As a regular traveller I’ve seen more than my fair share of jerks on planes.
Anyone that argues with the staff, won’t obey simple safety rules, or makes life unpleasant for fellow passengers deserves a special place on perpetual standby.
This page covers a grey area of things that are extremely inconsiderate – though not banned.
There are small, considerate things we all do to collectively make a journey a better experience for everyone. Selfish people going to be selfish – but brining awareness to how easy it is to make others uncomfortable can be an eye-opener. This is especially the case in the summer holidays, when planes are filled with people that don’t fly regularly.
The Unspoken Etiquette of Flying: Reclining
Let’s start with the most controversial one.
Reclining gets people angry. At the same time, others are steadfast in their ‘right’ to recline for as long as they like on a flight. There is a middle ground. That said, there is no way to please all the people all the time when it comes to reclining.
Using the recline on a long flight when it is time to sleep is the ideal.
People who recline the minute the seatbelt sign is off and stay that way for the entire flight get the red mist rising. Some even leave the recline down when they are leaning forwards to eat their meal. This denies the person behind space, while not even using it a proper jerk move.
The ‘obvious’ solution, use the recline when you need it to sleep / sit back to relax – and only use the amount of recline you need.
I can tell your furious, go ahead, I’m listening… maybe.
Conscientious Flying: Crowding the Aisle on Landing
In the western world, planes empty row by row. This is not the case everywhere in the world. I lived in Hungary for a while, and they are super-pushy when it comes to disembarking from planes, busses, trams… well, you get the idea.
People that crowd forward, stopping others from standing to get their bags prepared cause everyone to exit slower. The crazy thing is that the individual pushing rarely gets off any quicker. More than a few doing this is a guaranteed slowdown, for the people trying to exit first and for everyone else.
I get that people have connections to catch. If this is the case a simple request to the crew can have you moved to the front for a tight connection. If not, don’t be that person.
Unspoken Rules of Flying: Crowding the Luggage Belt
Some airports paint yellow lines a meter or two away from the luggage belt.
Most don’t.
Standing back not only allows everyone to see when their cases arrive, it provides plenty of space to take them from the belt.
Why people crowd around the belt, often in groups, blows my tiny mind. This is not only bad etiquette, but it also makes their own life more difficult. It forces others closer. That leaves less room to remove cases. Add the fact that some individuals feel that they simply must be right where the cases appear, and you get a double whammy of bad form.
Funnily enough there is a strong correlation between belt crowders and ugly luggage – something I’ll be observing more closely on future trips.
Flying Etiquette 101: Prepare for the Security Check
As you gain experience, choosing a queue at airport security becomes a science.
You get to spot the people that get all the way to the front of the line, then look surprised when they need to sort their electronics, liquids and clothing out. I can’t imagine everyone is on their first ever flight. Though for the life of me I can’t imagine why someone would get caught out by that repeatedly. Similarities with people that queue for a shop cashier, waiting until they get there to spend long minutes sorting out the money spring to mind.
If there is a queue with business travellers, that should be your first choice… even if it is longer than the others.
For those who routinely slow us all down, working on the connection between ears (from the regular announcements, or even posters) and brain is a great starting point.
Conscious Flying Tips: Headphones and Volume Control
Going to pick one that winds some of you up, though bothers me slightly less for the last pick.
No headphones for a song, video or TikTok binge is simply unacceptable. Crew will quickly ask you to turn it off. It is the super-loud music via headphones which winds people up the most. Funny fact: Almost everyone doing this will cringe at their choice of music 5 to 10 years from now. If you find people turning round to look at you, catching their eye in weird ways, it is probably your crappy music. Learn to turn it down, or I’ll personally come and recline in front of you.
There are many more flight etiquette faux pars to delight in. If this page proves popular, I’ll do a ‘Part 2’ later down the line. Who knows, I might light the touch paper properly next time and mention etiquette while flying with children…
More Popular Pages this Month:
- Austin Texas: What to See and What to Pack?
- Prestwick Cases from Antler
- Samsonite Suitcases: The Complete Guide
- Wonderful Worldwide Waterfalls
- Positive Changes to Screening Hand Luggage
