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Airplane No-No's
Many people love flying, myself included, and as a seasoned traveler I look forward to getting on an airplane and having a few (or many!) hours to relax, catch up on some movies and disconnect. Knowing that in a few hours you will be on the other side of the country, or other side of the world, is exhilarating! I want that feeling to start as soon as I walk on the airplane.
We sometimes forget that traveling by train, bus or plane are all modes of public transportation. Yes, we can pay 100 or even 1000 times more for a plane ticket than a bus ticket, but we are still going from one place to the other just like everyone else. With that larger price tag comes much bigger expectations. And yet every once in awhile we are reminded of the negatives of using public transport.
On a recent flight we experienced first hand many of the things that you should never do on an airplane. So we made a list of the biggest no-nos for air travel. We still can’t believe that people do this crap on an airplane. Get it together people!
- Kicking or pushing the back of the chair in front of you. This is the #1 no-no on an airplane. The person in front of you will be reclining their seat at some point. Get ready for it. Pushing on their seat is not going to make them put it upright. It will just make you an enemy.
- When getting out of your seat, don’t grab the seat in front of you! This is just as bad as kicking the back of someone’s seat. Hold on to the back of your own seat versus the seat in front of you when you need to get up. Waking someone up who just fell asleep is a sure way to make someone mad.
- When using the TVs on the back of the seat in front of you, press the screen lightly. This, like point 1, can really wreck the experience of the person sitting in front of you. Just be gentle. If the TV is having issues, notify the flight attendant and have them reset it. No need to fight with the TV and then have a fight with the person seated in front of you. It’s not worth it.
- Don’t clip your nails on the airplane. Yes, I know this is gross, but some people still do it. I’m not someone who has my nail clipper at the ready, and on an airplane neither should you. Just don’t do this.
- If you have a small bladder, try not to select a window seat. Yes, this used to be me, but after all of the dirty (and not so dirty) looks I received after I drank a liter or two of water (you need to stay hydrated on an airplane people!), I soon realized that I needed to stop sitting next to the window. Do yourself and your neighbor a favor and select the aisle seat. You and your bladder will feel a lot better about it.
- Store your luggage in the overhead bin above YOUR seat. One of our biggest pet peeves is people storing their carry-on in the overhead bin in front of the plane when they are sitting in the back. By doing this you force people to store their luggage behind them, which has the unintended consequence of slowing down the deplaning process: Now people have to walk backwards to get their luggage when everyone wants to be going forward. If you are seated in Row 30, your suitcase should also be stored in Row 30.
- Prepare the items that you need in your seat BEFORE you get on the airplane. Organization is key here. Make sure that the personal item that you store under your seat is filled with the items that you need for the flight: headphones, water, the New York Times, your Kusshi bag... If you are scrambling in your luggage when you get to your seat, then you will be in the way of everyone else who is trying to board the plane. This again used to be me, one foot in my seat and one foot in the aisle, people giving me dirty looks and looking like a hot disorganized mess! Get it together. Know what you need and have it all in one place. It will make your life and everyone else’s around you a lot easier.
- Use the same manners you use at the dinner table. I understand that you could be on a plane for 12 hours, but seriously people, if you wouldn’t do it on a dinner date, don’t do it on an airplane -- except sleeping, of course!
We all need to get from point A to point B. Let's try to do this in the nicest way possible. Enjoy your flight!
Comment below and let us know what your biggest airplane pet peeves are.
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Jay
July 12, 2017
Phony “Service Dog’ Owners who exercise their”right" to request to be moved up front to a seating section I paid extra to enjoy, and then become self-righteous when the dog disturbs my peaceful enjoyment. The Worst.