What not to do on an airplane
Jimmy Kimmel did a video recently with a list of annoying things that people do on airplanes. Patrick Stewart acted out Expedia’s top five annoying people on the airplane, which included “Chatty Charlie,” who insists on talking to you and everyone else about nonsense for the entire flight. Other annoying traits he acted out were someone who kicks the back of the seat, claps when the airplane lands and someone who eats stinky food.
I would like to add a few more annoyances I’ve found when flying, and I’m pretty sure most people can back me up on this. I wanted to point these out not just to poke fun of people, but mostly to make others aware of the way their actions are perceived. Plus, you don’t want to be this person. These people are really just unaware of airplane etiquette. Don’t let yourself be this person.
Here are a few people with annoying airplane habits, and I’m sure there are a lot of people who would agree with me:
- The person who leans their seat all the way, and then goes up, and then down, and up and down. If you have your tray table down, then you can fully expect whatever you’re drinking to be on your lap. You can also expect a nice bruising on top of your knees.
- The person who talks on their cell phone until the very last second before take off. Everyone else is sitting there quietly while this person is giving a play-by-play of what’s going on around them. “Yeah, I’m sitting on an airplane. I just boarded. Yeah, everyone is sitting around me. Yeah, we’re waiting. Yeah, it took forever to board!” I really think that riveting conversation could wait until later.
- The person at the back of the plane, who jumps up the second the seat belt sign goes off, promptly walks all the way down the aisle so they can be the first ones off. I think this person thinks they’re the only one who is getting off the aircraft, or they never went to kindergarten where you learn that you have to wait in line and wait your turn.
- The person looking for a fight. This person is already red in the face; ready to blow up the second someone tells them they have to check their bag or their flight is delayed. You know this person. Every around them tenses up wondering what the flight attendant will say and if they’ll get thrown off the aircraft.
- The person who has never heard of the 3-1-1 rule, or never had to go through a metal detector. “Do I have to take off my steel toed boots, too?” “What do you mean I can’t bring my full size bottle of Jergens lotion!?”
- The person who has “voice immodulation.” If you haven’t seen this skit with Will Ferrell, then watch it. But this is the person who talks in a shouting voice, like they thought they were in the bleachers at a football game.
I know that flying can be a challenging time. Especially since it challenges all of us on levels that we as humans, by nature, are not equipped to deal with.
I know people are tired, and frustrated and out of their comfort zones, so I do have sympathy. Notice I didn’t mention screaming babies or someone whose sick. I’m sorry, but those are things that you can’t help. You can’t get mad at a baby for crying or someone for having a cough. I find that complaining about those things is just plain rude.
The things I mentioned here are clearly things that could be avoided if you just thought about others instead of yourself. I hope that your next flight is enjoyable, and I hope that these things might help you make the flight more enjoyable for the people around you.
