A flight attendant has revealed the surprising reason she sometimes hands out water in secret – to prevent what she calls a ‘domino effect’ of chaos on board.
Barbara Bacilieri, 33, known online as Barbie Bac, has spent 14 years working as a flight attendant and now shares her behind-the-scenes experiences with her 4.9 million TikTok followers and 2.7 million YouTube subscribers.
In one of her latest viral clips, the Argentine-born air hostess – who is now based in Spain – shed light on a little-known inflight trick that she says is not part of formal airline training.
Speaking to What’s The Jam, she continued: ‘There’s something that, although offered normally, we prefer to share discreetly. We try not to let anyone see us.
‘And it’s something as simple as a glass of water.’
While it might seem harmless, Barbara explained that serving water openly can spark a chain reaction among other passengers.
She added: ‘Water is contagious. If someone sees a flight attendant walk by with a cup in their hand, passengers in other seats immediately start asking for the same.
‘That’s why, when we carry it, we hide it. This isn’t a strict policy or an airline mandate, but rather a trick learned through experience.’
Barbara Bacilieri, 33, known online as Barbie Bac, has spent 14 years working as a flight attendant and now shares her behind-the-scenes experiences with her 4.9 million TikTok followers and 2.7 million YouTube subscribers
In one of her latest viral clips, the Argentine-born air hostess – who is now based in Spain – shed light on a little-known inflight trick that she says is not part of formal airline training: serving water discreetly to passengers
According to Barbara, even though water is free and part of basic service on most flights, it can take up a lot of time if multiple passengers request it at the same time – especially on long haul flights.
She urged passengers to pop to the galley and ask discreetly for water instead of hitting the call button from their seats.
The flight attendant also reminded travellers that while water is complimentary on many airlines, some low-cost carriers charge for bottled water, so it’s always worth checking before flying.
The experienced crew member often uses her platforms to share insider tips, including how to get the best budget airline seats for less.
Recently, she revealed her hack to avoid the middle seat – and possibly travel without a neighbour – on Ryanair flights: pick the right-hand side of row 27, where there are only two seats instead of three.
She said: ‘On a Ryanair plane, if you don’t pay extra, they’ll assign you any seat, and it’s always going to be the worst possible seat.
‘But I paid extra to travel like a queen in a seat where I don’t have anyone next to me on one side. And for this seat I only paid €11 extra.’
However, Barbara warned passengers to avoid the very last row at all costs if they are hoping to rest during the flight.
According to Barbara, even though water is free and part of basic service on most flights, it can take up a lot of time if multiple passengers request it at the same time – especially on long haul flights
The flight attendant also reminded travellers that while water is complimentary on many airlines, some low-cost carriers charge for bottled water, so it’s always worth checking before flying
She said: ‘The last row, this is the worst of all, without a doubt.
‘The constant traffic of people going to the bathroom, noises from the kitchen or galley, flight attendants catching up with their gossip.’
She added: ‘Or what we call “galley radio,” smells coming from the bathroom, and on many planes, these seats don’t recline.
‘As you can imagine, this is guaranteed torture and possibly one of the worst experiences you’ll have flying.’
