What the code words and phrases used by cabin crew really mean
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most cabin crew members converse with each other in an interesting way to not alert passengers to their conversations. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Flying doctor Ben MacFarlane has spent a lot of time on planes, and has become privy to the unique ways cabin crew discuss parts of the job while in the air. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many of their phrases would seem like gibberish to the average flyer, but once you know what keywords to look out for, they all start to make sense. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are just a few of the phrases cabin crew have decoded for the flying doctor, as he told </span><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-9965305/Is-Tom-Cruise-board-crack-cabin-crew-code-hear-holiday-flights.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">MailOnline</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><strong>“Is Tom Cruise on board?”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you ever hear cabin crew use this phrase, it is actually not linked to the famous movie star being a passenger. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead, it refers to the identical pots of tea and coffee on the meal service trolleys, and helps staff identify which pot is which. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Ben says, “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">If 'Tom Cruise is on board' then crew are following T&C positions that day.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Tea, Tom, is in the pot on the left of the cart. Coffee, Cruise, is in the identical pot on the right. Simples.”</span></p>
<p><strong>“Do you want to sing or dance?”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This phrase refers to the safety demonstration at the beginning of a flight.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Some crew like to have the microphone and read out the words of the PA,” said Ben.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Others prefer to stand in the cabin doing the actions with the seat belt and life jacket.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Pick the PA role and you sing. Do the demo and you dance.”</span></p>
<p><strong>“Have you found Bob yet?”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This phrase is more likely to be heard on a long haul flight when cabin crew have more time on their hands. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bob is not an individual person, but rather refers to the Best On Board. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the flying doctor, “Every cabin crew member looks for theirs: the most beautiful woman or hottest guy they fancy the most.”</span></p>
<p><strong>“That’s my ABP”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">ABP is cabin crew code for an Able-Bodied Person.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cabin crew often earmark a strong, able-bodied person to help in case of an emergency landing. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This person may be asked to organise passengers in a calm and orderly queue while waiting for emergency aids. </span></p>
<p><strong>“I’m off to the coffins”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This doesn’t refer to actual coffins, but a designated sleeping zone for cabin crew during a longer flight. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Following a ‘crew rest rota’, flight attendants punch a secret code into a secret door, climb the ladder and find half a dozen bunks built into the ceiling above the economy cabin,” says Ben.</span></p>
<p><strong>“Have we met?”</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This doesn’t refer to introducing yourself, but rather to passenger’s seat belts being buckled for landing. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If one flight attendant is checking the cabin from front to back and the other is going from back to front, they have to say out loud that they've 'met' in the middle.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This then indicates that the plane is ready to make a safe landing. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have you ever heard these phrases used while flying? Let us know!</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Shutterstock</span></em></p>
