Jetiquette: Dos and Don’ts of Air Travel
Monday, January 17, 2011
When travel plans go awry this snowy season, whether you're stuck on the tarmac waiting for fuel, clearance, a drink, or the bathroom, check your manners to make sure that you didn't leave them at home. You think that because you're among strangers it doesn't matter? Manners matter. Like a bad cold, insolence can be contagious.
15 Don'ts: Egregiously nasty activities that can land a passenger in the Jetiquette Faux Pas Hall of Shame
Don't hog the overhead compartment. Roll your jacket or coat up tightly to make room for others.
Don't snap your gum, no matter how bored or hungry you become.
Don't bring smelly food on to the plane because odors linger.
Don't read a full-sized newspaper unless you are adept at quietly folding it into columns to read.
Don't take off your socks; you might not be able to smell your feet, but the rest of us will.
Don't have a strong scent from perfume, hairspray, mothballs, dry cleaning.
Don't use both armrests the whole flight; share armrests with your seatmates.
Don't turn up your headset volume when your seatmate is trying to sleep.
Don't perform grooming rituals, such as pluck eyebrows or nose hairs, floss teeth, or use nail products.
Don't clip your toenails, or any nails for that matter. Nobody wants to see your bare feet, let alone flying clips from your big toe flying onto their lap. Nobody wants to listen to you clipping away.
Don't harass the staff with your neediness.
Don't have more than one drink because alcohol dehydrates, affecting you more at high altitudes.
Don't ask “How much more time 'til we land?”
Don't be thin on social skills, cue to signs that your seatmate would rather read than shoot the breeze.
Don't steal your seatmate's time making him listen to your woes.
14 Dos: You'll earn those wings
Do be considerate of other passengers. They are probably as stressed-out and anxious as you.
Do bathe before heading out to the airport; you never know when your next shower might be.
Do wear clean clothing; you never know when you'll get to where you're going.
Do be a conscientious member of Generation Text and don't text your boredom.
Do leave room in the overhead compartment for other passengers.
Do help the elderly and those with small children.
Do be considerate by not waking your seatmate in order to leave your seat.
Do share snacks you're not going to eat because food can be scarce or expensive.
Do excuse yourself after making bodily sounds.
Do clean up after yourself, especially in the head after having shaved, flossed and brushed your teeth.
Do remember that if you let your seatmate buy you a drink, you have to reciprocate.
Do nudge your seatmate's upper arm to stop him from snoring. Then say, “Sorry.”
Do say “please” and thank staff every time something is done for you, no matter how small.
Do remember to thank the staff when disembarking the plane, no matter how tedious the flight.
Didi says: Born in Providence and brought up in Newport, I've never been able to stay away from Rhode Island for too long. Although my two daughters and husband were raised in New York City, it is they who have taught me the importance of etiquette and manners. As the author of two books about collecting art in New York, I've come home to what's important to me: how I behave. You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and most of all at NewportManners.com. That is, of course, after you've read all my Modern Etiquette columns on golocalprov.com
Related Articles
- Modern Manners: Texting at the Table
- Modern Manners: Thank-You Notes
- Business Etiquette & Manners: Job Interviews
- Netiquette: Emoticons and Real Smiles
- Business Etiquette: Managing Tardy Employees
