Bob. Mermaid. Code 300. Gate lice. These are all code words that flight attendants use to subtly discuss passengers when whizzing along at 30,000 feet. Knowing how to crack the code is key to working out what they’re talking about
Flight attendants have a subtle way of letting each other know if there is a hottie onboard.
When working the aisles at 30,000 feet, there isn’t much room for maneuvering a food trolley around or gossiping about which of the passengers has caught your eye. Which is why flight attendants use two code words to make it clear which way their heart is beating.
“If you hear them refer to someone as ‘Bob’, they are using the secret acronym ‘babe on board’. When you are disembarking from the aircraft, if the flight attendant says ‘cheerio’ to you this could also be code they have a secret crush!” a flight attendant, who asked to remain anonymous, told eShores.
“We always run back to the galley and let the rest of the crew know where the sexy passenger is sat. We will be extra nice to them and give them freebies. I can confirm phone numbers have definitely been written on napkins!”
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Sherry Martin Peters, a veteran flight attendant and founder of Atlas + Wild AtlasAndWild.com, is keen for passengers to know that, behind the professional exterior, she and her colleagues lead intriguing and sometimes less glamorous than you might expect.
“I’ve been an international flight attendant for 26 years, and passengers only see the smiling, polished version of us—but there’s an entirely different reality behind that image,” she told the Mirror.
“We speak in acronyms because airline lingo becomes its own mother tongue. Trips aren’t described by days, but by city: ‘I’m flying Athens this month.’ Casually mentioning having lunch in New York, then breakfast in Paris is not bragging — it’s just Tuesday and it’s our normal. Confusing to outsiders, yes. You may start to understand it, and even speak our language to some extent if you are married to us, or are close friends.
“Our geography is fluid. Our bodies no longer belong to a single time zone. So we build rituals to feel grounded — even when we’re 35,000 feet above it.”
There are plenty of other codewords that flight attendants deploy when subtly chatting about passengers. They include:
- Mermaid – A playful yet passive-aggressive nickname for a passenger who deliberately sprawls out across empty seats to deter others from sitting in their row.
- Code 300 or Angel – These indicate that someone has died on board.
- ABP – translates to ‘able-bodied passengers’. These are individuals that the crew seek out just in case of an emergency.
- Gate Lice – This term refers to passengers, often inexperienced flyers, who crowd around or line up at a gate at an airport, completely blocking the boarding area and preventing First and Business Class passengers from getting on the plane when they’re allowed to.
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