Airline Passenger Etiquette Guide to Modern Airline Travel David Tuffley Published by Altiora Publications at Smashwords www.altiorapublications.com © Copyright 2012 David Tuffley Smashwords Edition, License Notes This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author. About the Author David Tuffley PhD is a Lecturer and researcher at Griffith University in Australia. David has a broad range of interests; Anthropology, Psychology, Philosophy, Ancient and Modern History, Linguistics, Rhetoric, Comparative Religions, Architectural History, Environments and Ecosystems. David Tuffley's Profile & other eBooks: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tuffley Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tuffley/ Contents Introduction The psychology of airline travel Before the flight During the Flight After the Flight Concluding remarks Introduction The 21st Century has seen a rapid rise in the number of people travelling by air. What was once only affordable by the super-rich is now accessible by people of even quite limited means. We have seen the emergence of the budget, no frills airlines. It has never been so inexpensive to travel, and the trend is set to continue well into the foreseeable future. Applying mainly to people travelling economy (or Coach) class, this eBook is a how to guide for people wanting to make the experience more tolerable if not enjoyable for themselves and their fellow travellers. Its basic message is common sense and consideration for others. It encourages you to ask yourself before you do anything, how would I like it if someone did this to me? This is a silver bullet formula that works in almost any situation in life. The psychology of airline travel There is something about airline travel that brings out the worst in people. The phenomena has much to do with (a) claustrophobia leading to heightened anxiety, and (b) the perceived invasion of personal space leading to attempts to reclaim it. Claustrophobia Cramming strangers shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow into an aluminium tube for many hours, thinning the available oxygen so it is like being on a 4000 metre (10,000 feet) high mountain, then hurtling that tube through the sky at close to the speed of sound at an altitude of 10 kilometres (6 miles) are the ideal conditions for any sane person to experience some degree of claustrophobia. Personal space (Proxemics) Everyone of us as we go through life maintains four concentric zones (like a bulls-eye target) around us; Intimate space (0 to 45 cm), Personal space (45 to 120cm), Social space (1.2 to 3.7 metres) and Public space (3.7 to 8 metres and beyond). These are average figures. Actual figures vary from culture to culture. It is not difficult to see where the problem with airline travel arises, indeed with any form of public transport where we are crammed together with strangers. People we do not know belong in the public space (no closer than 3.7 metres or 12 feet away from us if we are to feel comfortable. Instead, these strangers are put into intimate (0 to 45 cm) contact with us as our shoulders and elbows unavoidably rub together. Our instincts are telling us that this is a violation, while our rational minds try to keep our rising indignation under control. If we are not mindful though, our instincts assert themselves in a variety of ways and here is where the problems arise for the people around us. All of these factors combine to create a sense of discomfort with our present situation and the desire to escape from it as soon as possible. Observe how most passengers stand up as soon as the plane comes to a rest at its destination, even though everyone knows it will be several minutes before anyone can actually get off the plane. The rational thing to do would be to stay seated and relaxed until it is possible to stand up and walk off. An attitude of gratitude Gratitude is an emotion that has enormous power, both in making a journey more pleasant and in life generally, but which few people understand in our consumer-driven world that encourages dissatisfaction and complaint. What is there to be grateful for with economy air travel? Well quite a lot actually. A hundred years ago, travelling several thousand kilometres would have been immensely arduous, time-consuming, uncomfortable and dangerous, not to mention expensive. How fortunate you are to be able to avoid all that for just a few hundred dollars and a couple of hours of your valuable time. Unless we figure out how to beam people from place to place like in Star Trek, it is still the easiest way to get to far-off places. An attitude of gratitude will endear you to the airline staff. So accustomed are they to rude and demanding passengers that the ones who actually notice and appreciate them will be looked after. All you need do is to make brief eye contact, and with a friendly smile and a nod, say hello or thank you, depending on the situation. This not only makes them feel better about doing a difficult job, it makes you feel better too. It is a win-win situation. Before the flight Through a combination of patience and consideration, the boarding process can be accomplished without stress. Patience Patience in accepting that getting several hundred people seated and settled is always going to take at least 20 minutes. If you know it is inevitable and you have no control over the process, it is best to simply accept that it is so and not wish that it were otherwise. Consideration Consideration is not taking longer than is necessary to get yourself seated. I have often observed people holding up a long line of passengers as they take their sweet time putting their bags in the over-head locker, carefully folding their coat etc, apparently oblivious to the people waiting to get past. That is not being considerate. If possible, step aside from the aisle and stand in the foot-well of the aisle seat while you arrange your bits and pieces. If someone is already sitting in the aisle seat and you need to get past them to the middle or window seat, make eye contact, and apologetically smile as you communicate your need for them to get up and let you past. It is important to make a good first impression on the people that you will be sharing a confined space with for the next so many hours. If you are allocated to the aisle seat and there is no-one sitting next to you yet, be ready to get up and do so graciously. Try to not indulge in wishful thinking that those seats will remain unoccupied. They almost certainly will have someone allocated to them, they just haven't arrived yet. It's a cell phone not a megaphone People talking on cell phones often speak louder than they need to. Everyone within a ten meter radius can hear their side of the conversation. When boarding and waiting for departure, be considerate to your fellow passengers by moderating the volume of your voice so that only the intended person at the other of the call can hear you. This advice is applicable in almost every situation where a cell phone is used. During the Flight Contain yourself in your allocated space As confined as the average economy/coach class seat is, endeavour to contain your arms, legs and girth between your armrests. While your neighbour may tolerate a minor encroachment into their space, deciding it not worth making a fuss over, they will certainly notice it and resent it to some degree. Never assume that people will not notice or mind encroachment on their already limited space. The battle for the armrest This is probably the most hotly contested zone of all. Economy class armrests are barely wide enough for one arm, so someone will always be the loser unless a way can be found to share the armrest. This can be accomplished by allowing your neighbour to have the armrest to themselves initially. Their arm will rest somewhere near the middle. After a half hour or so, gently insert your own arm onto the rear part of the armrest, the part closest to the seat-back. Do so unaggressively, gradually. The other person will usually shift their own arm forwards following the line of least resistance. By doing this you are sending the unspoken message that there is no good reason why you both cannot share the armrest, and that it is only reasonable to do so. The best kind of neighbour simply lets the other have the armrest, particularly when that person is sitting in the middle seat. The worst kind assumes ownership of both armrests and refuses to share. Possession is nine tenths of the law in their selfish minds. These are often alpha individuals who assume they deserve the lion's share of the available resources and who probably regard travelling economy as an affront to their dignity. What can you do about the space hog? Politely asserting your right to an equal share of the available space is the best policy. There is a fine line between being assertive and aggressive. Assertiveness comes from a place of respect for others and the reasonable demand that others afford you the same respect. Aggressiveness rides rough-shod over the rights of others, and unless you enjoy being bullied, you will feel better about yourself if you show the bully that their actions will not be tolerated. This is usually enough to get them to back down. In extreme cases where open conflict occurs, the cabin crew will get involved, but you really do not want the situation to come to this. There is a good chance both of you will be blamed equally for the disturbance. Creating a disturbance on a flight is enough to get you banned from flying with that airline in the future, even criminal charges. The rapid recliner After armrests, the reclined seat-back is the next most contentious zone of potential conflict. The worst thing a passenger can do is suddenly recline their seat all the way back without regard for what impact this will have on the person behind. They may have their tray table down, with food, bottles, their laptop computer, all kinds of things on there, and the rapid recliner sends all of this crashing. Sure, you have a right to recline your seat, no-one is disputing that, but it must be done in such a way that shows consideration for the person behind. That means to recline SLOWLY. If you do it gradually and in two stages, the person behind will barely notice. The first stage is to take it slowly to half way. The second stage, done perhaps half an hour later, goes all the back, again slowly. It is not uncommon for an aggrieved person sitting behind to randomly kick the seat in front. If you are being kicked, and it is not a child doing it, there is a fair chance this is why. Understand that you might have contributed to the situation. Under your seat There is a misconception that the space under your seat belongs to you; it does not. If you try to put your cabin luggage under your seat, you are likely to be indignantly told to move it by the passenger behind whose foot room has been suddenly diminished. At 180cm (6') I am not especially tall, yet even I find that my feet reach all the way under the seat in front. When something gets shoved into that space by the person in front, I slowly push it forwards into their own foot-space. As long as your feet do not project any further than the vertical boundary of the front edge of the seat in front, you are within your own space. Getting up A considerate passenger sitting either in the middle or window seat will minimise how many times they expect the aisle seat person to get up and down to let them in and out. Often the best way is to wait for the aisle-set passenger to get up to go to the toilet or stretch their legs, and do the same yourself. They will probably realise that you have considerately waited for them. If they are already seated when you return, they only need get up the once, not twice. They will also know that you will be back soon, and will not settle down until you do. All of this sends a message that you are considerate neighbour and earns you a certain amount of good-will credit. When getting up, the natural thing to do is to grab the top of seat back of the row in front and use it to leverage yourself out. If you do this, do so carefully to minimise how much you move the seat back. The passenger in that seat might be trying to sleep. In any event, they will consider it an intrusion to have their seat shaken. On long, over-night flights, when most of the aircraft is asleep, you might find yourself unable to sleep and wanting to stretch your legs and perhaps go to the toilet. But to do so will involve either waking the aisle-seat passenger up and asking them to move, something they will definitely resent having to do, or climbing over them without making any contact at all. Unless you are agile enough to do this, resign yourself to staying put, or trying again to get some sleep. The thin, dehydrated air that you have been breathing for hours will have decreased the likelihood that you need to go to the toilet unless you have been drinking alcohol. If you know you have a small bladder and need to go to the toilet frequently, request an aisle seat. If you in the aisle seat and the person nearer the window needs to frequently go, suggest you swap seats. The window shade Airlines generally require that window shades be fully open for take off and landing. What happens in between is at the discretion of the window seat passenger. Open or close the shades as appropriate to the circumstances and having done so, leave it alone. Do not keep opening and closing it. If the flight is an over-nighter and people expect to sleep, the cabin crew will ask the window seat passengers to close the shades on the side of the plane that the rising sun will shine on so that people will not be dazzled by high intensity sun-beams. Moderate how much alcohol you consume The thin, dry air of modern aircraft has a dehydrating effect on passengers so drinking enough fluids to stay hydrated is important. Bear in mind that alcohol is a diuretic, something that makes your body excrete more water than it otherwise would, so there is a strong possibility that drinking too much alcohol on a flight will cause you to become dehydrated. This is why the flight attendants bring around water every so often. The airlines walk a fine line with regards to alcohol on flights. Give people enough alcohol and they will drift off into a pleasant slumber and be no trouble at all. Give them too much and they can become drunk and disorderly, abusing their fellow passengers and generally being a problem. The cabin crew will not serve alcohol to a person who is visibly drunk. So if you want to keep drinking, you must remain calm and composed, the kind of person who can hold their drink. On an over-night flight, you could walk down to the kitchen and politely ask for a stiff night-cap to help you get to sleep. Flight attendants like it when the passengers sleep and who could blame them? Kicking children, screaming babies What to do when the child behind is kicking your seat? The worst thing you can do is over-react. It makes you look like you are being mean to a sweet little kid. The best course of action is to stay calm, and get ready to have a quiet word with the person who is in charge of the child. Do not speak directly to the child. When ready, turn to the carer, smile and say hello. Assure them by your demeanour that you are not angry and pose no threat. Control your anger before attempting this. All of this has the effect of not raising defences that are easily raised when children are concerned. Say something like I know it is difficult for kids to sit still on flights, but the kicking is really disturbing me. Is there some way you can get him/her to stop? Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated. Doing this makes you seem kindly and reasonable. Unless the carer is negligent, they will readily see your point and do what they can to stop it. If that fails, you could always try having a quiet word with the flight attendant. Use a variant of the same speech. Crying babies are a different matter. Most of the time, there is nothing you can do except wait for the poor little thing to settle down of their own accord. Follow the flight attendant's directives It is worth remembering that the flight attendants act under the legal authority of the Captain. When they give you a directive, like returning to your seat, you are legally obliged to do what they say because it is actually Captain saying it. Defying the Captain's authority is a criminal offence (a felony). In the post-911 world, there is close to zero tolerance for passengers making a nuisance of themselves on aeroplanes. Hitting or shoving a member of the crew or another passenger is a serious criminal matter that is certain to result in you being arrested on arrival and charged with a felony that could result in a hefty fine and/or serious jail time, even if such behaviour is normal at your local bar or pub on a Friday night. In the US, if this is Strike 3, the consequences are very serious indeed. The talkative passenger It is a fact of human nature that extroverts like to talk while introverts prefer to stay silent. When you put either kind into an aeroplane for hours, their natural tendencies seem to be magnified. The talkative person becomes more talkative, the introspective person becomes more introspective. This is probably a response to the heightened anxieties of airline travel. As a general rule, do not assume your neighbour wants to chat, particularly when it might go on for hours and hours. Assume they want their privacy and only start a conversation if it is clear that is what both of you want. If you happen to be in a chatty mood, wait until the plane is about half and hour from landing and strike up a conversation then. If it has been a long flight, your neighbour is likely to welcome some light conversation when there is no chance of being trapped in it for hours. The mile-high club Sex between consenting adults is of course not a crime unless it happens within the sight of others. Sex in an aeroplane toilet or under a blanket in your seat technically comes under the category of being a public place, so it is illegal if not uncomfortable. Certainly the airline would prefer that you did not do it. However provided you are discrete and do not cause a problem for others, it is a matter between you and your consenting adult partner. Personal hygiene It hardly needs to be said that doing everything you can to minimise personal odour, including not wearing too much perfume or after-shave, is a basic requirement for people travelling together in a tightly packed, hermetically sealed environment. Freshly washed body and clothes are the obvious starting point. Acceptable levels of body odour is culturally-defined. What is considered acceptable in the developing world might be unacceptable in North America or Europe. After the Flight Stay seated until it is possible to disembark Most passengers stand up as soon as the plane comes to a rest, even though they know it will be several minutes before they can actually leave. Stay seated and relaxed until it is possible to stand up and walk off. Double check you have the right bag After claiming your bag from the carousel, double-check that it is really your bag. Imagine the inconvenience of getting to your hotel and discovering the truth. Imagine how much bother you are causing the bag's real owner. Easily avoided by a quick check before leaving the baggage collection area. Concluding remarks The essence of airline passenger etiquette is simply to be considerate. Ask yourself how you would like it if someone did to you what you are doing to them. If the answer is no you do not like it, then do not do it to others - as simple as that. If you enjoyed this eBook, see David Tuffley's collection here: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tuffley Join him on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tuffley/