On my early morning walk one day, I came across a middle-aged lady listening to an audiobook on speaker at full volume. It was so loud and rude, I had to stop and say something on my third lap around. It reminded me of recent flights where I’ve encountered similar situations, which got me thinking of all my air travel pet peeves. So I’ve compiled my top pet peeves while flying below but please, feel free to leave a comment with your own travel pet peeves. RELATED: The One Thing Some Women Do on Airplanes That Drives Me Nuts – And I Can’t Believe It’s Not Illegal
1. People coughing or sneezing without covering their mouths
One of my biggest pet-peeves when I was traveling regularly pre-pandemic was passengers who coughed or sneezed without covering their mouths. I would see it on almost every flight, no matter what class I was in. Actually, the worst offender was a woman on a Virgin Australia flight from LAX to Brisbane years ago in first class. She wouldn’t stop coughing without covering her mouth and she was throwing her dirty tissues in the aisle for the flight attendant to pick up. I spoke to the flight attendant about it, who said that she’d given her a mask but she refused to wear it. So I asked for one and I wore it.
I wrote about the rude seat mate I had on my LAX to Miami flight once (here’s the story) and how he kept taking his mask off. When he started coughing without it, the flight attendant pounced on him.
2. Watching videos without headphones
On my return flight, I was in 10A and the passenger all the way on the other side of the plane decided to watch his movie on his phone without earphones. Everyone around him was looking at him like, “Is he insane?” but no one said anything. I was just about to get up and say something when the flight attendant told him to put headphones on. And he was pissed.
3. Listening to music super loud
I’ve had countless seatmates listen to music so loud that I could hear the thumping beat from a row or two away … and they had earbuds on. I was guilty of this once and my seatmate told me. I was embarrassed and apologetic, but that’s why now I never play music or listen to movies at full volume and I take my earbuds off my ears to see if they’re emitting noise.
4. Using speaker phone
I find people watching videos without earphones the worst offenders or talking on Facetime or speaker phone. It’s like they think they’re the only ones in the world.
5. Loud talkers
On the same flight, the passenger in 6G was greeted by his friend/wife/girlfriend in the aisle and she sat there speaking really loudly for about twenty minutes in the middle of the flight. Most passengers were sleeping or watching movies so it was not the time and was disturbing the surrounding passengers.
6. Cutting toenails or fingernails
Believe it or not, this has happened on more than one occasion.
7. Using nail polish
Ding. I just rang the call button and pointed to the passenger. The flight attendant jumped on them because it’s a fire hazard.
8. Flossing teeth
I kid you not: On a flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok on Cathay Pacific, the lady across the aisle was flossing her teeth. With her HAIR!
9. Passing gas
Why do airlines serve gassy foods onboard or in their lounges? I can personally confirm that masks don’t mask the odor, thanks to my rude seatmate the other day.
10. Parents of out-of-control kids
I have two little kids and I understand they’re not easy to travel with but parents who don’t even attempt to discipline kids drives me nuts.
I have a lot of pet peeves when I fly and I usually can’t bite my tongue. So I usually say something to the passenger(s) or, better yet, ask the flight attendant discreetly to deal with it so things don’t escalate.
Occasionally, the passenger doesn’t realize they’re being loud or inappropriate and appreciate you bringing it to their attention … though that doesn’t happen often. Usually, they get pissed so it’s best to have someone with some authority, like the flight attendant or pilot, deal with it, someone who can make them stop by having them arrested, fined or banned, depending on the offense.
Did I leave something out? What in-flight behavior irks you most?
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Flying with all of the above has stopped our air travel and we drive to avoid the hassles and they
can still happen at your destination place/vacation.
There are solutions to a couple of these complaints… I always like to take photos, and carry at least one camera and a monopod. The monopod works good in blocking the seat in front of me. I wedge it between my seat frame and the seat in front of me. That way that seat cannot recline, When someone puts there bare feet on my armrest, I can “accidentally” spill my hot coffee on their feet. OOOPS! Sorry for the accident. ;)
omg. WAH WAH WAH. This just adds to the delusion that we have any control over anything other than ourselves… Bruh. Drive. Don’t go anywhere. Get a different job. Stay home in your bubble where nobody does anything to poke your endless list of peeves. Or better yet, just deal. I appreciate that there is a quantifiable increase in humanities lack of consideration, but, unless it endangers your life (not your entitlement) shut up. Good grief.
People suck. So being crammed in a tin can with a bunch of people makes flying suck. It’s as simple as that.
What about when the plane lands and eventually parks whereupon as soon as the seatbelt sign switches off everone around immediately gets up in a chaotic manner to grab their luggage from the luggage rack above, then they just stand there all squashed together in the central isle for at least 10 minutes until allowed to file out in a single steam on eventual opening of the plane door – usually at the front. Being one who prefers to remain seated during this initial scramble to get up and ‘valise’ up. what annoys me are people in my row who verbally complain, even using swear words, that I am in the way of their getting out to join this crazy ‘squash and wait’ scenario.
In the UK I like Ryanair because the seats don’t recline
I can see that these are valid complaints, I have severe asthma and people who wear copious amounts of perfume and aftershave put me into a severe asthma attack (not just on planes anywhere) I now must carry a portable nebulizer, which I do but it’s the worst issue when you are closely seated and the person near you has bathed in their fragrance.
The reason people didn’t use to mind the seat in front of them being reclined is because there was considerably more room between them. Now, it truly cramps the individual sitting behind. We were traveling back from Hawaii once and the guy in the seat in front of my husband was literally laying in his lap from Mauii to Dallas. The seat was broken. The flight attendant pointed that fact out to the passenger – he didn’t care.
My company made me travel on 2 days notice, and all of the decent economy seats (company no-upgrade policy) are taken on fully-booked planes. The flight from HNL (Honolulu) to LAX (Los Angeles) is bad since the entertainment centers for a few rows in the rear port side don’t work, but it’s a red-eye, so I nap intermittently throughout the leg. However, I’m assigned a middle seat on the 13-hour direct flight from LAX to IST (Istanbul). The guys on either side of me are overweight, with bellies and arms spilling over both armrests and touching me. What makes it more miserable is that they stink to High Heaven, like they’re wearing soiled diapers as undergarments. Minutes after sitting down, I’m tearing up. I slowly lose my sense of smell because my smell receptors are simply overwhelmed. My senses recover a few hours after I land: my döner kebab tastes gamey and funky (yuck!), but I don’t complain because I know I’ll enjoy my Efes beers (Xtra and Dark Brown).
My pet peeve is people who refuse the flight attendants’ instructions to turn off electronic devices on take-off and landing. I assume that these rules are there for safety reasons. It’s not up to the passengers to decide that the rules are irrelevant.
On going, “pet peeve”: When the airlines are doing the “pre-board” for a parent w a child or someone who is physically handicapped, the quantity of those who tag along is my “pet peeve” of many years. Mom and /or dad with child(ren) – ok but not aunts/uncles/grandparents. Similar w those w handicapped individual. Next “pet peeve” folks with their “backpacks” who invariably, twist / turn as they are going down the aisle smacking it into others. Looks like they are going camping in the great outback for a month. Check-it or don’t bring it.
Parents not controlling their children is a big peeve for me. I live in Hawaii so obviously when I travel I must fly. I can give many examples but let me share one in particular. On one occasion, flying back from LAS to HNL on a 2AM flight with me having an aisle seat, a solid boy of heavy stature – maybe 10-12 years old – was sitting next to me, his older sister sat to the left of him, and his parents were behind him a couple seats to his left; upon departure at that hour, the lad promptly fell asleep encroaching into my space to the point his head was resting on my shoulder! It got worse!! At some point in his sleep, the youngster lashed out unexpectedly with a closed fist and decked me catching me by complete surprise – I was resting with my eyes closed – causing me to bite my lip, bleeding. Shocked, I promptly raised up halfway in my seat, pushed the boy off of me, and looked left to the parents/older sister who were busy chatting away seemingly oblivious to what had just occurred but definitely ignoring my stare. I got up and walked to the back of the plane where the flight attendants were all sitting and chatting and eating among themselves. I informed the flight attendants what had happened while applying a napkin to my cut lip asking both for ice and if I could relocate my seat. The flight attendants indicated nothing could be done to accommodate me (there were a few open seats) and they would further monitor the situation (which never occurred). I did report the incident to the airlines when arriving back home but nothing ever came of it nor did I receive any sort of apology – nothing. I now take my dollars elsewhere whenever possible especially with international carriers out of HNL but agree wholeheartedly that the American Airline industry, like many examples in our society as a whole, are going downward fast. I am of that age when I can say that the generation of leadership now in power didn’t have and don’t provide good role models so naturally expectations are few for each succeeding generation thereafter. Come on; wake up folks or the generations of the future will see this country existing no more. If I could go down to the border at this age and protect our sovereignty, I would do so! God Bless America.
All valid Bad Behaviors… Here’s one that never gets mentioned: While waiting at the Gate to board your flight many people these days are so extremely inconsiderate and take up the available seats to put their luggage on. Doesn’t seem to matter to them that many other people have to stand, so long as they have their space. VERY RUDE behavior!