As a flight attendant, I know all too well that there is one phrase that passengers use all the time that really drives cabin crew nuts and is not going to resolve a situation in the way that the customer is hoping that it will.
If you’re a flight attendant reading this, then you can probably guess exactly what I am about to say: “… But on my last flight.”
“But on my last flight…”
There are so many reasons why passengers use this phrase, and I can guarantee that the only thing it is going to do is get the backup of the flight attendant you are saying it to.
It is, of course, often used when a flight attendant has told a passenger to do something:
- Put a bag into the overhead locker for takeoff and landing.
- End a telephone conversation during the safety demonstration.
- Remove headphones while sitting at an emergency exit row.
- Put the window blind up for takeoff and landing.
Or, when a passenger has asked for something and had the request denied:
- A free upgrade because the passenger has a bad back.
- A whole can of soda or extra free snacks.
- A free drink for elite frequent flyers from another cabin.
- Extra blankets and pillows.
Saying, “But, on my last flight…” is so likely to annoy your flight attendant because they will be doing their very best to follow their company policies and local aviation laws.
Contrary to some of the many horror stories that circulate on social media, flight attendants are not in the habit of making up rules just to make someone’s day a little bit more difficult.
Rules can differ considerably from airline to airline and even across different aircraft types on the same airline. Admittedly, there are a few rogue flight attendants out there who don’t understand their own airline’s rules, but it’s generally done with the best of intentions, and starting an argument isn’t going to change the situation dramatically.
This isn’t to say that passengers are lying when they say, “But on my last flight…” it’s just that rules differ from airline to airline and aircraft to aircraft, and that something that was fine on one flight isn’t necessarily fine on the next flight.
This kind of inconsistency can be really confusing, and sometimes flight attendants make this worse by letting something slide or being more generous than their company policy actually allows.
There’s one variation of this phrase that doesn’t allow any leeway, though, and that’s: “But it fit on my last flight…” when a passenger is referring to a massively oversized bag that won’t fit in the overhead bin.
Different planes have different-sized overhead bins. If it doesn’t fit on this flight, then it doesn’t fit and will have to be gate-checked. Chances are, though, that the bag was never compliant with the airline’s carry-on size limits.
Passengers sometimes get lucky but don’t make a fuss when luck finally runs out.
I thought it might be “Oh waiter….” 🙂
O’Miss
So is “A whole can of soda or extra free snacks” not something that a passenger can / should ask for?
Good question! If you don’t ask you won’t know… it’s always worth a go, but if a flight attendant says no, then ‘But on my last flight…” probably won’t have much impact.
I admit. I HAVE used this line and I learned something from it.
I flew with a connection through DC about two years ago. I had a roller bag as a carry on. I was able to stow that bag in an overhead bin on the first part of my trip. On the 2nd leg of my trip, my bag would not fit. I did say “but on my last flight I was able to….”. And I learned then that CRJ’s on AA cannot accommodate roller bags. The bag has to be gate-checked. You don’t know, what you don’t know.
Say, “But on my last flight ….” and you start an instant tension with the crew. Every flight carries different aspects of rules, staff, and circumstances—well, better to ask politely or to clarify rather than to compare. Respect always goes far in the air.