What Type of Passenger Do You Hate Flying With?
Lauren Englisbe January 13, 2016
The friendly skies? They’re not always so friendly. A recent survey shows the 21 types of passengers that travelers really can’t stand to fly with.
According to a survey published by travel booking website Just The Flight, airplane seatmates with foul body odor have been named the most annoying passengers with whom to share a flight.
The site asked 5,000 people to chime in on the types of people they hated to fly with, then published the most common offenders.
59 percent of respondents cited smelly people as the worst folks to share air space with, while 54 percent chose seat kickers as the most objectionable. Close behind, at 53 percent, were “incredulous parents,” described as moms and dads “unwilling to acknowledge their children’s awful behaviour, or deal with them.”
Many other types of travelers were likewise reprimanded: in fact, the survey results consisted of 21 categories of undesirable jet-setters, which were illustrated in an accompanying infographic.
It’s hardly a surprise that crying children were called out, as well as passengers who recline their seat back too far. Respondents also took a strong stance on armrest-stealers, overhead bin hogs (“So my bag has to go halfway down the plane because you brought 3 huge carry on bags[?]”), and passengers who try to chat with their disinterested seatmates throughout the entire flight.
Less frequently seen guilty parties — hopefully — included “The Drunk,” people who clap after landing, and “The Stag Do ‘Lads’”: men attending bachelor parties “with matching vulgar t-shirts chanting football songs and ordering the £8 in-flight lagers.”
[Photo: Getty Images]
Nearing two million miles I laughed out loud as I read through these. Yes, I have personally experienced nearly every one of these. I think you can sum it up as a lack of consideration for others. Some people just don't have any and could care less. Others have no self awareness: how their smell offends others (whether its BO or some strong perfume); how pulling on the seat back nearly knocks you out of your seat; or how little space they leave others. I say its poor home training and sometimes just total social zeros; whereas others think so much of themselves and nothing whatsoever for the rest of us. I silently forgive those that do realize their misgivings and try, sometimes unsuccessfully, to mitigate the problems. The others I loathe.
On my site I did a whole blog on this! I would have to say my all time favorite was the young Asian girl with blonde hair and green vampire nails who took off her boots with her feet on the seat in front of her, did a full lotus on the tray table barefoot, then fell asleep with her feet inside my seat pocket.
I can't believe that a smelly passenger is the Number One most hated traveler? I've been flying for 40 years, and I never once remember a gross-smelling person next to me ever. Bratty kids, incredulous parents, and aisle blockers, now THEY are the true menace.
I, too, can be tolerant of crying children as long as their parents are at least trying to calm them (and if not then it's the parents I get annoyed with). My personal bottom-of-the-list folks are the chatty types and the seat recliners. While I often will try to make some small talk with my seatmate at the start of the flight, I'll also decide quickly whether I want to continue the conversation -- I can also tell when he/she isn't interested and will respect that. Seat recliners? In the first place I've never been able to figure out how somebody can sit comfortably in a fully-reclined seat, but maybe that's just me (if I recline I need somewhere to put my feet up). The basic fact, though, is that I can't shrink my legs any more than they are, and if the seat is reclining into my knees then I'm willing to push back with them. One guy actually took the hint once and eased up on his recline! I do have a little bit of compassion for the odiferous passengers and those using their flashlights. Sometimes you have to move quickly through the airport to catch a connecting flight, or even not so quickly moving through some terminal like ORD that is grossly overheated (especially in summer with the sun beating through the glass ceiling). A bit of anti-stink under the pits helps somewhat, but sweat involves the whole body. On the other hand, the folks that obviously bathe once a year if at all are another matter entirely. I realize that's the culture in some parts of the world, but certainly not in the US (not since the 19th century, anyway). While the flashlight users need to learn to control where they're pointing it, I can sympathize with the need to use them. Too many of the overhead lights are placed where they can't possibly do any good for reading or working on the tray table. Even though they're adjustable to a slight degree, they're too often behind the passenger's head so everything is always in shadow unless you contort yourself so you don't block the light. As I say, though, people should at least be cognizant of where they're shining their lights.
The major problem with kids either screaming or running up and down the aisles is that the parents brought nothing to entertain their kids on the flight. No books, no games, nothing. This means to me that the parents do not spend much time with their own children and have little or no idea how to entertain them. Another category of flyers who I disdain are those who are incapable of performing any physical activity without slamming the seat ahead of them or under them. These people literally drop into their seats with a crash. When they get up, they use they use the seat in front of them as a hand hold jerking it backward without a thought to the person sitting in it. If they recline their seat, they never check if the person behind them has a computer set up on the tray. They will invariably slam the seat back all the way and then strain against their seat to make certain that it is fully back.