At one time air travel was the height of sophistication, now it's another piece of public transport. With this decline in perception has come a corresponding decline in good manners amongst passengers.
Thankfully the folks at WWNK (What We Now Know) email newsletter has come with some air travel ettiquette tips in time for the winter sun seekers and ski-bunnies:
- Since 9/11, security checks have become more serious and time-intensive. Make it easier for all concerned by being prepared. For example, you may be asked to remove your shoes and coat, so wear shoes that slip on and off easily, take off your jacket ahead of time, and have your ID ready to show.
On the plane, don't expect other passengers to help you lift your carry-on into the overhead bin. If you're too weak to do it by yourself, it's probably too heavy and should have been bag-checked in the first place.
When you are standing in the aisle, make sure that your buttocks are not in other people's face... and don't hit your fellow passengers in the head with a bag slung over your shoulder.
Don't hang out in the aisle, talking loudly with your friends in other seats. Some passengers may want to sleep (or simply not be a witness of your exchange), and it is extremely annoying having to squeeze past someone blocking the aisle.
Try to be nice to parents of screaming infants and toddlers. It's virtually guaranteed they're already stressed out, so don't punish them even more by giving them the evil eye.
Don't wear perfume or after-shave on a plane. Our sense of smell is the highest-developed, and the close proximity to your fellow flyers makes matters worse.
Some people are overcome by a mysterious urgency to get off the plane as soon as it comes to a standstill. Don't rush down the aisle, shoving and pushing the other passengers. Stay in your seat until the plane has emptied to some degree and then make an orderly exit. Your luggage won't roll off the conveyor belt any earlier, just because you got there first.
