff with you, and if. You find your iPad on the terminal and get back right on board with us. That's great, but you know, if not, we need to make sure that your stuff goes with you if you get off the plane. So it's just, it's really deep rooted in, like, everything that we do, even more than you might even realize,

Unknown: 15:15

oh,

Andrew: 15:16

literally, everything that we do, from the way that we're standing during boarding, like, literally everything is safety in mind, where we're standing, how we're standing, when we're looking at you, what we're looking at, like, all of it, from the moment we check in for work until the moment we walk off that plane, our entire reason for being there is safety. So there's literally nothing we're asking or talking about that isn't because, if it's not your safety we're worried about, it's the person behind you. That's why we're asking you to bring your seat back up, right that that one's twofold, because your seat back locks, and if we hit the ground wrong, it's not going to fly forward and fold over on you, and also it's not going to be an obstacle for the person behind you to get, to get out of right? Because you've limited their space. So, like, literally everyone, and that's such a little thing that people are always like, I didn't put it back. I didn't ask if you put it back. I'm just saying it needs to come out. I know.

Rich: 16:11

I promise. I'm not nagging you. I just need to make sure all the things are done, right? That's it. So, yeah, that's our rant for today about flight attendants nagging you. It might seem like we are, but you know what, we're really not. I promise we're doing this because we care and we love you, and we want you to come back and fly with us again

Andrew: 16:29

so many times. We want you on our airplane all the time, and we want to laugh and giggle. We don't want to nag you at all.

Rich: 16:37

All right, before we go, we do have one quick segment that we want to do are, what would two guys do segment, and in this segment, we are going to feature your stories from your in flight craziness and passenger stories, whether you're a flight attendant, crew member, passenger, we've all seen some things in the skies, so please send us your submissions, and we could feature you out loud on our Podcast. So just go to two guys in a plane.com/podcast to submit your story, and we'll read them out loud on the podcast. But for today, we thought, what would be more fun than sharing our own wild and in flight stories? So today, we're going to have Andrew share what is the craziest thing that's ever happened to you on a flight. Andrew,

Andrew: 17:18

of course, he's going to put me on the spot, but the craziest thing that has happened to me on an airplane did not even happen during flight. It was during boarding.

Rich: 17:29

Oh gosh. Boarding is always chaotic.

Andrew: 17:30

Boarding is always chaotic. We had finished boarding, and at the end of every boarding, we're required to confirm how many passengers and like things are on the plane, like infants, pets, all of those things. It's our our job as flight attendants to, like, confirm the information that the agent has brought down to us is correct. So I was working an aircraft by myself. I was on a 50 seater, I guess she brought down the numbers and this many passengers, this many infants, this many wheelchairs, or other specials. And so I'm walking through the airplane and I'm doing my little count, and I'm like, I was like, Okay, well, I found all the passengers, but we don't have any infants. And she was like, No, we boarded an infant. And I said, No, you didn't. You did not board an infant. She said, you see the infant? No, I didn't see an infant. Come on. And then she tells me that there's this many people plus an infant. And I was like, Nope, no infants. And she was like, Yeah. And I was like, Okay, well, I need you to get me a seat number then, because I don't see any right? Do you remember what the person looks like or like? Help me figure this out, because I cannot find an infant on an airplane.

Rich: 18:38

Yeah, if there's a big man board, I kind of want to know where it is.

Andrew: 18:38

So she runs up to her computer, she comes back down, and she was like, okay, the infant seated in this seat. And I was like, okay, so I walk over and I like, look in the row, and there's, like, nothing that even leads me to believe that an infant was carried on. There's no diaper bag. There's no, like, toys or blankets or anything. It's just a lady sitting there. And I was like, Um, excuse me, ma'am. And she was like, Yes. And I was like, um, I'm being told that you have a baby on the plane with us today. And she said, I do. And I said, Um, okay, but where can you tell me? Where the right, where is the baby? And she was like, oh, it's in the overhead bin. And I was like, oh, excuse me. She was like, Yeah, you said to put carry on items in the overhead bin. And I carried the baby on so like I opened the overhead bin and laid out on like a pile of blankets with all of her toys is the baby.

Rich: 19:30

Like she thought her baby was a carry on item.

Andrew: 19:34

She placed her baby in the overhead bin because we had instructed them to put everything that they carried on either under the seat or in an overhead bin. And she did not think it was safe for the baby to be under the seat because it was gross, so she laid out all the blankets and put the baby at an overhead bin. So, you know, as polite as I could explain, because it's clearly a first time traveler like this isn't something we're new to. Babies obviously, like, I don't. Don't think, right? We're new to babies. We're clearly new to travel. So I politely explained, like the procedure and how the baby was supposed to travel with her on her lap, and all of those sort of things.

Rich: 20:12

What a well timed story for this episode about nagging passengers, about following the rules. Because on one hand, I really want to say, You know what good for you, lady, for listening to our announcements and doing what you're told. But also, Mom, you have a baby, and your baby should not be in an overhead compartment.

Andrew: 20:30

Mind blown. I was like, I don't, I don't even understand what? But it was so cute. The blankets were laid out. Like, I mean, basically, the only thing was missing was the thing that you put over the babies to, like, play with, because she had built a whole,

Rich: 20:43

like a whole crib, which would be fine if it was secure, and there was ventilation and all sorts of things that could be happening up there.

Andrew: 20:52

Wildest things ever happened to me. I will never, never forget this whole interaction.

Rich: 20:57

I don't think I will either.

Andrew: 20:59

So what would you have done?

Rich: 21:00

What would I have done? I mean, this one guy on a plane would probably would have had an equal combination of laughter and crying, because I It's so ridiculous, it's funny, but at the same time, like, I'm kind of worried about this mom and her baby now, like, I wish we could find her and get like, a Where are they now? Story,

Andrew: 21:21

15 years ago? Yeah, so long.

Rich: 21:24

Oh, my God, that kids in high school probably, yikes. Well, that was a good one. I love that. So yeah, keep sending us your stories. We love them, and we'll share some more of our own as the show goes on. But that's it for today's episode. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. Make sure to follow the podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and check us out on social media. We are all over the place, and we'd always love to hear from you and leave a review if you had a good time with us today.

Andrew: 21:51

Well, folks join us next time for more humor, heart and stories from our beverage cart.

Rich: 21:56

This episode was brought to you by staff traveler, the number one non rev app. If you travel on standby tickets and are looking to make your journey easy and stress free, check out the staff traveler app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Visit staff traveler.com/two guys to learn more and sign up

Buzz Burbank: 22:14

an ironic media production. Visit us at I R O N, I C, K, media.com you