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Things you Should Never Do on a Plane

by Shawn L Fitzpatrick

@wbbrjp

When it comes to flying, there is plenty to be annoyed about. Long lines, irritating fees, mysterious delays and other petty grievances irk both frequent flyers and occasional travelers alike. And then there are the people, too. When you are already tired and cranky, an inconsiderate or clueless fellow flyer has the potential to push you over the edge.

But what if the problematic passenger is YOU? Given the tight quarters on most planes these days, chances are you’ve done something on a flight to annoy the person sitting next to you. Unfortunately, we can’t always agree on the precise rules of airplane behavior. Is it OK to take off your shoes? Should babies be banned from flights? Though not everyone can agree on those issues, certain in-flight behaviors are almost guaranteed to earn you a few dirty looks.

Do any of the following Six Things on an Airplane, and you risk being labeled a rude, inconsiderate jerk by both the cabin crew and your fellow passengers:

1. Recline your seat all the way without Asking
Reclining your seat without asking is rude airplane behavior. Of all the many airplane etiquette issues, perhaps none is more contentious than the question of whether or not it’s acceptable to recline your seat. Pro-recliners say they have a right to recline. Anti-recliners see red when someone’s seat back infringes on their space. Fistfights have broken out over the issue.

The best way to address the recline-or-not question? According to experts, you should ask the person sitting behind you before you adjust your seat to the fullest. “When you want to recline, turn around and tell the person behind that you’re going to recline,” travel expert Scott McCartney says. “Then do it slowly. It’s a simple courtesy, and can prevent someone from getting bonked on the head or a drink getting tipped over into their lap.”

2. Misuse Overhead Bins
Do not carelessly stack all your luggage in the overhead bins on the plane – you are generally allowed one bag per person in the overhead bin. After leg room, overhead bin space may be the most precious commodity on an airplane. Ever since most major carriers started charging to check luggage, more people have been bringing their bags with them into the cabin. Inevitably, bin space fills up before the last passengers board. While airline rules created the problem, people who don’t use common sense when stowing their luggage only make matters worse.

“Put the suitcase in the overhead and put your small bags (purse, backpack, shopping bags etc) underneath the seat in front of your’s – so we don’t have to run out of space and have to check bags,” a flight attendant informed us. Do not waste precious bin space by stashing your suitcase, coat, purse AND shopping bag in the overhead bin – especially if your smaller items could reasonably fit in the space by your feet. When you do put items in the overhead, try to stow them as efficiently as possible so you are not taking up more space than you really need or are normally allocated – and that would mean carryon wheels inward and not sideways taking all the bin’s space.

3. Be rude to the Flight Attendants
Being rude to the flight attendants is simply rude and uncalled for on an airplane. Flying is no picnic, but don’t take out your frustration on the flight attendants. They are not the reason your flight is delayed, the plane is overcrowded or your seatmate smells. “I agree it sucks that the flight got canceled and you’ll miss something important,” says Delta Airlines Senior Flight Attendant Joanne Alivio. “I was supposed to go home and see a concert with my husband. Now I am stuck in this small metal tube with you yelling at me.”

Basic respect and politeness goes a long way when you’re interacting with the cabin crew. Smile and say “hello” when you board, and avoid tacky, boorish moves like poking the flight attendants or snapping your fingers to get their attention. Chances are, they’ll match your politeness with kindness of their own.

4. Get Wasted
When you are flying on an airplane, do not drink too much. If you fly with any frequency, you’ve probably been on an airplane with someone who’s had a few too many. At best, the sloppy antics of drunk passengers are annoying. At worst, their misbehavior might cause the flight to be delayed or diverted if they assault a crew member or their seatmate. When flight attendants shared stories of the worst passengers they’d ever encountered, a disproportionate number involved alcohol. One-quarter of unruly passenger incidents worldwide are due to alcohol or drugs, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Not only does overindulging in wine or whiskey put you on track for the worst passenger of the year award, you may also end up with a pretty nasty hangover afterward. Chances are you’re tired and dehydrated from flying, which will only make the morning after that much worse. Further, do not take a sleeping pill knocking yourself out for the duration of the flight – especially if you are in the aisle seat blocking two of your seatmates from accessing the walkway.

5. Get too Friendly
Remember to not get too friendly with your fellow passengers. Chatty Cathys are a major annoyance for 43% of airline passengers Expedia surveyed in 2015. While you might be eager to strike up a conversation with your seatmate, not everyone wants to make friends in-flight. If the person sitting next to you is responding to your friendly questions with one-word answers, puts on their headphones, or keeps glancing at their book, they’re probably not up for a chat.

Aggressively hitting on your attractive seatmate is another in-flight no-no. Just over a quarter of people Expedia surveyed said passengers who were overly affectionate were most annoying, and another 13% singled out people who treated a plane ride as an excuse to pick up dates as incredibly aggravating. You don’t want to be the sexual harasser in seat 10D.

6. Kick the Seat
Whatever you do during your flight, do not kick the seat in front of you. Rear seat kickers were voted the most annoying passengers in the Expedia survey. Out of the people polled, 61% of them said feeling a kick from the person sitting behind them was the most irritating thing that could happen on a plane.

Seat kickers are usually children, which can make this a tricky problem to handle. If you are flying with children, it is your sole duty to rein in your squirmy little ones. While you might not be able to get them to sit completely still, you can take steps to minimize the annoyance for your fellow passengers, says Alivio. “Tighten your child’s seat belt, take off your kid’s shoes and placing a pillow, blanket or beloved stuffed animal in the back pocket of the seat in front of them may make them kick less, or at least not as hard”, she says. And of course if all else fails – you can try to appease the person, who’s getting an unwanted back kick courtesy of your toddler; by politely offering to buy them a drink or two.

“Do not go where the path leads, travel instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”   @wbbrjp

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