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Tami's Blog20 Etiquette Tips to Follow Onboard a Crowded Flight - Avoiding another Emergency Landing Due To Onboard Violence
Tami Lancut Leibovitz
Sitting in a crowded cabin - complete with recycled air and limited space and the consumption of alcohol often causes passengers to lose their patience and self-control, in some cases even leading up to physical and verbal violence. Different flight administrations around the world see these outbursts as not merely inconvenient, but as potential dangers to the passengers on the plane; as such, international aviation laws authorize the crew to land the plane and remove the offending passenger as deemed necessary. American carriers are not as forgiving as other international airlines, and over the past week three incidents were reported in which planes performed emergency landings and offending passengers were forcibly removed from the plane.
In response to this blog post, I was invited on-air to talk about manners and etiquette while onboard a plane. You can read and see the article here: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4567620,00.html
20 Etiquette Tips to Follow Onboard a Crowded Flight
1. Keep in mind security checks, screenings, and the check-in process - come prepared and stay patient.
2. Make sure to arrive at your gate on time.
3. Consider going to the restrooms ahead of time - it will be a while before you’re able to board the plane.
4. Don’t push your way forward at the gate. Usually, passengers are called onboard by a certain order: passengers with disabilities, small children, business class passengers, etc. Listen and only stand up to board the plane when you are called.
5. Keep your tickets at hand when boarding, and ask the flight attendants for directions to your seat. Respect their instructions.
6. Place your carry-on in the overhead bins and/or under the seat in front of you, as instructed by your flight attendants. Do so quickly and efficiently, keeping in mind the people behind you who are also on their way to their seats.
7. Sit down and get comfortable. Do not wander around the aisles. If you see a vacant seat that you’d like to transfer to, ask your flight attendants for permission.
8. If someone takes a sit next to you, be polite and introduce yourself. Remember to be courteous - he will be your neighbor for the next couple of hours. This does not necessarily mean that you need to chat with him for the entire flight.
9. Personal space is vital to each and every one of us. Do not violate what little of it is left onboard a flight to your fellow passengers, it causes grief and raises tensions.
10. Using your hand rest and reclining seat requires your consideration, manners, and etiquette.
11. Divide the space available on the hand rest between you evenly. If your neighbor isn’t being considerate, politely raise the subject - but do not resort to passive aggressive behavior (i.e. taking it up in its entirety when he or she goes to the restroom).
12. Reclining seats have become the modern annoyance onboard an airplane. A trendy product called “Knee-Defender”, which blocks the ability of the seat in-front of you to recline, has recently gained popularity.
13. Do not use products such as the “Knee-Defender”. While there is no law prohibiting you from using such a product, using it will create tensions and will possibly lead to a violent conflict - verbal or physical - between you and the person seated in front of you.
14. Maintain your personal space and respect that of your neighbors. For example, keep your arms and legs within the confines of your seat.
15. When traveling with children, make sure they are not interfering with other passengers’ well-being and comfort; see to it that they don’t kick the seat in front of them, are not yelling, or standing on their seat.
16. The flight attendant crew is there to serve you, but that does not mean they are there at your every whim. Wait until a flight attendant comes by, or - if its urgent - ring the bell in order to signal for one of them to arrive.
17. Be considerate and raise your seat when food is being served. If the person in front of you has not raised his or her seat, call a flight attendant to sort it out.
18. If you need to wake up the passenger seated beside you in order to go to the restroom, politely smile and say that you need to pass through (without explicitly telling them why) and do so quickly.
19. Leave behind you a clean and dry restroom.
20. Make sure to thank your flight crew after you have landed and are departing the plane.
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