Influencers jet off with the best of intentions – to make videos that ignite wanderlust.
But it turns out that some make a nuisance of themselves along the way, with one ex-stewardess claiming that it’s the stars of the internet, rather than the silver screen, who are the biggest annoyance.
Skye Taylor, 49, from Southampton, spent 16 years working as a stewardess, beginning at low-cost airlines and working her way up to a job at Virgin Atlantic.
When asked who the most irritating passengers on board were, Skye told MailOnline: ‘The main problems lie in the routes like Dubai and Vegas where you get the influencer type that maybe hasn’t paid full price. They could be quite difficult.
‘I think if you’re looking at superstars and people who can afford their tickets, they generally were lovely people and very respectful.’
Skye Taylor (above), from Southampton, spent 16 years working as a stewardess, working her way up to a job at Virgin Atlantic. She told MailOnline Travel that influencers are far worse passengers than celebrities
Skye believes that many of the problems flight attendants face on board with passengers are ‘mainly fuelled by alcohol‘, which makes people ‘act out of character’.
But, the influencers of Los Angeles can be made worse by other substances, the former flight attendant said.
Skye noted: ‘It’s very common for people in LA to take sleeping tablets, things like Valium, and then they would get on board and drink. And that changes people’s characters. I think you just have to be vigilant with watching how things are going to change people’s behaviour.’
Are there more problems with passengers in economy than business class?
Skye said: ‘It can just be one person in the economy cabin, or it can be a couple of people in upper [Virgin’s business class]… you never can tell what’s going to cause somebody to, you know, act out of character, and it’s very hard to assess what they’ve taken.’
Thankfully, Skye believes that the Virgin Atlantic crew know how to handle badly behaved passengers… though she admits it can be difficult.
She said: ‘You get very good service with Virgin Atlantic, and that takes a lot out of the crew, and to try and maintain control of the cabins and stuff like that is very, very difficult. But, yeah, most of the time it was done properly – but it takes a lot out of you as well.’
Ex-stewardess Skye, 49, says: ‘The main problems lie in routes like Dubai and Vegas where you get the influencer type. They could be quite difficult’
Skye (above) noted: ‘It’s very common for people in LA to take sleeping tablets, things like Valium, and then they would get on board and drink. And that changes people’s characters’
However, Skye reveals that budget airlines don’t back up their crews in the same way.
Skye added: ‘With security, we were very well looked after, I’d say. But I do feel so sorry for the low-cost airline crew at the moment, who don’t seem to have the same backup that we got.
‘You see so many incidents now, most of them involving alcohol and the way people act on board… it seems to be encouraged at the moment, which is dangerous in itself.’
Other events Skye admits can be difficult include ‘security-type incidents’ and medical issues.
The ex-stewardess said: ‘You’re trying to provide good customer service. Myself alone, I’ve done CPR at 35,000 feet – dealing with that and having to run the aircraft at the same time, and not let that impact other passengers who might not even be aware what’s going on.’
Want to hear more from Skye? She posts on TikTok under the username @slkye_taylor_xx and Instagram at @skye_taylor_xx.