Airplane Etiquette For The Clueless

Whenever I visit India I make a mental note to write this post. Few days pass and my motivation to do so goes away. Come another year, I tell myself, "Oh I have to write this post" but the cycle keeps repeating itself. Thankfully, my cousin, Mudita Rastogi, who also has the same response whenever she visits India decided to take this task off my hand and wrote the post on her flight back from India. You have met her before here. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and someone I hold in high regard. Below post is written by her, and is post in her own words. 

Airplane Etiquette for the Clueless ...

(and a gentle reminder for the rest of us)

1) Please wait your turn. Do not pretend that you can't see the line at the boarding area. Don't be a line jumper! Else, your co-passengers will put you in your place.

2) After boarding, don't put your stuff on my seat or my lap without my permission... For obvious reasons.

3) If I have paid for my exact preferred seat, then no, I won't exchange with your middle seat unless it's a medical emergency.

4) If you try to chat with me and I have headphones on, that's a big clue! Please take the hint.

5) If your spouse is seated in another row across the aisle, do not try to have a quality conversation with them that lasts 30 minutes. Save it for pillow talk later.

6) If the Captain tells you to switch off mobile devices, that's a safety issue. Calling your sister to tell her that your flight is one hour late does not qualify as an exception.

7) If you have a weak bladder or just prefer to stretch every 20 minutes, go for it. Just reserve an aisle seat so you don't have to jump over 2 passengers every time.

8) If the inflight menu does not serve "namkeen peanuts" with your liquor, there's no point getting mad at the flight attendants. Yes, you can survive that severe disappointment for the length of the flight.

9) BTW, they are called "flight attendants" or "flight crew" so please don't call them an "air hostess" or "stewardess". That just dates you.

10) Fact: Kids cry on planes. I sympathize with you. But please at least try to comfort the poor baby. There's no point yelling at the munchkin or your spouse. That will upset your co-passengers even more.

11) Even if you escape into your own bubble while flying, no, you're really not in a bubble! Please do not pick your nose, or scratch your, ahem, private body parts. We see you!

12) Aircraft toilets are shared spaces. Please, please be considerate of others and do your business cleanly and efficiently. Do not throw paper on the toilet floor, or try to flush away a dirty diaper, or sprinkle water on the toilet floor. In other words, please treat the aircraft toilet as you would your home.

Final thoughts ...

If you can't stick to the above etiquette when you travel, I have three words for you: "Drive, don't fly."

Mudita Rastogi, Ph.D.
http://Aspire-CT.com

The outfit post is from the archives, from two years ago from the same trip. 

Location - Portland, Maine

Tee | Jeans | Hoodie | Shoes