11 truths about flying only flight attendants know

flight attendants secrets flying

Flight attendants tend to know more about flying than the average passenger.
To unearth their secrets, we turned to the experts and asked them what most people don't know about flying.
Among the secrets were that you can't actually open the plane door mid-flight (though some have tried) and that many flight attendants avoid drinking the coffee.

No one has more insider knowledge about flying than flight attendants.

By talking to these veteran globetrotters, we unearthed 11 secrets about flying.

Whether you want more attentive service or want to avoid getting kicked off your flight, read on for the inside scoop.

DON'T MISS: Most people only see part of a flight attendants' job — here are the behind-the-scenes secrets you never knew

You can't physically open a door mid-flight — and trying could get you kicked off the plane.

Annette Long, a flight attendant with 17 years of experience, told Business Insider that though opening a door mid-flight is impossible, trying to do so would still get you into trouble.

As we've seen in previous incidents, passengers who try to make a jump for it while the plane is in the air usually wind up restrained during the flight and in handcuffs once the plane lands.

In some cases, pilots will make an emergency landing to get the passenger off the flight.

"I don't make those decisions," Long said. "I convey the information to the cockpit and the chief flight attendant, and they make the decision about whether or not we're going to land and get someone off the plane.

Long added: "Most of the pilots say to us, 'If you've got a problem with them, I've got a problem with them,' and they will back us up 100%."

The plane isn't getting cleaned as much as you'd hope.

"The dirtiest part of the plane has to be the tray tables — people constantly lay their heads on them, change babies' diapers, and rest their feet on them," a flight attendant for JetBlue told Business Insider. "I wouldn’t eat off of that even after sanitizing it."

What's more, Long said, "remember, they're using a rag to start row one, and when they end up in row 35, that rag has wiped a lot of tables."

Passengers rarely see or consider unsanitary incidents on the plane, like accidents in the lavatory or a passenger's seat.

"Just so you know, when you go to the bathroom and you're barefoot, or you're in your socks, that's not water on the floor," Long said, adding, "It's just not the cleanest environment."

Flight attendants aren't really supposed to help you lift your bags.

Flight attendants have told Business Insider that they get paid only for flight hours, not for time spent boarding or deplaning.

"So for example, your duty day could actually be 12 hours, but you only get paid for six hours of work," one flight attendant said.

Flight attendants' unions won't cover them if they get injured trying to lift your bags into the overhead bin. And since being out of work and out of money is no fun for anybody, you shouldn't expect flight attendants to take that risk for you.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider