5 Tips for Perfect Flight Etiquette
Picture this. Your magical vacation has been booked for weeks. Your suitcase is brimming with your latest indulgences, their first use saved for this trip. You’ve been dreaming of your luxurious spa evenings and sunset beach walks that are just around the corner. The anticipation and excitement has been accumulating, and all you have left to do is the travelling itself before you can wind down for a well-deserved break.
But before you board your plane, it’s essential to be tuned in to the ‘do’s, ‘don’t’s, and ‘really-really-please-don’t-ever’s. Whether your flight is three hours long or thirteen, you’re sharing space with several dozen other people, so it’s in everyone’s interest to make the flight as smooth as possible.
From personal experiences and ones shared by friends and previous travel companions, we’ve established a list of the five discourtesies you should avoid – unless you want to risk becoming the subject of your neighbour’s future bad plane etiquette story!
5. Loud chatters, on the phone or otherwise
Sometimes a work call is unavoidable. Sometimes emergency calls happen. Sometimes you need to pass the time by finding a neighbour to converse with. Understood – but in the interest of being polite, keep the volume down. Tracy three rows in front is trying to snooze. David four rows behind can’t focus on his book. If your next seat neighbour is avoiding eye contact, chances are they don’t want to hear about what you had for breakfast – so keep it to yourself.
4. Knees up on the back of the seat
This one shouldn’t be too difficult to understand; your ticket has purchased the space on your seat as well as the air space surrounding your legs, and that very clearly doesn’t include the back of the person in front’s seat who doesn’t want to feel your knees in their back. If you need more leg room, we’re happy to book you a seat in first or business class.
3. Commandeering arm rest space
We’ve all been there. We need to stretch our arms occasionally (not to mention legs every hour to avoid deep vein thrombosis!) and end up competing for the position. But who’s the most entitled to the deeply desired arm rest spot? In our point of view, if you’re on a plane with a row of three, first choice would go to the middle seat. They’re typically the most uncomfortable, so it’s the least you can do.
2. Seat reclining
Reclining your seat into your back-seat neighbour’s leg room remains the most commonly despised issue when flying. Technically, you did purchase the right to recline with the seat, but that doesn’t mean you always should. It’s easy to manage a short flight without needing to at all, but if you’re on a longer one and still need to, check with the person behind. Let them know you’re about to put the seat down, and will take it back up after your nap or stretch. They’ll likely appreciate the warning and feel considerably less bothered when you do recline.
1. Rudeness
The truth is, many of these dilemmas and can be avoided with a polite request. Remember that your fellow travellers are probably tired and full of emotions too! They may not have had the opportunity to work with a luxury travel agent.
Now you’re brushed-up and etiquette-ready for a smooth journey to your dream destination, you can arrive relaxed knowing that the best luxury travel agency in Vancouver has everything handled for when you disembark the plane. If it seems like too much to worry about, you can splurge on business or first class, or even charter a private jet!
