By Dr Rahim Said
Once upon a time, flying was glamorous. Men wore ties, women wore pearls, and cabin crew were treated with respect — as trained professionals ensuring your safety at 35,000 feet.
Fast forward to today, and you’ll find a Malaysian man on Threads grumbling that a stewardess “refused to help lift a bag.” His main complaint? “She’s already so old and still flying.”
That, right there, is what’s wrong with us. We’ve mistaken basic service for servitude.
Let’s be honest — flight attendants are trained to save your life, not to store your overstuffed cabin luggage filled with five kg of guilt-free shopping from KLIA.
Their job is to secure your seatbelt, calm you during turbulence, and, in case of emergency, drag you out of a burning plane — not to risk a slipped disc because you decided to ignore baggage limits.
But apparently, the new breed of passengers thinks that “paying for service” means they’ve hired personal butlers with wings.
Some even measure “good service” by how quickly a stewardess can hoist their Samsonites above her head — as if the flight safety demonstration were actually an audition for Strongwoman Malaysia 2025.
“She’s already so old,” our complainant wrote. Yes, and perhaps still fitter, kinder, and more professional than the man-child whining on Threads.
That “old lady” could probably secure an aircraft cabin in record time while he’s still fumbling with his boarding pass.
This sense of entitlement has infected more than our travel habits — it’s a symptom of our national disease: the customer-is-always-king delusion.
It’s the same mindset that leads people to scold waiters, snap fingers at baristas, and honk at traffic police. We’ve elevated self-importance into an art form.
In reality, helping to lift your luggage is a favour, not an obligation. And if you can’t lift your own bag, perhaps you shouldn’t bring it. Try checking it in. Or better yet, check your ego instead.
Many online commentators, thankfully, came to the stewardess’s defence. Some even reminded the complainant that cabin crew are first responders — trained in CPR, emergency evacuations, and mid-air births.
What they’re not trained for is pampering passengers who think a boarding pass comes with a personal valet.
It’s worth remembering that most of these attendants spend long hours on their feet, juggling demanding schedules and entitled attitudes.
Yet, they still manage to smile, even when faced with passengers who think “service” means bending the laws of physics and decency.
So, the next time you’re tempted to complain that a stewardess didn’t lift your bag, ask yourself: would you rather she lifts your luggage or your unconscious body if the plane goes down?
The skies are rough enough without passengers bringing their inflated egos on board.
Perhaps what some travellers need isn’t more assistance — but a little turbulence to shake loose their sense of entitlement.
After all, if you can’t handle your own baggage, maybe you shouldn’t be flying at all.