Flirt for Free Drinks

On Twitter I have my account sent up to show me anytime someone mentions “Flight Attendant.” It’s a way I can keep up with what others are saying about us and come up with some good content for the blog. A few days ago it caught @MrSeventyTwo saying:

Boarding now. Gay flight attendant. Let’s see if I can get hooked up with free drinks 4:37 PM Aug 6th

So, I sent him a message saying something along the lines of “so, its that easy huh?” joking around.. and he quickly responded with:

@upupandagay is looking/flirting with gay flght atndnts acceptable for drinks? is it offensive? what’s a sure way to win their hearts over?

What he said got me thinking…is this an unacceptable practice.. or would you trade a few moments of self confidence for a mini of vodka?

If a passenger changes seats to help accommodate a family, something is wrong with their inflight entertainment, or they’re generally having a great time on the plane and are super nice to us, I’ll offer a free drink or two. Why? In my eyes, it’s the easiest gesture we can offer. The value of the gesture is determined by your airline, the price they set on the alcohol, but we all know those mini’s only cost like $0.50 a piece. It makes the passenger realize that you understand their assistance in helping you, their problem, or that you are all about helping them start their vacation and having a good time.

Now, have I ever comp’d someone drinks for flirting. Yes. I have. Actually, its was going to be the subject of an upcoming post but I’ll incorporate it in here.

Long story short, this passenger made his flirting quite obvious to myself and the other FA that he was interested in me. Though now seeing @MrSeventyTwo’s comments, he may have just been working the system (sneaky!). He caught my attention enough that I stopped over at his row to make sure everything was okay..  he was having a fun time laughing with his seatmates, two women. He said he was fine. I was the one who said, “are you sure? Do you want anything to drink… or?” and then he responded with “well.. okay…”

Did I stop at his row because he caught my attention? Yes.

Did I offer a drink just because he was gay? Probably. He was flirting, which caught my attention so I stopped. If a straight guy were to get my attention and include me in the conversation with his seatmates like this guy did, would I have given him a free drink too? Sure.

Did it help that he was flirting? Yes. It got my attention. He was singled out, out of 149 other people. He was nice, cordial, and included in me in his conversation with his seatmates, giving me a break from the other passengers.

I asked a few other gay male FAs, both under 30 years old, like myself, what they would do and if they would be offended.

M: Sure why not? It comes with the job sometimes. I wouldn’t be offended but some could be.

B: Wow! That’s an awesome tactic! Yes I’d give it out. No, I wouldn’t be offended.

J: Yes, I would give it out. Would I be offended? No. Would I be crushed if he flirted to the extent that we exchanged numbers and he never called.. maybe / maybe not it depends on how much he flirted and if he really appeared to like me for more than the alcohol I have access to.

So, I responded to@MrSeventyTwo and said I didn’t have a problem with what he’s doing. I would indeed trade a good self esteem boost at least thinking someone is interested for a free drink. If nothing else, in that moment someone recongized you and your work. He then replied

@upupandagay haha amazing. Thanks for the support. Any tips or lingo/code I should know?

Yes. Tell the flight attendant you want to be their IFB. IFB means “InFlight Boyfriend” and you can reference this blog post here for more information: Onboard Dating 101. At least now, the FAs know its just something thats happening on the airplane and won’t get their hopes up for something more grounded. No pun intended. Unless, you really want to persue something once the plane lands, then by all means exchange phone numbers and see what happens!

Would this work with a straight guy and a female flight attendant? I would guess not based upon what my friends have said. But, the majority of my gay friends said yes, by all means, the alcohol is on us.