Thank you notes to crew
 

I have a habit of giving bags of candy or chocolate to flight crews on long international flights. At first I did it to try and snare a better seat, which happened once.

But even better is that the CAs appreciate it. It's so easy to make people smile and feel better.

So I do it all the time now, and a year ago, the purser handed me a thank you card. I was really touched, and kept the card. A year later, on the same route, Tokyo to Dulles, I brought a thank you note for the crew, and swas stunned by the response. One of the cabin crew was humming up and down the aisles, and told me after the flight that it had made her month! I spent a grand total of 300 yen for a set of 10 small note cards and took five minutes to write it out. Holy smokes, was that a good return on my investment.

The UA crew also gave me a pair of pajamas -- which turned out to be extremely valuable since I was on my way to Florida and unprepared for it to be freezing cold. I typically get little gifts, but not always. But what I always get are smiles. It is so worth it.

No, that's weird. Don't do that. If I saw you doing that I'd think you're like Dexter handing out donuts. (Psycho covering for something)

Agree. Weird.

Nothing wrong with it at all, as long as it’s genuine. A nice touch!

Yep. Weird. Don't do it. This has actually come up before on FT, and I seem to remember a flight attendant commenting that while gifts like chocolate and sweets would be accepted with a smile, they'd be binned out of sight of the passenger due to the risk of them being contaminated.

Meh....I've seen the crew eating the chocolates I gave them on a few flights. At a minimum it is a YMMV scenario.

Beyond that, doing something nice for other people should never be seen as creepy. If you've got ulterior motives then be ready to be disappointed. But if you're simply being nice there's nothing wrong with that.

I've heard that, which is why only individually sealed goodies in sealed containers.

I find it a tiny price for people to enjoy a slightly happier experience, but I'm weird that way.

I was on a BR flight last year and received outstanding service. I mentioned it to the purser, and she asked if I would mind writing a quick note of thanks that could be shared with the crew. I was happy to oblige, and she provided a nice piece of stationary and envelope. This was about mid-flight.

I think she posted it in a galley or crew rest area or something. I had numerous FAs stop by and thank me for taking the time to write such a nice note. Seemed genuinely happy to be recognized.

On a much less formal level, United used to provide "Going The Extra Mile" (GTEM) chits to premiere members in their annual membership kits. Was a great way to immediately recognize great service. I think staff could turn them into their managers for recognition.

Every airline I have worked with has had very strict policies about crew consuming any foodstuffs provided by passengers during flight. It is simply not safe, both from a security and food safety standpoint.

If the crew want to take the box and open it after the flight, thats their prerogative - but eating something of unknown origin while on duty is a strict no.

I worked for a network news organization, and used to give out lapel pins to FA's on occasion. (I would always grab a handful of our event pins at conventions, elections, Olympics, etc:) You'd think I was giving out gold! Some FA's had pin collections, but it seemed like everyone knew someone who collected them, and they were very much appreciated.

I've heard about people bribing FAs before... but this isn't that. As others have said, it's just weird.

I've only done it once and it was when flying on a holiday, probably Christmas. I stuck an unopened box of Frango Mints in my carryon and handed them to the FA working our aisle at the beginning of the flight. I later saw the box in the galley open and half consumed. I would never bring anything like cookies, which I'm sure would be thrown away.

But, it did seem a little awkward and I never repeated the gesture.

Not weird at all.
Happens often actually and the crew do appreciate it.
Dont know why some people here think it is weird to give out candy/chocolates to the crew.

Just give the items out of goodness of your heart and not because u want something else.

What is also appreciated are thank you notes to the airline customer service appreciating particular FAs.
These notes of appreciation will help the FA's career.

Giving sealed commercially produced snacks/candy to the crew isn't weird, it's being nice. Don't do it with expectations of an upgrade or anything though.

I've never once gotten a bad reaction. A family member who works at an airline got me started on doing it.

because it's like you're trying to look normal