The Five Things Flight Attendants Look For During the Safety Demonstration
If you’ve ever wondered what flight attendants look for during the safety demonstration, or if you know a flight attendant and want to see the crazy things we notice when we’re not even trying, then this is the blog post for you.
Here are five things I’ve noticed most recently:
* 1. People who put their bags in their lap during the safety demonstration (I can’t tell you how many people do this. It’s ridiculous.). People who put their bags in their lap during the safety demonstration are much more likely to not listen to directions and follow along with the video. When a flight attendant tells them to stow it under his seat because it’s blocking his view of a row of passengers, he’ll say something like, “But I already did that.” No, he didn’t. He was busy with his bag.
* 2. The seat belt sign is on but someone is standing up in front of the lavatory door while they wait for it to open (I know they can’t help it when someone’s using the lavatory, but if I have to walk past them more than once because they’re standing in my way, I’m going to lose my
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about flight attendants and the safety demonstration. Some passengers find it annoying and others find it helpful, but most people don’t realize what flight attendants are actually looking for during the safety demonstration.
Here are five things that we look for:
1. How you’re seated. Is your seat belt fastened? Are you sitting up straight or are you reclined? Are your feet placed firmly on the floor and not obstructing any of the exits?
2. How good you look in an emergency slide suit. Okay, okay… it’s a joke! We love our jobs, but we have a sense of humor too!
3. If you’re paying attention to the safety demonstration. Are you listening to the safety announcement? Are you watching the video or do you have your earphones plugged into your ears watching a movie? Are you staring at the exit sign above your head trying to figure out how tall it is?
4. What kind of questions you ask us during the safety demonstration. There are always those few who think they know more than we do and try to correct us in front of everyone else onboard. Others ask questions that show they truly care about their own safety while onboard our aircrafts.
5. How
For the safety demonstration, Flight Attendants stand near their exit doors. As they perform their duties, we watch them closely.
The flight attendants know that once the plane is in the air, we are going to pay very little attention to what they say. So they want to get some useful information across during the safety demonstration.
The three important things to remember are:
1) Whether or not the seats by your exit door recline.
2) Where the nearest exits are.
3) How to inflate your life vest.
The fourth thing we look for is whether or not people will listen if there is an emergency and we need their attention. We can see who actually pays attention when we give them instructions like “remain seated with your seat belts fastened.” The people who listen during the safety demonstration will probably listen during an emergency too. These people tend to be a little older and have more life experience but that’s just a rule of thumb, it doesn’t mean teens won’t listen too.
Finally, flight attendants watch for people who don’t care about safety at all. In every plane there are always a few people who don’t take off their headphones or even look up from their laptops during the whole demonstration. These
If you’re like most travelers, you probably don’t pay much attention to the safety demonstration that flight attendants perform before takeoff. They get their little wagons out with their life vests and their oxygen masks, they point to a few things, and then they tell you to read the cards in front of your seat. It’s all very boring, and the flight attendant seems bored too. But don’t be fooled by this display of nonchalance. Behind the scenes, there is a lot going on.
First of all, flight attendants are always looking for people who are not paying attention. If you are reading a book, or listening to music with headphones on (which you should never do), or if you have fallen asleep before the plane has even taken off — trust me: The flight attendant has noticed. And she will remember you if something happens during the flight! She will say to herself, “There’s that guy who was reading his book while I was doing the safety demonstration.” And then she will give you a dirty look and refuse to help when disaster strikes.
So what should you do? Pay attention! You may think that it’s enough to just look up every once in a while and see what the other passengers are doing — but no! The
On the ground, a flight attendant might be a little more relaxed in their gestures and movements. In the air, however, it is an entirely different story. You will see flight attendants with perfect posture and very controlled body movements. This is due to the fact that they are demonstrating on an aircraft seat.
Airlines have specific seats that we train with during our initial training and also during recurrent training. These seats are made to look like typical aircraft seats (window or aisle). We train on these seats so that when we demonstrate on the aircraft during the flight, our bodies are already used to being in this position.
There are some things, however, that even the most experienced flight attendant struggles with when demonstrating on an aircraft seat:*
1) The armrests prevent us from using full arm motions.*
2) The tray tables limit how far we can reach for an item.*
3) We cannot use the same gestures that we use on the ground.*
4) The seat belt buckle is not easy to get out of.*
5) Using a belt extender adds even more bulk.*
Because of this, flight attendants must find a way of adjusting our movements to make them as clear as possible for passengers in a