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Flight attendant slang you need to know for your trip, from Bob to crew juice
Though it might differ between airlines, locations, and even countries, flight attendants have slang that they are using to talk about their passengers.
While there are thousands of languages out in the world to choose from, slang is far more entertaining and interesting in comparison. From the controversial Gen Z slang to dictionaries full of religious terms like Mormon slang, we really are spoiled for choice in the modern age.
Flight attendants are talking about you
Travel website The Points Guy spoke to a range of flight attendants in the hopes of understanding the intricate language they use while on flights. The best of the bunch were used in a viral TikTok in 2023.
First up is Gate Lice, which funnily enough, has nothing to do with insects and everything to do with passengers. The term Gate Lice is used to describe passengers as they horde through the departure gates.
Though you might be aware that Red Eye flights refer to an overnight journey, you might not know what a Pink Eye is. No, it’s not an eye infection, it’s actually a flight that doesn’t quite take the whole night.
Flight attendants also have slang for when they fancy a passenger, with the first being Raft Assistant. Though the travel site acknowledged that sometimes this is a physically fit person who could be second in command on a life raft, they said it can also be a term of affection.
Basically, if you’re called a Raft Assistant, the flight attendant fancies you. The same could also be said of the name Bob, which is an acronym for “Best on Board.”
“They could also refer to you as your seat assignment disguised as a destination,” they said, explaining another slang term. “If you are in seat 6C, a flight attendant may say: ‘I’d like to do six days in Cancun’.”
Not all of them are nice
Though most would blush at being called a Bob or Raft Assistant, you should be careful of flight attendants referring to you as Philip. This word is said to stand for “People I’d like to punch.”
Last, but certainly not least, was crew juice, which is the combination of all alcoholic drinks and mixers that passengers left behind. After touching down, flight attendants are known to enjoy a glass of this powerful punch.
The Points Guy’s comment section proved why slang is so dependent on specific factors like location and airline because some said they had never heard of such terms.
“40 years as a flight attendant, only crew juice is recognizable to me,” one flight attendant said, while another wrote, “Only like 2 of these are accurate – me, a flight attendant lol.”
