For many families, March Break is a time to pack up the kids and head to Walt Disney World or Virginia Beach. That means gearing up for the inevitable seat-back pummelling by the child behind you, battling over the armrest with your neighbour or getting your knees whacked when the person in front of you reclines his seat all the way back.
Everyone has an opinion on the etiquette of their fellow passengers, and the consensus is that people are horrible. As Noel Coward so eloquently replied when asked about his flight, “Well, aeronautically it was a great success. Socially, it left quite a bit to be desired.”
How did it all go so wrong?
Jennifer Gaines, a contributing editor with Travelocity.ca, explains that unlike two or three decades ago, when flying was a mode of travel reserved for the wealthy, there are more people flying than ever before. And “when you pack that many people into a small space, tensions can flare, so I think that it's kind of natural that you can expect to run into some rude travellers.”
In fact, a December, 2007, poll by Travelocity.ca revealed that 39 per cent of respondents believed that their fellow passengers were less polite than in years past.
The poll also found that air travellers are more turned off by other people's nasty behaviour – 44 per cent listed it as the No. 1 drawback of flying – than by environmental factors such as a dirty airplane washroom (16 per cent), recycled air (15 per cent) and not getting a preferred seat (12 per cent). Nasty airplane food was the most irritating part of flying for just 5 per cent.
Is general civility in decline, or are there other things at play here?
Caroline Tiger, a writer in Philadelphia, set out to put together guidelines for modern etiquette when she discovered that there were no rules for things such as how much armrest space one can claim or the proper way – if there is one – to recline one's seat.
Tiger says she wrote her book How to Behave: A Guide to Modern Manners for the Socially Challenged because “it seemed like a niche that was screaming to be filled. I was just witnessing so many gaffes just walking around during the day. People need to be schooled.”
A good portion of the book is dedicated to good manners when flying. While there are many reasons why air travel these days is particularly frustrating – including security-gate indignities and endless lineups – Tiger believes that the main reason tempers flare is a feeling of powerlessness.
“Travel is difficult because the person who is [doing] it doesn't have any control over what's going on, whether it's in traffic or whether they're on a plane and they're taxiing down the runway for two hours. I think those sorts of situations where you don't have control over your destiny – that causes rage and that causes people to act in an unmannerly way.”
And there is the waiting. Last year was a record year in North America for travel delays, Gaines says. One in four flights was delayed because of weather or a mechanical problem. The main thing to remember is that there will inevitably be frustrations, so “pack your patience,” she says.
To ease the pain, then, here are some sensible rules of flying etiquette, as cited by a number of frequent fliers.
Checking in: Most customers agree that the staff at check-in counters could use a bit of happiness training. But it goes both ways. Being polite and smiling can usually get you that better seat or upgrade much more effectively than being a jerk.
