If Your Flight Attendants Use This Code Word, You're Actually Getting On Their Nerves

It's important to have a healthy amount of confidence, but sometimes people let things go to their head. Then, before they know it, they're not just confident but cocky, arrogant, and running around with far too much main character energy. If this happens, you just might find yourself being referred to as a VIP by flight attendants. While that may be a compliment in some situations, when it comes to secret nicknames flight attendants have for passengers, VIP is not what you should be aiming for on a plane. Why? Because it stands for "very irritating passenger."

This secret code was shared by travel experts at the vacation home rental company, Wander (via Tyla.com). According to them, a VIP is someone who's being demanding, showing little to no regard for rules and authority, acting entitled, and just being an overall menace in the cabin. "They usually come with intoxication, blatant rudeness, and loud behavior that draws unnecessary attention, especially if they are not seated together," an anonymous American Airlines flight attendant told Travel and Leisure, adding that they try to manage these types by killing them with kindness. "Within reason, I try to give them exactly what they want to get them seated and settled quickly," said the source.

Although we all have bad days and sometimes our destination isn't where we want to be headed, getting a VIP label by one flight attendant is going to spread amongst their colleagues. While some will take the killing-with-kindness route, that doesn't mean they all will. In other words, drop the attitude and quit the ridiculous complaints.

If you want to avoid the VIP label, it really comes down to common sense, manners, and decency. For starters, once you're on the plane, locate your seat, store your luggage, sit down, and stay put. If you need to use the bathroom, instead of disrupting the boarding process, wait until the plane reaches cruising altitude and the seatbelt light is off. Thirsty? Again, this is something that can wait until everyone has boarded and the flight is in the air.

It's also important to be empathetic. "You have to have great sympathy for whoever gets stuck in the middle seat," travel expert and co-president of Frommer Media, Pauline Frommer, told 1000 Travel Tips. "And to my mind, they own both those armrests, so do not crowd them out of those armrests." Pauline Frommer's other top tips for being a polite passenger include helping a family with kids that might be struggling, accepting that air travel isn't always comfortable — unless you're in first class, of course — and being just as polite to your fellow passengers as you are to the flight attendants.

Remember, it costs nothing to be kind, and as Maya Angelou so eloquently put it, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." That being said, if you want to avoid being a VIP, think before you act and consider the feelings of those around you.