A flight attendant has revealed in her book the passenger behaviors that qualify as “green flags,” from moments of interpersonal connection to simple consideration of fellow travelers.
Destanie Armstrong, a flight attendant from Philadelphia, has built a sizable TikTok following of nearly 60,000 people who share insights from their years on the job.
The last topic you addressed? Green flags, that is, signs that someone is a decent person, like those seen in passengers on their flights.
‘I feel like I talk a lot about the negative experiences I have with passengers. But some of you are really great. So these are the things I like,” Destanie began in the five-minute video.
Destanie, from Philadelphia, took to her popular TikTok account to share in her book the things she’s noticed about passengers that make them decent people, also known as “green flags.”
The first was when passengers recognize flight attendants greeting them as they board.
‘A lot of people will just ignore us. “I love it when a passenger asks how we are or things about our day,” she said.
‘It feels like I’m really connecting with people. I thought that with this job I would connect much more with people. I feel like I never have conversations with passengers,” she admitted.
Second were the “considerate little acts.”
For example, Destanie explained, he works on an airplane with larger overhead bins, where there are diagrams instructing passengers to place their bag on its side to make room for more luggage.
When she’s seen someone notice those diagrams and adjust their bag accordingly, she’s always been grateful.
More generally, when people hear flight attendant announcements, Destanie gushes that it makes the crew members’ lives much easier.
The third green flag, which he described as his “most favorite,” is when a passenger makes an effort to commiserate with a cabin crew member if they have just been subjected to unpleasant behavior from another traveler.
The flight attendant has amassed a sizeable TikTok following of nearly 60,000 people who share insights from their years on the job.
“I love it when a passenger gives me a hard time and another passenger watches it and makes a joke about it,” he said. ‘It’s so fun.’
Even a passenger making eye contact with the flight attendant who is dealing with the rude behavior adds a positive side to the stressful interaction.
‘The other day, a passenger was very rude to me. And this old man looked at me and said, “Are you having fun yet, honey?” And I said, ‘You see me!'” Destanie recalled.
The flight attendant then commented: ‘During service, I love it when the person already has a headset on. Are you ready to order. They know what they want. “They are respectful,” Destanie said.
‘You’d be surprised how many people keep their headphones in and say, “What would you like to drink?” And they’re like, ‘Huh?'” she described in more detail.
Passengers who know what they want as soon as the flight attendant approaches are the ones Destanie really appreciates.
The fifth behavior on their list of green flags from passengers is when they ‘ask’ if it’s okay to be in the flight attendants’ work area.
‘When I was a passenger, I thought you couldn’t even go to a flight attendant’s kitchen. I thought people weren’t even allowed in there. That’s his workspace, right? she said.
‘You’d be surprised how many people just walk in there, don’t recognize us, stand there without telling us anything or start reaching out at our emergency exits.
‘I said, ‘Ma’am, please stop doing Pilates in our emergency exits.’ And then they get mad!’ Destanie counted.
‘We had a man there [when] We were getting ready for service and the kitchen is very small so we asked him to sit down while we got ready for service. She got so angry that she asked the girl’s name. And then after we got off the flight, he was waiting there and filming us!’ she remembered.
“I don’t understand the right to be in our space, I really don’t.”
She went on to emphasize that she encountered some polite passengers who asked if they could stand in the galley, which she has no problem with.
Destanie said sixth on her list is “when people have good manners, but especially children.”
“When children are well-mannered, I say, ‘Where are your parents?’ Because they’re doing a good job.” For example, if a child is completely sweet, especially at the bratty ages, for example, if a 10-year-old is super sweet, I say, “Good job, parents.”
‘Because there are so many spoiled children these days!’ She exclaimed.
Last but not least, Destanie explained, “I love it when a married man isn’t too friendly with us.”
‘I haven’t been hit many times while working. The times guys tried to chat with me, they always had a ring on their finger, which literally annoys me so much.
‘Congratulate me or ask me if I’m going to sleep in the same place where they’re going to sleep. “What I’m going to do on my scale,” he added of married men’s hookup strategies.
‘Which, that’s not bad, but it’s the vibrations. I think about it the way I think, “If my husband was talking to a girl like that, mm mm,” she added, shaking her head.
‘I love it when a married man has a ring on his finger and his wife is not there, and he is nice to us, but not too nice.
“That’s the kind of man I would like to marry: kind, but not too kind,” she concluded.
Hundreds of people took to the comments to reflect on Destanie’s opinions, including some of her fellow flight attendants.
Hundreds of viewers took to the comments to reflect on Destanie’s opinions.
“I always say hi back, but I never want to start any conversations because they seem busy and I don’t want to bother them,” one admitted of the boarding process, to which Destanie responded, “I totally see that.”
‘No one listening is that real. I feel like I’m talking to myself,” a fellow flight attendant commiserated.
“Talking to a brick wall,” Destanie agreed.
‘I feel like some of these are minimal manners… I hope you meet more nice passengers!’ a third intervened.
“It’s the minimum, but that shows that people don’t give the minimum, hahaha,” Destanie said.
This is far from the first deep dive Destanie has taken into the reality of being a flight attendant on her TikTok.
In the past, he’s shared the worst parts of his job, from rude passengers to low pay and erratic scheduling.
He also talked about the craziest things passengers have tried in an attempt to get upgraded to first class.