Yeah, pretty much this, they take home what, 18k a year, and most of them don't even complain about it all the time, meanwhile the super senior captains are always mad that they only cleared 120k this year because the union was somehow conspiring against him or something like that.

Pathetic.

If you can't afford a few bucks, why did you have kids?

I used to BE a van driver and i DO NOT tip them. Tipping in my experience was hit or miss though.

And on the other side of the coin...

I used to BE a van driver and i DO tip them. Tipping in my experience by airline crews was 100% of the time.

I used to work in the service industry and relied on tips. Unless somewhat is a complete jerk, I tip pretty generously. Even when I was making $22k as a new FO I tipped. I never did understand the people that have a bunch of kids and then whine about not having money... Condoms are much cheaper than kids!

I am impressed that someone mentioned regional FAs tipping a buck.
Back in my day (late 80s), SWA FAs only tipped 0.50 cents each and I hear not a lot has changed.

I always tip. I figure it increases the chances that they'll actually show up night after night.. Plus, I seem to do the same overnights over and over so I'm practically on a first name basis with a bunch of van drivers. It's just common courtesy.

Yeah, seriously. This thread was doing very well in obscurity but for some reason the guy thought we all would like to hear about his life "struggles" and his excuses for being cheap. He must be a joy to fly with, probably thinks the other seat wants to hear all about his wife and kids.

The bigger question is, why do we tip van drivers but don’t tip any of the other workers that we encounter in the hotel? Why do we tip when a bartender gives us a drink but not when a flight attendant gives us a drink? It’s all just tradition and other than showing a person’s desire to buck convention, reveals nothing about their character. FYI, I always tip the van driver and don’t tip any of the other hotel employees in order to not rock the boat, not because it is deserved or not deserved.

Tip the hotel housekeeper. They have a rough job. And they probably make less than the van driver. $2 can make their day.