Everyone has their own travel preferences, and one thing I've learned after quite a bit of air travel over the last few years is to respect others' preferences. Aisle or window? Bulkhead or exit row? Delta or United? Redeye or 7AM? I even know a girl who legitimately prefers flying coach to First, and declines upgrades even when her UA 1K husband can easily obtain them.

All of that is great - as long as they're not intruding on my experience, everyone's entitled to handle their travel to their own satisfaction. I'd never want a coworker or friend booking travel for me - heaven forbid I end up on WN - so I certainly respect when someone else feels the same way.

The same, of course, applies in airports. Being a frequent traveler, I usually know what I'm doing in irops situations, and I often offer help to others nearby. Sometimes it's politely declined, sometimes it's graciously accepted - I'm fine with either, but I am typically more than happy to offer assistance if I'm in a position to do so, and I'm not insulted at all if someone declines.

Sometimes, these situations can be great fun: I took denied boarding compensation on a recent international flight, and the gentleman behind me in line was going to the same destination; he accepted the same (highly creative) reroute I'd come up with on a whim - turns out he's a FlyerTalker and I made a new friend in the process. (I'm not sure he expected that I would be intentionally rebooking on an MD-11 flight to get a chance to experience one for the last time, though... )

I guess the moral of the story is, go with the flow. Be helpful to others - share the customer service phone number, point out the nearest rebooking assistance desk, etc. - but then step back and let that person make travel decisions for themselves.

My $0.02