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What the ultra-rich do in the sky and at sea on their superyachts is terribly fascinating.

So when the staffers who work on these jets and yachts that cater to the wealthiest people in the world decide to tell all, many of us sit with ears cupped.

There’s been a remarkable surge in bookings from people old and new to the private jet world in recent years, which means there are probably so many more stories to tell and secrets to spill.

A private jet flight attendant, who is being called by her first name, Lori (not pictured above), spoke to The Daily Beast about a few of her experiences:

There was a pot-bellied pig that took a plane ride by itself, a celebrity’s guard dog that bit a member of the crew, and a British footballer who asked if he could change his knickers.

“He got butt-ass naked right there in front of me,” said Lori, who asked to be identified only by her first name.

On another trip, that same footballer was heard shagging in his room, which Lori didn’t have a problem with, saying she would probably do the same if she was paying for a private jet.

Yeah, fair enough.

Now for some billionaires and their tighty-whities:

…A flight attendant said she flew a technology billionaire to his compound across the country. He asked her for a wake-up call near the end of the trip. Just before landing, she walked over to his bed.

“He sort of casually threw off the sheets,” she said, “and he was just laying there all pale and frail in his little tighty-whities.”

She added that private jet staff frequently see things that could command major cash from a tabloid, but they diligently protect confidentiality.

She also speaks about the more usual shenanigans of the super-rich. You know, lascivious mile-high escapades, heavy boozing, and juicy tips in the form of Super Bowl tickets or cases full of cash.

Apparently, the variance in passengers’ behaviour is just as wide as what they could end up paying for a single charter (in the thousands) or a full-time share of an aircraft (in the millions):

“It’s like you’re tapping into these people’s world,” said an industry veteran. Some clients, she said, travel with one nanny for each child, while others use private jets as a shipping service for their pets.

“These airplanes are just transportation for these people,” she said.

Stories of well known high flyers capture mainstream attention all the time.

Like WeWork’s fallen founder Adam Neumann, whose private jet was often thrown into complete chaos the moment he boarded, with booze and drugs galore.

But flight attendants say that generally, alcohol is more of a concern:

“That’s definitely, in my opinion, probably the most touchy subject,” said one employee based in the Northeast.

“On commercial there’s a lot of backup if people get rowdy or whatever. But in private, it’s really hard to cut off a billionaire on their aircraft.”

The flight attendant under the alias Saskia Swann, who wrote a book revealing all the dirty secrets of the industry, had us imagining a world full of sex, drugs, cheating, salacious propositions, and much more.

The flight attendants in this story have similar-ish stories but have yet to collect “war stories” per se:

For the most part, businesspeople tend to be well-behaved, staffers said, since they’re often just commuting from one conference room to another.

Celebrities, professional athletes, and rich kids are more prone to debauchery—as are wannabe billionaires.

“They’re all crazy wealthy, but the less wealthy… were the more demanding,” said a contract worker based in the South.

The life of a flight attendant can also get gritty off of the plane, where they have to struggle for money working on commercial flights to the extent that some have been forced to live in a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment with 14 people.

Getting into the private jet industry is incredibly competitive, probably because besides the incredible salary raise, it is not particularly for the faint-hearted.

Some attendants have even told stories of needing to carry body bags after passengers died, and guarding planes overnight so that paparazzi and fans can’t break-in.

Otherwise, it is just a lot of stories about rich people flying their pets to and fro, and we already know about that.

[source:dailybeast]