Airlines have fired staff for eating a sandwich or drinking a coke taken from the plane e en if it was going to be thrown away. It's the same concept as most food outlets. They have no discretion yo give away free things to people who give them candy.

Anecdotally, it's rampant. To the point where crews will take bags(!) of booze and certain snacks off planes for layovers / gifts etc.

And I didn't mean you should bring candy for the FA's solely in expectation of getting something in return. You should really do it because they work surprisingly stressful jobs with absurd hours. They often have to deal with the worst kind of people and could really use a metaphorical hug every once in a while.

Source: Dated a FA for a long time. Know many others.

Actually it is stealing, you're just not the one doing it.

I bet the airlines allow flight attendants to use their discretion here.

Forging a ticket is just not equivalent to asking nicely if you can have something.