Flight attendants and airline crew members use codes to subtly signal who makes their hearts race faster, and also identify those who annoy them during flights.
When working in an aircraft's narrow aisle, there isn't much space to maneuver with the food cart, and certainly no room for gossip about which passengers catch the crew's attention. Therefore, flight attendants employ codes to subtly indicate who makes their hearts beat faster. "If you hear a flight attendant calling someone 'Bob,' it's a covert abbreviation for 'babe on board,' meaning someone especially attractive on the aircraft. And if the flight attendant tells you 'cheerio' when disembarking, it could be a signal that she has a small crush on you," a flight attendant told eShores.
"We always immediately rush behind the galley to inform the rest of the crew where the attractive passenger is seated. We'll be particularly nice to the passenger and spoil them. I can verify that phone numbers have absolutely been written on napkins," she added.
Veteran flight attendant Sherry Martin Peters, founder of the Atlas + Wild website, explained to Mirror that what passengers observe, a courteous smile and pressed uniforms, represents only a small portion of reality. "I've been an international flight attendant for 26 years. Passengers only see our smiling persona, but behind the scenes an entirely different world functions."
"We communicate in codes and abbreviations that have evolved into a language of their own. Flights aren't described by days, but by cities: 'I'm flying to Athens this month.' Lunch in New York and breakfast in Paris, this isn't boasting, it's simply another ordinary Tuesday for us. Those who don't experience this struggle to comprehend. Even partners of flight attendants eventually learn to speak this language."
Beyond "love codes," flight attendants possess numerous other secret expressions: Mermaid: a sharp nickname for a passenger who sprawls across multiple seats to prevent others from sitting beside them. Code 300 or Angel: marking that someone died during the flight. ABP, abbreviation for able-bodied passenger, a physically strong passenger who can help in an emergency. Gate Lice: "gate bugs," a nickname for inexperienced passengers who gather around the boarding gate and obstruct the passage for first class and business passengers.
