FLIGHT ATTENDANT INTERVIEW: NINA SCHWARZ- HEAD FLIGHT ATTENDANT WITH LUFTHANSA

Since I’ve just flown from the USA to Malaysia via a 40-hour trip with 3 flights, flying has been on my mind. It dawned on me that it would be very entertaining, insightful, and useful to hear the ‘insiders scoop’ on airplane passengers and flying. I wondered how flight attendants see different kinds of passengers? I wondered what advice they could give us on dealing with jet lag, fear of flying, and becoming the perfect airplane passenger? Luckily, I knew just the right person to ask!

Nina Schwarz is a career flight attendant with Lufthansa Airlines. I’ve known Nina for about 5 high seasons at Tonsai Beach, Krabi: Thailand’s famous rock climbing mecca, one of my favorite places in the world. Besides being a flight attendant, Nina’s a rock climber, scuba diver, adventurer, health and fitness addict, world traveler, and super-fun party girl.

Nina was the girl for us! In addition to her perspectives on airplane passengers, in this interview Nina shares some hilarious situations she’s dealt with over the years. Thanks for  your input, Nina! Here we go:

Q1. Nina, how long have you been a flight attendant?

I started in Feb.1994 so that makes it almost 18 years now.

Nina rock climbing at Tonsai, Krabi, Thailand

Q2. What is your airline’s policy regarding flight attendants’ attitudes towards/interactions with passengers/customers? (such as ‘the customer is always right’ or ‘service with a smile’) And is that most airlines’ stance towards passengers, or does it vary a lot from airline to airline?

Of course, my airline supports “service professionalism”. However, we are encouraged to clearly say “No” if a passenger is overstepping a line. The passenger is not always right but we try to be polite as long as the safety and security is not affected or the passenger insults any of us or the airline itself. Swearwords are not tolerated.

Airlines in general have a quite different approach: some stress the “smile in the air”, whereas Lufthansa definetely stresses “safety” and the flight attendants’ capability to handle any situation whatsoever (technical emergencies, medical and psychological problems, tasks of all sorts). They prefer us to be a reliable “asset”, showing strong nerves when necessary. Aside from that we repeatedly get training in handling all kinds of difficult situations (a lot of psychological training is involved as well as rhetorical) and intercultural training introducing us to the cultural diversity of our passengers and the “do’s and don’ts”.

Q3. What do you/flight attendants consider a ‘great’ passenger?

Oh, I am sure everybody has different ideas of the ideal passenger. For me it’s important that a passenger is polite. I really appreciate a “please” and a “thank you”. You wouldn’t believe how many people only say a grumpy “orange juice” when you offer them drinks. They hardly ever make a whole sentence.

Ah yes, and it’s always great on early morning flights when passengers state exactly how they want their coffee (e.g. “with milk and sugar”) without being asked for it. (That might sound stupid, but if you have asked 60 people “What would you like to drink?” and they say “Coffee” and you have to repeat again and again “with milk and sugar?” and then they even have to think about how they usually drink their coffee, it can be quite discouraging at times.)

Nina Schwarz on Lufthansa flight

Q4. What do you/flight attendants consider a ‘terrible’ or ‘pain in the ass’ passenger?

Impolite, ugly, smelly passengers who are ignorant of the rules applied in the airline business (usually men, sorry to say). And, of course, all those who think that being a frequent traveller entitles them to upgrades, champagne, being an asshole, etc.

Q5. What are your/flight attendants’ 2-3 ‘pet peeves’ with passengers?

Oops, there is… the passenger who uses the hot towel for an all over-bodywash treatment and then hands the towel back to you when you don’t expect it, so you have to take it with your bare hands.

Then there are also the “nice try” people who pile up their trays, asssuming they are helping you. No, they’re not! We have to separate all of them again (taking sauces, food leftovers, dirty napkins on our hands) as the trays only fit into the trolleys with a certain “filling height”.

And, last but not least, the passenger who asks for an upgrade though those are not given to anybody who’s just asking for it.

Nina training Lufthansa crew

Q6. Do you get many passengers who are scared of flying? How do you deal with them? Do you have any ‘techniques’ that help calm them down?

Oh yes. Our psycholgists claim that more than 75% of the passengers are scared of flying. Not all of them show it, though. Once turbulence strikes, you’ll see more of the scared ones. And once you have a technical problem, you see quite a few people freaking out.

We usually sit with them, talk to them, hold their hands, explain noises and procedures, breathe with them, and try some relaxation techniques. It really depends very much on the individual flight attendant and his/her empathy to deal with a scared person. Usually we can calm them down, but I also had an incident when an elderly lady freaked out completely and tried to open a door mid-flight. (no worries: this is technically impossible!)

Q7. What advice and/or statistics can you give people who are afraid of flying?

I have no statistics at hand since I am currently spending my vacation months (a benefit of flying for my airline is the unlimited possibilities of working part-time. In my case, I get 4 months off plus holidays). However, I find driving a car a much greater risk as there are so many mad drivers out there on the roads. And that’s something statistics prove: flying is supersafe. Hotel fires occur much more often. Ferries sink a lot more often. Falling out of your window while cleaning it is a much more probable way of getting killed.

Nina posing with plane

Q8. I noticed in the U.S. news last year several cases where airplane passengers were kicked off the plane! Does that happen with airlines around the world, or is that mainly an American phenomenon? What behaviours would get a passenger kicked off his/her flight?

 It’s an international phenomenon, though the reasons vary, and statistically a lot more people get kicked off planes in the US as the airlines/authorities are a lot more sensible on the matter.

Being a head stewardess, I can kick people off my plane for a number of reasons: being drunk (so never have too many beers at the airport lounge before take-off!), being drugged (any kind of drug that shows side-effects such as the “hard” drugs, but valium can send people through the roof, too), general bad behaviour (abusive, sexual harassment, insulting).

Q9. What’s the craziest/worst incident you’ve ever had with a passenger? Please tell us about it.

The old lady who got completely confused in the middle of the flight and tried to open the aircraft door and get back to her son, the man who spilled beer on his trousers and then just took them off and sat there bare-naked and refused to cover himself up.

Q10. Do you have a favorite incident with an especially great passenger? Please tell us your story.

There are so many and, of course, I can’t think of any right now.

 I loved the “Weather Girls” being pushed down the jetway in wheelchairs, singing “It’s raining men”.

The Queen of Norway just wanted to be called by her first name.

That sweet boy with Down syndrom who said to me “the other stewardess is much prettier than you…but you are nice”.

The man who came on board giving all stewardesses each a bunch of flowers for no other reason than it being a beautiful spring day.

Nina with Lufthansa crew

Q11. What advice can you give travelers to be a ‘great’ plane passenger?

Be as nice as you want to be treated! It’s very easy and we always honour the odd passenger who gives us a smile, who says “please” and “thank you”. Seriously, there are so few out there that we sometimes even give them goodies or a glass of champagne just because they are “nice”!

Q12. Do you have any tips or advice for dealing with/avoiding jet lag? What do you do?

Be active: work out at the gym, stay awake as long as you can. Don’t try (too much) alcohol. Eat light food. Support your body as much as you can, but don’t give in when feeling tired!

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Wow, Nina, that was awesome! Thanks for the useful insights, the charming stories, and the tips and advice. I hope some people will take this to heart next time- and every time- they fly. Hopefully, we’ll get you some cheerful, smiley, polite passengers, Nina!  :))  cheers, Lash

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Readers’ Qs:  So, according to this interview, have you been a great, bad or so-so passenger?

Will this information change your on-flight passenger habits? If so, in which way?

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How to Avoid Jet Lag

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How to Avoid Jet Lag- Follow Up Report on my flights USA to Malaysia

Photo Gallery: Colorful Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia