I became fascinated with air travel at an early age, when I discovered I could leave freezing cold, dreary Connecticut behind in January, and two hours later, be in hot and sunny Florida. I think we’re all pretty fortunate to be living in this modern age, where we have the ability to jump on a plane and escape unattractive weather conditions. We can travel halfway around the world for relatively little money and in reasonable comfort. However, the more I travel, the more it seems that passengers are becoming increasingly selfish or oblivious to their actions on planes and how they impact the people around them. RELATED: The One Thing Some Women Do on Airplanes That Drives Me Nuts … And I Can’t Believe It’s Not Illegal
By being more considerate passengers, we can all make travel that much more enjoyable for everyone. Below are 10 terrible, horrible, no good, very bad airplane habits that I commonly see, along with my thoughts on how to be a better passenger:
1. Talking loudly on your phone or to seatmates
It astounds me when I hear people speaking so loudly on their phone or to a seatmate that I can hear them five rows back. It’s rude and careless—especially if it’s about sensitive business. You have no idea who’s listening and in this day and age of social media, you have to assume everyone is indeed listening. So speak softly no matter whether it’s a sensitive subject or not. Rest assured: Your loud voice is annoying everyone around you.
2. Not taking care of your personal hygiene
As a common courtesy, you should at least walk onto the plane clean and not reeking of BO. One of my worst flights involved a couple that smelled so bad, the passengers in the two rows around them literally had to plug their noses for the flight. Later, the flight attendants actually encouraged the offended passengers to write to Delta to complain and get a gift certificate. A close second in terms of hygiene-related offenses is when you see people clipping their nails, tweezing their eyebrows or putting nail polish on. It’s just rude and inconsiderate to put on nail polish on an airplane. Plus, it’s highly flammable (I wrote more on that topic here). If you ever see someone putting it on, either tell them to stop or ring the call button and ask the flight attendant if they smell nail polish. And don’t get me started on the person across the aisle who I saw flossing his teeth.
3. Bringing smelly food onboard
A McDonald’s cheeseburger may smell pretty good when it’s right out of the kitchen, but it doesn’t smell the same way once you’re airborne. The worst is tuna fish. Think twice about what kind of food you bring on your flight and be considerate of the people around you.
4. Taking your socks off
I can understand passengers wanting to take their shoes off after takeoff (don’t do it before, as it’s a safety hazard) but if you do, make sure your feet don’t smell. And regardless of whether they smell or not, don’t take your socks off so everyone can see your toes. This isn’t your living room. And bad airplane habits aside: Don’t ever walk into a lavatory with bare feet or socks that you plan on wearing again. An airplane bathroom floor is a breeding ground for germs and is just plain disgusting.
5. Playing music or videos too loud
You’d think that people would know that’s it’s not okay to play music or videos without earbuds/headphones on. But sadly, many don’t. The only thing worse is when passengers have earbuds/headphones on but they’re playing their music/video so loud that others can hear the noise. Not only is it bad for your ears, but it’s also rude. TIP: Bring earplugs and earbuds for yourself so you can put them on if a noisy seatmate won’t turn their volume down.
6. Sneezing/coughing without covering your mouth
My name is Johnny Jet and I’m a germaphobe. There. I said it. And I hate when passengers are coughing and/or sneezing without covering their mouths. Surely the pandemic has taught us not to do this, not when you’re outside in the fresh air, let alone in a metal tube, 30,000 feet in the air—especially with so many viruses out there, from colds and flus to Covid and RSV. I carry two masks when I fly: one for me and one to give to a rude or sick passenger who might need it.
7. Being rude or impatient with flight attendants and crew
I used to date a flight attendant so I know how difficult their jobs are … and this was before all the cutbacks. There’s no excuse as a passenger to be rude to a flight attendant unless the flight attendant is being rude to you. It’s not their problem that you didn’t notice that you don’t have seats together or that the entertainment system is down—although if you’re nice, they’ll do their best to help you. They’re just doing their job, and it’s not an easy one. I almost always bring flight attendants chocolates and greet them with a big smile. If there’s a problem during the flight, I know they’ll take good care of me—with or without the tokens of appreciation. Their job is to help and most will do it with a smile if you’re friendly.
8. Pushing, pulling or kicking other people’s seats
Unless you’re really old or handicapped, there’s no reason to push, pull or kick people’s seats when you’re getting up or walking down the aisles. Somehow, this happens all the time because people aren’t being considerate of those around them. Don’t be that person.
9. Ignoring your out-of-control kids
Usually, I find that kids are well-behaved and it’s the parents who aren’t. But once in a while you’ll see that out-of-control kid just running up and down the aisle screaming or playing their video games without headphones and the parents couldn’t care less. We all know that wrangling kids can be a challenge, but as a parent, just do your best to control the situation. That’s all anyone can ask. Ignoring it is what will irk everyone around you.
10. Pretending your dog is a service animal
I’ve been seeing an increase in travelers with dogs recently, and most of them have their companions wearing service dog harness vests. Unfortunately, I think many of these dogs aren’t really service dogs, as I know a number of people who say they’ve bought these vests so their animals fly for free, which is really pathetic in my opinion. I’m sure the industry is going to crack down on this sooner or later, which is only going to make it more difficult for those who really need a service dog and that’s a real shame.
What bad airplane habits irk you most?
I can think of many more bad airplane habits but first, I’d like to hear what you think should be on this list. Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
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Traveling alone is nightmare enough when you have a small child, say one or two years old, but the kid should never, I repeat NEVER, be put on the mother’s tray table to play or sleep. The woman was a clueless about that as the woman traveling with her, and when the mother got up to stretch her legs and go to the bathroom, the woman that was supposed to watch the kid ignored her and she thought it was cool to slam her little hands on the tray table. I am talking about an international flight to Japan which is easily 9 hours long.
My wife and I travel like that maybe once every few years or so now, we plan ahead, reserved our seats ahead of time, and still that was what we experienced as we were trying to get some sleep.
The solution? We switched to a Japanese airline and reserved seats with nobody behind us. The service was fantastic. I will never fly on a U.S. airline internationally again.
My big pet peeve: Overloading with perfume. I have stood in a boarding line and PRAYED not to be seated next to the woman who was three people in front of me. My prayer was answered, but strong perfume can make me nauseated.
Hate the loud talkers and the large traveling groups who act like it’s the first time they’ve ever been out in public, calling constant attention to themselves, etc. REALLY hate any loud talkers and germ-spewing coughers who won’t cover their disgusting mouths. Not a fan of people who get up the second the plane lands, blocking the aisle so you can’t get up when it’s your turn (close connections aside). FINALLY, I hate that the flight attendants ignore so many of these behaviors. On a recent flight, several men, traveling together but seated in different rows, all drunk, were YELLING to each other, using really foul language, well before the cabin doors were closed. They should have been thrown off, but the flight attendants ignored it. I complained to Delta, and never heard a word in response.
People who lay there seats back in my lap.
Let’s talk about “the back of the seat in front”. That’s not just a phrase – the back of the seat you’re looking at is someone else’s seat. So everything you do to it is affecting the person sat in front of you. When you tug on it to get up or lower yourself into your seat, you’re pulling on that person’s seat. You don’t have a high backed chair in front of your sofa at home, yet you manage to get up and down from that without needing something to pull on. So why do you need to do that on the plane? Your plane seat has armrests to help you get up and down. I know we don’t have much room between rows, but use your own seat to brace yourself! Push against the back of that to keep yourself upright instead of tugging on the seat in front. Next – that video screen is a TOUCH screen. It will respond to the touch of a nail, never mind a finger. Do you push, jab or bang on the screen when using your phone or tablet? No. So there’s no need to do it to the seatback screen either. Don’t slam the tray table up and down and don’t let your kids put it down and then keep banging on it. As for seat reclining, I know it cuts down on our space when the seat in front does it, but let’s keep this in perspective. Most economy seats only recline by 3 inches, economy plus is about 5 inches. Over the past 20 years, I’ve probably flown every major airline in the world. So other than first/business class with lie-flat seats which recline into their own pod, I’d like to know which airlines have seats that recline all the way “into your lap”. Stop exaggerating. Re carry-on luggage, when it comes to the overhead bins, be considerate. Don’t store your 2 suitcases length-wise so you’re taking all the space for 6 seats. And if there’s still room after you’ve stowed your bags, don’t close the bin as that’s an indication that it’s full. And finally, if you’re wearing a backpack, be aware that when you turn, you’re swinging that 12″-18″ thick heavy object into the face of anyone sitting in the aisle seat behind you. With all the security rules in place, it’s already stressful enough being in the airport or on a plane. The least we can do is be considerate of our fellow passengers.
People who recline their seat in the economy. The ticket you bought is for you seat space not to invade other space and then you still have the guts to spread you hair out! How i wish i have scissors to cut them. You need to be mindful that at the back of your seat is a screen and tray table for the back passenger’s use. You uncivilized moron!
“Civil aviation” is truly an oxymoron — you have to wonder what cave some passengers crawled out of these days.
Cabin crew here. We do NOT want to deal with an allergic reaction to animals onboard (service or otherwise) and cannot deny their transport by law. We are made aware of their passage and try to alert those seated nearby but please keep your fur baby in their carrier — it’s for their safety as well.
men or women who flip long hair over the seat ……next to me on the plane or sitting next to me. it is digusting…..i don’t know or care to know what is in your hair. just be considerate please.