Should you tip your flight attendant, by A. Pawlowski, originally appeared on the NBCNewsTravel.com and Today.com website September 24, 2013. Here’s what I had to say…
Heather Poole, a veteran flight attendant for a major U.S. carrier, said it doesn’t happen often, but she has been tipped on flights.
She sees the practice most frequently on Las Vegas routes. Most passengers who try to tip are in economy class, she said.
“It’s company policy not to accept tips. That said, it’s always appreciated when a passenger makes such a nice gesture,” said Poole, the author of “Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet.”
“Normally, I’ll turn it down at least three times, but if someone continues to insist that I accept a tip and then shoves it in my hand or pocket, I might take it. At this point, I feel like it’s almost rude not to.”
A regular passenger on the New York-Los Angeles route once gave the crew gold hoop earrings during Christmas, Poole recalled. Most tips consist of “a couple of singles,” but there’s been a time when a passenger presented $50, she added. Many people might be shocked at how little some of her colleagues make, Poole noted.
The median annual salary for a flight attendant was $37,740 in 2010, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though an entry-level position might start at $16,000.
“A nice letter means more than a lot to a flight attendant,” Poole agreed. “In (the) airline world people are quick to complain, so a few kind words really do go far. Sometimes those letters actually affect our careers.”
Saying “please” and “thank you” also makes an immediate difference because flight attendants don’t hear those words very often these days, Poole added.
“You wouldn’t believe how much a passenger with nice manners stands out on a plane,” she said.
Heather Poole 
From entering and exiting the gate,plane I am as polite as possible to aviation staff. Next time I will tip.
Outstanding service should always be recognized … especially when much service is not outstanding at all.
For a great job, it’s usually very nice to simply tell the FA what a great job he/she did when deplaning.
AA has an interesting system …. they distribute “Someone Special” stickers to frequent flyers. We give them to any AA employee when they’ve done a great job. There’s a place on the sticker for writing what kind of great job they did. I love giving these things away. It’s important to remember that the relationships are people-to-people, and not customer-to-company.
… makes all the difference in the world.
P.S. … I wish we could give them to routers and ground crew, too, but we never see them … sometimes they’re the unsung heroes of the flight!
is there any need to tip them. cause they are getting paid for what they do. I mean they get their salary.. they are not beggar..