We all hate to fly these days; with smaller seats and lesser leg spaces, it’s not a relaxing or pleasant experience. Yes, we are referring to the coach class! And then there are the passengers who make things a bit awful for others.
The recommendations here may seem trivial, but frequent fliers will appreciate these as many of them (and us) have gone through these. Here are some tips for you to help make others’ flight more enjoyable, and to avoid being that person of annoyance:
Don’t just recline. Look behind first.
Reclining your seat may give you better comfort for that nap, but use some etiquette to notify the person behind you that you’re about to recline your seat back so that they are prepared for your seat to be shoved in their tiny sitting area. If you’re not the chatting kind, then at least look back and recline slowly instead of pushing it back hard. The passenger behind you may be working on his computer, or having a meal; and some passengers rest their heads on that tray table. On the other hand if the person in front of you does it, you have the right to push that seat, especially to get access to the bag at your feet.
Straighten up the seat for meals.
The same courtesy as above goes for meal time too. Crew members these days ask passengers to straighten their seat up when serving meals, making it easy for the person sitting behind to eat comfortable. And even if you are done eating, the person behind you might be a slow eater and need more time. Wait until the crew members have collected the plates to recline. Oh, and do look back first!
Don’t balance on the seats while walking down the aisle.
We know the plane wobbles and you’d want to hold to something for balancing yourself, so instead of holding on to the seats, use the overhead compartments. Just reach up and slide your hand along it to balance yourself in case of any sudden turbulence. Grabbing someone’s seat and walking is like creating a self-turbulence for the passenger sitting on it.
Don’t use the front seat to pull when getting out.
Speaking of holding the seats, don’t use the seat in front of you to pull yourself up when getting out of the seat. Use the arm rests to push yourself up, and lean against your own row to balance yourself.
Be considerate when placing bags in overhead bin.
On every single flight we have seen crew members orienting the bags in the overhead bins to accommodate more bags. With extra baggage fees, more passengers bring their bags in the cabin; and airlines are reducing the size of the overhead compartments. Be considerate to your fellow passengers and position your bags in a way that they use minimal space to fit other bags. Avoid the delays in takeoff because the last few people can’t find space and the flight attendants have to go around and turn the bags themselves.
Be careful when flashing your hair (for women)
Many women with longer hair tend to run down hands in their hair, perhaps as a stress-release, or just making a statement; without realizing that the hair is flying off on the face of the fellow passenger. Seats are narrow and people are not! Go slow on your hands with the run down.
Going to bathroom? Look at the line first.
The tight quarters of the aisle and seats makes it annoying for the persons sitting next to the bathrooms because you may be standing there on their heads with their face in line with your certain body parts. Look for the bathroom-occupied sign – if they are vacant, check the line first before getting off of your seat. Or wait in the food galley until the person in front of you comes out. It’s also annoying for the flight attendants who have the entire flight to look after.
Keep that aromatic food away.
Garlic tuna is something that emits a lot of aroma, and not a good one for many people. Have your, umm, stinky meal before entering the plane or save it for laters.
Have you experienced other annoyances? Share it with us.