Some passengers fail to understand why they are prevented from opening the window, while others would like the engines to be "turned down" to reduce the noise.

The foolish and sometimes bizarre questions asked of flight attendants were disclosed after 3,000 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members listed the most unusual customer requests they had experienced.

Among the most common queries was "Please can you open the window?", from uncomfortable passengers who had failed to appreciate the benefits of a pressurised cabin at 35,000 feet.

Other unique questions fielded by Virgin staff included "Could you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?" and "Please can the Captain stop the turbulence?"

The survey of 3,000 cabin crew also laid bare the level of comfort and service some customers expect, with several asking flight attendants "Can you show me to the showers?"

One crew member was asked to book a massage for a Barbie doll, while flight attendants were also asked to help a customer locate a missing glass eye.

Other customers, who may have overestimated the amount of space on their aircraft, asked: "Can you take my children to the playroom?" and "Is there a McDonald’s onboard?".

Caroline Lynam, customer relations manager at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Virgin Atlantic crew will always go that extra mile to offer our customers the best possible service but there are some requests that even we find somewhat challenging."

I always remember my nan flying for the first time in her seventies. Her first question was how to open the window to take photos.
I had horrible visions of her on a 737 with a tin opener in hand and a camera between her teeth

Flying Mouse wrote on Feb 8^th, 2011 at 7:08am:


No, no, they should be sterilised, once they come out of jail they are free to breed 

I was once waiting on the finger*/jetway*/boarding bridge* (*delete as required depending on you place of residence on this spinning ball of dust), when a passenger ask why aircraft ground power (there was a sign reminding the finger*/jetway*/boarding bridge* driver not to forget the 400Hz cable) was 400Hz. I replied that it was to do with peak to peak power and ensuring a smooth supply for the myriad of computers. I wanted to keep it simple. The reply, "what is that for a ridiculous answer".
"Have a nice flight", I said and walked of 

Matt