I'm not here to gross you out, but looking out for you as a friend. As COVID-19 restrictions lift, travel is continuing to come back into our daily lives. June was a big travel month for me where I found myself on more than seven planes from various airlines.
On my 6AM flight I did some investigative journalism and went straight to the source - flight attendants. I asked them anonymously what you should never order on an airplane and let me tell you, they did not hold back. This isn't based on certain airlines, just general precautions that I'm advising.
These menu items are best enjoyed off an airplane and on solid ground. Here are my findings.
"Ice cubes are the dirtiest," Max tells me. "When the ice cubes first come to us, it's in a big plastic bag of one giant ice cube that needs to be broken down. We would use anything to break it, often breaking through the plastic, making the ice not so sanitary," he adds.
The plastic scoopers and bins that are used for the ice are usually never clean. "Everytime I would pour ice, the bin had a wet, mildew smell. You would think the scoopers would be sanitized or replaced between shifts but that never happened," Max shares. "I would try to wash them myself, but if you've been inside an airplane bathroom you know that there is no water pressure so they never fully get clean," he concludes.
Random, right? While all sodas are fizzier up in the air, Diet Coke is particularly hard to pour. "The amount of time it took for the fizz to go down on a Diet Coke, I could have easily poured five other drinks in the interim," Maggie says.
"You're better off going with a regular Coke to save everyone some time. Usually I would just hand the passenger a cup of ice and the can to let them pour it themselves," she explains.
Depending how long your flight is, you will probably get drunk and then experience a hangover all while not getting up from your seat. This isn't fun for the customer drinking or those around them.
"There's nothing worse than drunk passengers - especially a drunk First Class passenger," Max says. There are more intoxicated passengers in First Class because the alcoholic beverages are free where they can order a 'double' or even a 'triple' cocktail. "Passengers don't realize that drinking at a higher altitude will get them buzzed faster on less alcohol," he shares.
"Try to avoid any hot beverages if possible. The canisters that hold the hot water are rarely cleaned," Carla tells me. The container holding the hot water is the same one that will house the coffee. None of the flight attendants that I spoke to have seen the canisters being cleaned at any time during their shifts.
I remember serving a flounder meal one time and when I saw how the flounder looked when it cooked I just couldn't serve it. I told them it all got burnt and they had to eat the Chicken cordon bleu instead.
The issue with fish on an airplane is that it's not prepared in a way that would be grilled or broiled. "The fish we would cook and let alone all the food we would cook would basically be heated up with a water type microwave. It would come in a vacuum sealed bag we would then peel the bag open and put it on a plate and basically boil the fish. The top of the fish always looked good but the bottom was never fully cooked," Hazel tells me.
The next time you're flying 36,000 feet in the air, be careful about what you order when the drink cart comes rolling around. I'm a big fan of packing snacks from home or a quick bite at the airport before boarding. Safe travels this Summer!