Do Flight Attendants Really Hate When You Order Diet Coke?

Imagine you're on a cross-country flight, one of those really long flights that have one or two layovers, and you're pretty much settled in for a long ride. You're not exactly sure when you'll be able to eat again for the day, so you look over the in-flight menu to see if you can get some dinner. But, you remember those old stories and rumors about airline dinners tasting "bland" (for lack of a better word), so you decide to settle on a can of Coke to hold you over for the time being. When you ask the stewardess for a can of Diet Coke, however, you can't help but feel that she almost sneered when you weren't looking. Was it something you said?

The work of a flight attendant, like any other job, has pros and cons. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a flight attendant must excel at communication and customer service. After all, the position entails serving all types of passengers, ranging from the polite (a pro) and courteous to the rude and demanding (a con). A flight attendant also gets "discounted airfare or free standby seats" and a seniority-driven path for advancement. It seems, however, that some would Diet Coke to the list of cons. But is there any truth to the idea?

It's not that flight attendants dislike Diet Coke or are die-hard fans of regular Coke. According to some flight attendants on Reddit, the soda doesn't "[fizz] down" when being poured. They also had some choice words that rhyme with "Yuck Diet Smoke." Pouring an over-fizzed Diet Coke is apparently so challenging that a flight attendant on TikTok even claimed that you "personally hate that flight attendant" if you order it. 

The Telegraph described Diet Coke as "the surprising drinks order that annoys flight attendants the most," and The Sun said that flight attendants "dread it." But both cited a flight attendant using the pseudonym "Jet" who said otherwise. On their blog, These Gold Wings, Jet claimed their words were taken "out of context" and that the Telegraph never reached out. The sky blogger's "official stance" was this: "I don't care what you want to drink. I'll pour it, and I won't have a second thought about it."

While the server must wait for the soda to "fizz down," Jet demonstrated a "smart" way to pour the drink in a video. All they did was simply place the cup on top of the can, then flip the can upside down to let the soda spill into the cup, with the can acting as a barrier to keep any excess foam from forming. It seems that, while some flight attendants may dislike the order, it's certainly nothing to get all fizzed up about.