Originally Posted by
Misco60
If you're going to tip the wheelchair helper then why not the person at the check-in desk? The security people? The lounge dragon? The gate agent who smiles and wishes you a good flight?
I realise that in the US you are expected to shower money upon anyone and everyone you encounter in the course of your day but, even there, I would consider this to be one of the services that an airport provides and that you have already paid for (through the nose) in airport fees.
I'll tell you why. Some jobs, in some countries, pay below even the legal minimum wage because they are exempt from the minimum wage law - because the workers make their living from tips.
The lounge dragon, the person at the check-in desk, and the TSA designated groper are paid salaries that are set with no expectation of tips.
Those folks who help you at the gate are not always airline employees. Some are employees of companies contracted out to do the work. Many of them work almost exclusively for tips and are living on very, very small incomes.
This, of course, varies from country to country and culture to culture, but in some places, they rely on your tip to survive.
Whether the airline or airport should pay them more is an issue we can always debate, but it doesn't pay the rent or put food on their table.