Airplane Etiquette Rules for a Happy Flight

[Vacation4us]

We're leaving tomorrow for NYC, and I just bought an airplane foot hammock. It was cheap, reviews seemed good, and I'm going to try it out.

I'll report back if it pi$$es anyone off.

Please do let us know if you found this comfortable. So cheap I ordered one with no plans to fly for at least a year!

 

[jollystomper]

Pics, or it didn't happen...

No Pics, just good conversation - short story version, going to Las Vegas for work, she sat in my row in window seat, no one in aisle seat, first time she had flown and she was nervous. She could not understand how I could doze off during takeoff, we ended up having a good conversation about all sorts of topics, about halfway thru the flight she chose to sit in middle seat next to me to converse without having to lean over seat. After we landed she (and then her "manager" who met her off plane), to show their thanks for helping her to relax during the flight, offered to put me on the VIP list for one of her shows at a "Gentlemen's Club", I politely declined, being happily married.

 

[athena53]

I would gladly trade the fancy entertainment center for one more inch of seat width and 3-4 inches more legroom.

Well, they're cutting back on those, too. I flew AA between DFW and San Juan del Cabo earlier this year and it was "bring your own device". There were brackets on the panel in front of you to hold a tablet or smartphone and you streamed the available entertainment from their Wi-Fi. I believe there were also chargers at each seat. It sure beat those boxy units that took up half the space under the seat in front of you.

I agree with those who say people voted for the cheapest seats with their dollars and the race to the bottom started. There have been a few attempts to start airlines that were all Business Class- they failed. It's a good news/bad news thing; when Dad was flying on business in the 1960s he said the only women flying were the occasional military wives. It was just too expensive for families to fly. I guess it's good news that it's so accessible to a larger % of the population but I go for Business Class on long hauls.

 

[HFWR]

First Class from NYC to Paris today is about $4500 so the price really hasn't changed. Well worth it IMO! (we just came back from Paris 2 weeks ago)

But being able to get the same flight today in coach for ~$489 also illustrates how much the airlines have dropped the price. (guessing that $489 in today's money was about $50 in 1958)

I think it also shows that FC today is what flying 'used to be' across all the aisles in economy. Now you need to pay FC at a 'normal price' --and the expected comfort and courtesy-- but economy is much cheaper than years ago.

And you get what you pay for.

My companion and I spent two weeks in Italy/Paris for about what you paid for two tickets. I did pay extra for “premium” economy on the way back, at $125/ea. (Wasn’t available on the first flight. But $9000 for one trip would mean very little travel for me...

 

[Big_Hitter]

Flew SW to Denver last week. Seats were pretty spacious. Turns out my legs are what keeps the armrest up, I think... - this seat had plenty of room though.

I also tried the barf bag thing but we had a Malcolm sit down between us early on during boarding. Oh well.

 

[NeverBored]

Speaking of airplane etiquette, have you noticed the increase in people jumping into the aisle when the plane stops and pushing their way forward to get off first? Of course the people in front aren't going anywhere yet, as they are retrieving their stuff from the overhead bins, so Pushy still has to wait but doesn't want to wait at his/her seat. This has happened way too often lately (last night the most recent). My husband has begun to stand up quickly and block the aisle so the people in front of us can get up and exit in order. He's a bit obsessive about it.

I would join the campaign against all the heavy carry-ons. I had to duck last night to avoid one.

 

[CardsFan]

Speaking of airplane etiquette, have you noticed the increase in people jumping into the aisle when the plane stops and pushing their way forward to get off first? Of course the people in front aren't going anywhere yet, as they are retrieving their stuff from the overhead bins, so Pushy still has to wait but doesn't want to wait at his/her seat. This has happened way too often lately (last night the most recent). My husband has begun to stand up quickly and block the aisle so the people in front of us can get up and exit in order. He's a bit obsessive about it.

I would join the campaign against all the heavy carry-ons. I had to duck last night to avoid one.

Glad to know I am not the only one that does this. I make sure all ahead of me, including my row, have a chance to move forward before I do.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

Ugh! I just flew back yesterday from Tel Aviv to Budapest on Wizzair and got the worst seats on the plane (row 40) and even worse an enormous (2 meter) husky guy opposite my aisle seat who is too huge to sit in his seat long so spent the entire flight standing bent over reading a book on his seat so his butt was in my face most of the flight. The woman in front of him had a 2 year old who screamed a lot of the flight and then was permitted to wander up and down the aisles along with another 3 or 4 children under 5 from other parents tired of watching their kids. It was insane. Because this guy was blocking the aisle everyone wanting to use the restroom behind my seat (love the odors from there!!) had to try and force their ways past him and banging into me in the process. Trying to compare that trip to anything worse in my life I come up with this comparison: I was in the US Special Forces and during SF training during week 1 we had the worm pit all night (standing in chin high stinking mud with lots of crawly things in it all night) and this was maybe as close an experience as that. I never-ever fly economy airlines or seats but in this case we were forced to as we were meeting family flying over from other parts of the world to celebrate my wife's sister's 80th birthday in Jerusalem. Because the others couldn't get any other flights we had to find one arriving more or less at the same time and these cheapo flights were the only ones that timed out anywhere near. I rented a van so I could drive us all to Jerusalem so I was the key link. The things you do for family.

 

[Vinnygret]

That sounds really horrible and a long flight as well. I always travel with ear plugs, sleep mask and a hanky with a scent I like on it. I think the airline should be diligent about blocked aisles and running children. Sadly, the current generation raising children seems to feel that their precious darlings should not be required to observe any behavior rules, anytime, anywhere. The large man should have been required to buy two seats if he needs two seats in order to remain xezted.

 

[Vinnygret]

Seated was supposed to say seated. The font is very small on my tablet.

 

[Vinnygret]

Oh, NOW IT autocorrects.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

Yeah, I can't seem to type anything well on my tablet either. The big guy was really just a very tall and extremely fit guy. The problem for him is the distance between seats doesn't permit him to sit at all without splaying his legs apart. This is because they are squeezing the seats so close together now it is good enough for short people but tall or wide people don't fit. There is a growing population of people large like this guy. Many of my wife's relatives (in-laws) are in the above 6 foot range and a few close to seven feet and none are obese. Her immediate family are short as are mine. But, I have a half brother almost 7 feet tall although I am relatively short at 5'10". Normally, we always fly business so this isn't a problem for us. This is the first (and my last) flight in economy in over 10 years. We can afford to fly business class so we do it mostly for our backs but now I can see it is also for sanity.

I do agree that something bizarre has occurred with most people raising children now and the behavior is horrendous. However, my niece in Israel has raised her 6 children in a religious (Jewish) settlement and those children are perfectly behaved and are fun to be with. My wife's nephew has two kids in Jerusalem and they are also perfectly behaved so it is something I am seeing in the more westernized cultures and in particular Americans. Here in Hungary I have never seen a misbehaved Hungarian child and all are dutiful, very respectful, and well behaved. We were in China earlier this year for 3 weeks and I did see problems in children stemming from over-indulgence due to the one child law but nothing like I see in Americans.

 

[Amethyst]

I remember, in 1981, buying a ticket in Coach for the 2.5 hour nonstop flight from BWI to FTL. I paid, I think, $212 round trip. That's about what the cheapest coach fare costs now, and $212 took me months to save up (would be like $650 now).

OTOH I had a bigger seat, could check a bag for free, and was served a mini-meal that I didn't even need!

An interesting memory - I had to get my very first credit card to buy the ticket, as the airline would not accept a check or cash. There were no "no-fee" credit cards available to me. I got mine through my bank, which would not approve my card application until I could show an income of at least $15,000.00. So the instant I got my first raise, off I went to the bank to apply for my Master Card. What a relief, not to have to pay for everything in the department store by check any more! That's how most women still paid for everything, until well into the 1990's.

It's a good news/bad news thing; when Dad was flying on business in the 1960s he said the only women flying were the occasional military wives. It was just too expensive for families to fly. .

 

[marko]

My companion and I spent two weeks in Italy/Paris for about what you paid for two tickets. I did pay extra for “premium” economy on the way back, at $125/ea. (Wasn’t available on the first flight. But $9000 for one trip would mean very little travel for me...

But flying coach nowadays would mean very little travel for me!

 

[Rico]

Dont forget llamas, pigs and ponies!

I recall my days in the industry and specifically the day a passenger arrived for boarding with their emotional support miniature pony in tow. Bulkhead row. The pony stood. Had a special "poo-catching" bag attached to its rear orifice - just in case. Adorable, well-behaved animal.

The only more amusing incident was seeing two male conjoined twins deplaning, two torsos, one set of legs, the dominant one carrying the other like a bushel basket, facing one another. Unlikely they encroached seat mates' space, they were lean guys, but sitting next to them might have been a bit awkward during an extended flight. Or maybe not. Thoughts?

 

[HFWR]

But flying coach nowadays would mean very little travel for me!

Good for you...

 

[nancyfrank232]

But flying coach nowadays would mean very little travel for me!

I agree

You can’t take it with you

Might as well use it to avoid some of the horror stories in this thread

Better seating on flights the best use of money short of avoiding starvation and living under a bridge

 

[marko]

I agree

You can’t take it with you

Might as well use it to avoid some of the horror stories in this thread

Better seating on flights the best use of money short of avoiding starvation and living under a bridge

But we did take a peek back at Premium Economy on our flight. It looked like a slightly reduced Business Class and they seemed to have received a lot of free drinks and decent food. It was also a small area draped between Coach and First; about 8 rows and 2,2,2 seating. Looked more than tolerable.

IMO, and as others have noted, 50% of the annoyances in coach are the dimensions and 50% is the clientele's lack of courtesy; not a good formula for a pleasant trip.

 

[HFWR]

But we did take a peek back at Premium Economy on our flight. It looked like a slightly reduced Business Class and they seemed to have received a lot of free drinks and decent food. It was also a small area draped between Coach and First; about 8 rows and 2,2,2 seating. Looked tolerable.

Lucky you didn’t turn to stone or something...

 

[marko]

Lucky you didn’t turn to stone or something...

It was a concern, but the flight attendant had just handed us a glass of Dom, so we were ok. (just kidding)

 

[nancyfrank232]

But we did take a peek back at Premium Economy on our flight. It looked like a slightly reduced Business Class and they seemed to have received a lot of free drinks and decent food. It was also a small area draped between Coach and First; about 8 rows and 2,2,2 seating. Looked more than tolerable.

IMO, and as others have noted, 50% of the annoyances in coach are the dimensions and 50% is the clientele's lack of courtesy; not a good formula for a pleasant trip.

Although I prefer First Class, on long flights I may consider Premium Economy because we have a small child

First Class seats are too large and uncomfortable for kids. Kids are short and can’t lean back properly

You can also find 3 seats side-by-side in Premium Economy so my child can lie across, whereas some First Class is only 2 seats wide and the middle console is large and doesn’t allow the child to lie across

 

[foxfirev5]

IMO, and as others have noted, 50% of the annoyances in coach are the dimensions and 50% is the clientele's lack of courtesy; not a good formula for a pleasant trip.[/QUOTE]

The problem I have is that the 50% lack of courtesy is not resolved by purchasing a first class ticket. The dimensional issues were resolved by me losing weight after FIRE. Fortunately I'm avg height and DW is considerably smaller. The savings go directly to higher level accommodations where this old man spends most of his time.

 

[nancyfrank232]

The savings go directly to higher level accommodations where this old man spends most of his time.

I don’t know what proportion of first class travellers avoid higher level accommodations because of the cost of their flight

It may well be that they fly first class and stay at higher level accommodations too [emoji2369]

 

[bhoferp]

DH was born with broad shoulders (and doesn't need a seatbelt extender). They just will not fit in airline seats today. Southwest has a deal for "persons of size". You buy 2 tickets up front for the "person of size" and after your flight, you just request a refund for the extra seat. It's been a long time since we flew any other airline, as he would sit with his arms crossed in front of him to minimize his shoulders and then had to lean forward the whole flight.

 

[Red Badger]

DH was born with broad shoulders (and doesn't need a seatbelt extender). They just will not fit in airline seats today. Southwest has a deal for "persons of size". You buy 2 tickets up front for the "person of size" and after your flight, you just request a refund for the extra seat. It's been a long time since we flew any other airline, as he would sit with his arms crossed in front of him to minimize his shoulders and then had to lean forward the whole flight.

That's a testimony to the sad state of US legacy carriers. I also understand that many "big folks" do what they can to be less of an intrusion. Kudos to SWA with a policy that other airlines should adopt. Kudos to your DH as well.

I'm one of those who opt to fly first class to avoid the (airline imposed) cattle car of coach. DW and I do it for two reasons. As an ex-road warrior, I've literally "seen it all." While the pointy end of the plane mitigates some of the hassles, it's not fool proof - just better. Travel is also the one area where we spend a bit more to enjoy our retirement.

Air travel is like cars in a weird way. A rational, polite being gets inside their 3,000+ pound motorized missile, and they lose their minds. Road rage, horrific driving manners, texting at 70 MPH, etc. At airport, it start at check in, escalates at TSA, hits fever pitch at boarding. Then, once aboard, one can only hope for rational companions. Hope - not an enviable strategy.