Of course, you get cranky crews on international flights, too. But I’ve never heard of brawling flight attendants on overseas airlines, like the fist fight between two Pinnacle Airlines employees. The Rochester bound flight was cancelled as a result.
Because passegers are on a long-haul flight for hours and hours, they make more of an effort to be friendly, I have found — at least in the early stages of the journey
A man we encountered on a Delta flight from New York to Atlanta wore a t-shirt declaring, among other things, that “homosexuality is a sin,” and “Islam is a lie.” (He turned out to be our seatmate, and was much friendlier than his hateful shirt implied).
About two hours after the flight began, people around us started to notice the shirt. You could tell that a few disapproved. But by then, it was about time to land. By the time we all trudged over to baggage claim, the message on the shirt was forgotten.
So I suppose the moral is that if you’re going to wear a t-shirt with angry slogans, save it for a short flight.
Reverse Culture Shock 