With in-flight internet already being tested on airlines and personal entertainment systems being installed at every seat, it’s appropriate to discuss a few etiquette tips for air travel. The airlines cram in as many seats a they can into the economy section, making personal space a highly-regarded commodity here. The general rule: be mindful.
- Headphones don’t cancel out sound. Unless you’re wearing Bose headsets (highly recommended by the way because they cancel out all airline noise) then others around you can hear what you’re listening to. Be mindful to turn down the sound.
- Use your armrest, not the chair in front of you when getting up. How annoying is it to be woken up during a red-eye flight by someone pushing off your chair to get out of their seat? You know you hate it when others do it to you, so use your armrest to leverage instead of the person in front of you.
- Dim the lights. Do you really need the tv, your overhead light and your computer going at the same time? If you see your neighbor is trying to sleep then try to pass with the essentials.
- Plan your restroom breaks. If you see that the flight attendant is coming down the aisle with the drink cart, then it’s probably not a good time to take a bathroom break. Unless, you feel like sitting on the lap of the person in the aisle seat as you try to finagle around the attendant.
- Don’t be a chatty Cathy. It’s great that you want to be friendly with the person you’ve become so personally intimate with in the seat next to you (on most airlines you’re practically sitting on top of each other), but you should still respect their privacy.
- Who gets the armrest? Although you shouldn’t be a chatty Cathy, that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to the person next to you. If you’re in the middle and they have an isle, be polite and ask them to share the armrest.
For more airline etiquette tips, check out Delta Airlines “Planeguage” videos. Have a tip you’d like to share? Leave it in the comments section below.
