18 Unwritten Rules of Plane Etiquette That’ll Help You Fly with Less Drama

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Air travel often has a unique way of bringing out less agreeable aspects of individuals, perhaps influenced by the reduced oxygen levels in the air. At times, the diminished cabin pressure appears to impact people’s ability to demonstrate basic courtesy. Nevertheless, you have the power to rise above such behavior.

Getting locked in an airtight tube for hours with food that tastes like your teenage regrets can be unpleasant. However, these tips will make your flying experience way better.

1. Stick to Your Line

The airport security lines can be long, and everyone feels important. But not jumping the line and angering other travellers is one of the ways you can keep your moods, and those of others, from getting ruined.

Everyone’s muscles are aching from all the standing, running, and pulling of suitcases. Sticking to your line makes it look like it’s moving faster and doesn’t ruin anyone’s day. You’ll all get on the plane eventually if you are on time.

2. Don’t Leave Your Luggage With A Stranger

If you leave your luggage with a stranger at an airport; they may put illegal things in it or run away with it altogether. Lost luggage is the nightmare of most travellers, but you’d rather lose your luggage to the airline than to a stranger.

You may have struck a rapport in the security check queue, but you’re not friends.

3. Keep Calm During Security Check-In And Boarding

There are enough things to upset you on a flight, from rude security agents to travelers with no travel or personal etiquette. Learning to control your reactions and emotions will help you have a great flight all around.

People are dealing with pressures from things you don’t know, keep yourself from ruining your day because of their bad days.

4. Be Kind to Flight Attendants

Some people feel the urge to barrage flight attendants with all sorts of requests and complaints. This is not the time to remind the attendants that you’re important, and they should “know who you are.”

Be nice if you can’t be kind.

5. Don’t Bring In Hot Food From Home

Did we mention it’s an airtight giant tube? The smells from your grandma’s eggrolls will be a very unwelcome addition to the body odors of hundreds of humans.

6. Carry-ons Must Be Liftable

You will be required to put your carry-on into the overhead bins. If you can’t lift it, please check it in. There’s no need to hold people up as you fight with your stubborn bag that won’t leave the ground, forcing other passengers to help you haul it.

7. Be Open to Swap Seats

You may be called upon to swap seats with someone who needs yours more. It could be a parent with a child or an elderly person who requires the aisle seat.

Be nice about it and help make the flight easy for others as well.

8. Save Bodily Gases for the Bathroom

Worse than the smell of greasy food from your favorite local joint is the smell of unpleasant gases from your body. If you must break wind, please use the bathroom and leave the smell there.

If you have a bad tummy, take something before boarding.

9. Recline Reasonably, Especially in Economy

If you didn’t pay for a seat that converts to a bed in First Class, don’t try to convert your economy seat into a recliner and suffocate your fellow travelers in the process.

If you want to recline, ensure it’s not during meal time or when the person behind you is using their tray.

10. Avoid Touching Others Unnecessarily

An accidental brush of the arms while boarding may be unavoidable, but don’t make your travel partners your body props.

Constantly leaning on others or resting your sleeping head on their shoulders is unpleasant for them.

11. Speak Up About Annoying Kids, But Be Kind

Babies are cute, and all, but their angelic qualities seem to evaporate in flight. If you’re seated next to a kid who keeps kicking you in the shin, talk to the parent about it.

Smaller babies may be having a hard time and cry incessantly; be kind to parents as they’re also harrassed. They’d be more than happy to have a quiet kid as well.

12. Contain Yourself in Turbulence

Few things remind people of their mortality than a shaking, speeding, metallic tube at 35,000 ft altitude. If this happens, don’t be the one screaming the loudest and asking your ancestors to stop calling your name.

Do as the Captain and the flight attendants request you to, and stay as calm as humanly possible in a crisis.

13. Keep Your Feet Off The Aisle

Feet gross out many people; please don’t spread them everywhere and force people to jump over you. Worse still, don’t let your bare feet near other people’s bodies, especially faces and hands.

14. Walk About With Decorum

There’s absolutely no need to hit people and stomp on them every time you need to walk about on the aisle. Keep your hands as close to your body as possible, and rise from your seat without crushing people’s feet and gorging their eyes with your elbows.

15. Pay Attention to Cues

15 hours on a flight are long, and you may feel the need to narrate your life history and family tree to your seatmate. You may do that if they welcome it, but if they put on headphones or suggest they’d like to be left alone, please take the hint.

16. Arise With Decency

You’ve all seen the strange phenomenon; the plane starts taxiing to a stop, and everyone on the plane rises simultaneously and starts scampering for the exit. There’s much pushing and shoving, and everyone tries to get out first.

Where are you going?

Don’t be those people. Get your luggage without bopping people on the head, and walk in line to the exit. If you’re afraid you’ll miss your connecting flight, ask the flight attendant politely if you can get out faster.

17. Drink Responsibly

Especially on long-haul flights, there’s always that one jerk that drank too much and is making a ruckus. Don’t be that guy.

18. Keep Calm and Carry On

With delays, racing to catch a flight, and seat debacles, it’s easy for anyone to get worked up. On travel days, it’s best to take on a “go with the flow” attitude and do your best to remember the end goal- arriving at your destination.

Source

Skip the Drama- 22 Viable Responses to Being Asked to Change Seats on an Airplane

Embarking on an airborne adventure is a journey that often weaves together excitement and weariness, shaped significantly by the ultimate destination. Amidst the bustling rituals of boarding and locating your designated seat, have you ever encountered an unforeseen proposition—one that entails switching seats with a fellow traveler?

Skip the Drama- 22 Viable Responses to Being Asked to Change Seats on an Airplane

28 Phrases That Instantly Make People Stop Listening to What You Have to Say

Some words wield such power that they have the ability to swiftly erode the credibility of the speaker, a notion that strikes a chord within the online forum community. In a recent discussion, a forum member presented a question that sparked contemplation: “Are there particular words, the mere utterance of which compels you to disregard everything else a person conveys?”

28 Phrases That Instantly Make People Stop Listening to What You Have to Say

25 Ignorant Things Americans Said Abroad That Prove Many Don’t Have a Clue

Setting off on an expatriate journey in an unfamiliar land is an adventure brimming with excitement, perplexity, and occasionally, sheer exasperation. As you dive into the customs and quirks of a foreign culture, certain encounters may morph into amusingly vexing anecdotes along the path.

25 Ignorant Things Americans Said Abroad That Prove Many Don’t Have a Clue

A Traveler’s Nightmare: 20 Dangerous Tourist Activities That Could Be Your Last

In this compilation, we present 20 risky tourist activities that have the potential for fatal consequences if not approached with the necessary caution.

A Traveler’s Nightmare: 20 Dangerous Tourist Activities That Could Be Your Last

16 Breathtaking Places for Your Bucket List

Our world is graced with an array of mesmerizing destinations, from awe-inspiring natural wonders to breathtaking architectural marvels, capable of leaving even the most seasoned travelers in silent awe and profound inspiration.

16 Breathtaking Places for Your Bucket List