The life of a flight attendant seems straightforward and glamorous – travelling to various exotic destinations with their primary responsibility being to maintain health and safety standards whilst delivering excellent service. Nevertheless, it’s common for air hostesses to encounter entitled and rude passengers. 

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, an anonymous British flight attendant disclosed how certain passengers’ irritating behaviour would disrupt operations and create difficulties for the crew. This particular type of individual would be flagged using a straightforward term.

The air hostess revealed: “There are a lot of things and icks from passengers that we can overlook, but if we say the word ‘precious’ it generally means that they’re acting like a ****.” The “precious” passenger will be recognised throughout the crew and could impact the service delivered to that person.

Nevertheless, the anonymous worker emphasised that there might be different codes across airlines that she’s never employed with her team. For example, in an interview with The Sun, a flight attendant revealed: “If you’re labelled a ‘Philip’ then you’ve done something wrong and should probably expect to get bad service for the rest of the flight.

“That name originated from the term PILP – Passenger I’d Like to Punch – but has changed over time to become slightly more subtle.” Another covert signal involves crew members spotting an appealing passenger. 

The flight attendant, who has two years’ experience, revealed: “This is an old one I’ve heard, but if we find you attractive, we would say ‘cheerio’ when you’re leaving instead of goodbye. Obviously, we have to be discreet and can not outwardly be like ‘hey, you’re hot’, but that’s a fun way to secretly flirt.”

The cabin crew member explains that numerous codes exist primarily for operational effectiveness. Whilst there are various methods to identify travellers for differing purposes, staff will never address you by your actual name.

She explained: “If we are referring to passengers, we do not use your name; we use your seat number. So if someone wanted something, we wouldn’t say ‘Mary, sat in row 50, wants a coffee’. We would say, ’50 Delta, 50 Kilo or 50 Charlie’. We use seat numbers and the phonetic alphabet; it’s just easier.”

This shouldn’t trigger any worry or curiosity, as cabin crew are simply working out how best to help you without creating any fuss or tittle-tattle. However, do listen carefully if you’re being labelled a “precious Philip” – you might want to say sorry for your conduct.