Airplane Etiquette

            Air travel, while more popular than ever, also seems to be more stressful. As airlines struggle with delays and cancellations, tweak their boarding plans and generally try to make life for their customers at least tolerable, the customers—that would be us—deal with the big things, and the nagging little things, too.

            The numbers themselves are staggering. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. airlines flew over a trillion revenue passenger miles in the 12-month period ending September 1, 2023. One passenger mile is equal to one passenger going one mile. This is an increase of 17.4% over the previous 12 months. Planes flew at about 80% of capacity, which might seem surprising, since every time we get on a plane it seems to be jam-packed. Capacity hadn’t really changed from one year to the next, and airlines actually increased the number of flights by about 4%, so why does it seem flights are not only more full, but more uncomfortable than before?

            I have a feeling it’s more a case of passenger behavior on flights than it is with planes being more crowded. Many reports have hit media outlets in recent months about unruly, or at least impolite, passenger behavior. Travelers seem to be paying less attention to “airplane etiquette.” A recent article in USA Today listed the 7 most offensive airplane behaviors, based on a survey by Skyscan. Here they are, from the least-offensive on the list to the most:

·         Switching seats. Maybe you’ve paid extra for the window seat, or one with more legroom…and when you board, someone asks you to switch. “I want to sit next to my kids,” they might say, or “I want to be closer to the bathroom. Would you mind?” Chances are, you do mind, since you paid extra to sit exactly where you are.

·         Using both armrests. Having a seatmate who won’t share armrests can be very annoying. Nearly a third of travelers say using both armrests is an etiquette no-no, even if you’re in the uncomfortable middle seat. A three-seat row will have armrests on the left side of each seat, so the middle-seater should only be using the one on their left, not the one on the right; that belongs to the window-seater.

·         Reclining your seat. About a third of travelers say they don’t like it when the person in front of them reclines their seat, especially if they do it suddenly. That means trouble if you have your tray down and a glass of water on it. And if it’s hot coffee…Better to ask the person behind you before you recline.

·         Taking off your shoes or socks. Many travelers, especially on long flights, want to doff their footwear, but that can be a problem if you wind up with bare feet. Not only is it poor hygiene, very few people want to look at your feet. And they certainly don’t want to smell them.

·         Unwanted conversation. Chatty seatmates are an annoyance to 40% of travelers, according to the survey. Introducing yourself is fine, and making a courteous offer to converse is okay, but many of us want to just sleep or lose ourselves in a book or a movie during the flight. Most passengers will respect that, but some apparently think that seeing their seatmate put earbuds in isn’t good enough to keep them from launching into a story about Aunt Harriet’s casserole. That leads us to our top two airplane etiquette violations, which are actually tied for first in the survey:

·         Using speakerphone. Taking calls on your phone is one thing; then, only half of the conversation is bothering your seatmates. But if you put the caller on speakerphone, this crosses yet another line with many travelers. The growing prevalence of in-flight connectivity, as passengers demand constant access to the internet, is making this phenomenon more common. And finally…

·         Personal grooming. This includes clipping fingernails (or, worse, toenails), painting nails, applying makeup, trimming facial hair, and every other grooming practice that should be done in the privacy of a bathroom. Everybody has a memory of watching Grandpa clip his nose hair, and while it was funny when we were kids, it’s not funny now.

There are others that showed up on the survey but weren’t that common, fortunately. Our favorite? Probably the one that a woman put on TikTok last year, of the woman sitting in front of her, draping her very long hair over the seat and right over the passenger’s screen and onto her tray, almost getting dipped in her coffee. The video went viral and drew some 2.4 million views.

Ready to get out there and see how airplane etiquette is doing, first-hand? We’ll help you get there. Give us a call!