Oct 29, 2024 鈥 13 min read
The dos and don鈥檛s of flying etiquette from a frequent traveller
Jul 14, 2019 鈥 4 min read
If everyone followed a few simple flying etiquette tips, flying would be a much more enjoyable experience 漏 YakobchukOlena / Getty Images
Talking about manners on planes always makes me feel like a doddering inhabitant of Downton Abbey, gasping sniffily about how standards are slipping to my equally doddering friends. But let鈥檚 be real: these days flying is more akin to a local bus than a transatlantic voyage on the Queen Elizabeth 2, so comparing some notional golden age of travel when flying was only for the super rich is unfair. There are, however, still a few ways in which flying would be better if we could all just be a little more thoughtful, a little more mindful of flying etiquette, and realize how our own behaviour affects others when travelling.
Bags: know what you鈥檙e allowed and don鈥檛 be a binhog
Marshalling carry-on bags is a colossal headache for everyone, and airlines don鈥檛 help since it feels like every single one has a different policy. So read the ticket rules carefully, and make sure you know what you鈥檙e allowed to bring.
If you鈥檙e allowed just a 'small personal item,' don鈥檛 try and chance it on the size, especially on low-cost airlines where the infamous bag sizer comes out.
If you get a bag plus a personal item, then your bag should go overhead and your personal item should go underneath the seat in front of you. (Not, for the love of Howard Hughes, underneath your neighbour鈥檚 seat.) Don鈥檛 take up all the bin space with your coat either.
If you鈥檙e in the aisle or window seat, perhaps don鈥檛 get all your stuff out during boarding until anyone who might need to get past you has boarded. Consider using the time you鈥檙e waiting to board on the jetway to have your reading material, phone charger or whatever else you might need handy so you鈥檙e not blocking the aisles.
And consider whether it might be easier 鈥 and better flying etiquette 鈥 to check a bag. Yes, I鈥檓 one of those weird frequent travellers who often checks a piece of luggage: since I travel so much internationally rather than domestically I rarely find that I have much of a wait after immigration and customs, and I just can鈥檛 abide either the plastic waste of buying little bottles of all my toiletries or decanting them from bigger bottles before I leave.
Armrests: there鈥檚 one simple rule
In economy, the middle seat passenger gets both armrests. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Aisle passengers, though, be aware: your aisle-side armrest may well slide up by pressing a switch or flipping a catch that鈥檚 hidden somewhere near the mechanism. This not only gives you a bit of extra wiggle room, it lets you rotate at the waist to let the middle and/or window seat passenger slip past without having to get up into the aisle.
Feet: keep them secret, keep them safe
Nobody, repeat nobody, wants to see your toes up close. If you must take your shoes off on a longer flight, keep your socks on and ideally bring a fresh pair as a courtesy to everyone around you. Bear in mind also that you can cause offense in many cultures by pointing your feet or showing parts of them, so just keep 鈥榚m socked and on the floor. (And oh my, not on the bulkhead wall like some sort of animal cocking its leg.)
And keep them to yourself! This is especially important for those of us flying in economy class. I鈥檝e lost track of the number of appalled faces I鈥檝e seen online where travellers discover an errant foot snaking, unsocked, behind their seat to rest on the rear of their armrest.
Look, planes are pretty gross, germwise, and the floors are the worst. If you must come in open-toed shoes, whether it鈥檚 resort-wear sandals or a fun little wedge for the weekend, please keep them on: it鈥檚 not just that your feet are gross, it鈥檚 that they鈥檝e probably picked up some additional horror from the floors. And perhaps consider whether a light athleisure combo shoe 鈥 terrible name, great idea 鈥 might suit your travels better than that gladiator sandal.
Clothes: let鈥檚 be realistic
It鈥檚 2019, and it鈥檚 unreasonable to expect a three-piece suit or a formal two-piece in wrinkle-resistent Crimplene from the days of chateaubriand-and-caviar flying in today's peanuts-if-you鈥檙e-lucky.
Leggings are pants, shorts are fine in summer, and nobody should be fainting over the shocking sight of an uncovered shoulder. (Qantas is still likely to say the lounge wearing the footwear variously known as flipflops, thongs or jandals, though, and I can鈥檛 recommend wearing these to fly for reasons of safety and hygiene.)
That said, let鈥檚 try to be as courteous to other passengers as we would like them to be towards us. Perhaps choose a short that goes all the way down the thigh to avoid spending several hours with the side of your bare leg pressed up against that of your closest neighbour. Let鈥檚 travel in our second-nicest pair of shorts rather than our second-rattiest. But, in general, let鈥檚 just keep our own thoughts about other people鈥檚 bodies to ourselves, shall we?
The bottom line: think like a nana
Treat flying etiquette like staying at your friend鈥檚 nice grandparents鈥 house: make yourself comfortable, but don鈥檛 put your feet on the table, be thoughtful about your behaviour, and don鈥檛 wander around in your skivvies.
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