Gulf Air meal
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

Food For Thought: Flight Attendants Going Above and Beyond to Feed Us

A lthough he did not pay for a meal, he unexpectedly received one from an empathetic member of the flight crew aboard an airplane during a short flight recently — and that experience as recounted in this article written by Matthew Klint of Live and Let’s Fly reminded me of two of my own experiences where I had received food aboard an airplane during a flight when I was technically not supposed to receive it.

As with Matthew Klint, I too will be evasive on the details of my experiences — but they were different than his in that I received additional food after I had already consumed what was allotted to me.

Food For Thought: Flight Attendants Going Above and Beyond to Feed Us

During a domestic flight in the premium class cabin some years ago, I was served a bowl of mushroom soup as part of the meal service. I do not typically care for mushrooms and actually grimaced to myself about the prospect of eating it — but this was the best mushroom soup I have ever had; and I let the flight attendant know my thoughts.

To my surprise, she promptly returned with another steaming hot bowl of mushroom soup and a big smile. Although I did not purposely try to get another bowl, she went out of her way to do so — and I greatly appreciated it and thanked her profusely.

The other time was when I was a passenger seated in the economy class cabin aboard an airplane during a transatlantic flight. The meal service had long since concluded; and most of the passengers were sound asleep in the dark cabin. I ventured to the rear galley to see if there were any snacks and beverages placed where passengers could simply take whatever they want; and when I approached the rear galley, there were a few members of the flight crew who were standing — talking to each other, I suppose.

As I was looking for a snack, one flight attendant greets me.

“Hello,” I replied, not wanting to disturb them.

She looked at me for a moment. “Would you like a meal?”

“Thank you; but I already ate during meal service,” I replied after initially being caught off guard with that question.

“You look hungry. Would you like another meal?”

I stood there, stunned — but I was hungry; so I replied “yes, please.”

She actually gave me a choice of meals; and I chose the one different from the one I ate earlier. After thanking her, I brought it back to my seat while carefully performing some precarious calisthenics over the other passengers sleeping in the row so as not to disturb them. Once comfortably seated, I gently pulled the tray table down; placed the meal on it; opened the cutlery package; and unveiled the tin foil.

The meal was still hot — and I polished off every morsel. It really hit the spot; and it was exactly what I needed prior to falling asleep.

Summary

Although these are closer to exceptions to the rules rather than normal operating procedures, the little things and small kind gestures are what can further improve the experience of a flight — and the members of the flight crew who went above and beyond what they were supposed to do should be commended.

I do what I can as a passenger to ensure that the job of a member of the flight crew is as easy as possible regarding any interaction with me. Most of them have been nothing less than polite with a commendable work ethic; and I always treat them with courtesy and respect.

Would it not be nice if all participants of every flight would go out of their ways to ensure that the flight is a better experience for others? Doing so really does not take much time and effort; and yet the result could potentially be significantly better than expected…

Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.

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