Airplane Etiquette

Do you remember when flying in an airplane, for those of you that enjoy traveling and flying, was a pleasant experience in of itself? My memories are filled with in flight movies, actual mini meals snacks, drinks, blankets, earphones, you name it, you got it in miniature form. Granted, I was a grateful passenger in those days, rather than a full fledged, paying adult, but you have to admit, there was something about flying in the days before 9/11.

Now it's understood that you are checking your dignity along with your baggage and clothes at the door. We know exactly how it got to be this way, I'm just bemoaning the lost of decent travel to accommodate the actual destination. The other issue is that, we could probably get over the lost of our modesty and right to privacy if the prices of the tickets had not increased to the sky and we were getting charged for the privilege of, well, everything.

Between new charges attached to the mini bag of peanuts and, most offensively, the baggage to accompany your travel, anyone who would like to explore the world is smacked around with hidden costs here and there where none existed before. I still say that the baggage situation could have been handled better. As passengers who may also read the news and have some inkling about the status of the airline industry may understand why more money is needed to support the conglomerate. But maybe the should have eased us into it. It's one thing to pay $5 per bag to get started; but hitting us with the $20-$25 charges right up front? It's insulting.

So I know that I try to cram everything into my carry on to avoid fees but that is only determined by the length of my trip and how much I need to bring. It's such a pain overall.

We might even get over our lost of privacy if it seemed like it was for a good reason. For all the people that appear on the no fly list, or whose names appear on a list of suspicious persons and cannot travel through our airports, there also seem to be a handful of people who still seem to be able to make it through. There are also plenty of people who accidentally transport forbidden objects that could be used as weapons, only to discover them on the other side of their trip.

So with all this going on, is it too much to ask that passengers observe some basic airplane etiquette to avoid a riot?

1. Try not to hold on too the seat in front of you as you try to heft yourself out of your seat. The seat in front of you is the headrest of another passenger who is not being jerked around because of your resistant center of gravity.

2. Stay in your seat until your row is letting people out; it is rude to jump in the aisle in front of other people. Come on, this is an easy one. Many people have connecting flights. You are just being selfish by pushing into the aisle only to stand there and wait.

3. Stay in your lane. Unless you are cuddling up next to your sweet on the plane, try to stay within the parameters of your arm rests--that includes your feet, knees and the bobbing of your head while sleeping. We know the head-bobbing thing is sometimes unpreventable if you're passed out, but just try.

4. If your music is loud enough to drown out the sounds of the world, your probably drowning out the sounds of your neighbor's world too. This one goes for any mode of public transportation in close quarters. We know you have your headphones in but they are not as far inside of your ears as you think. Please be mindful.

5. Babies crying is also sometimes unavoidable. But your little scamp that is learning to know better, bring along some games or amusing activities. Learning about the birds and the bees was fun the first time, but the 11th? Not so much.

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list and I did not experience all these things during my last trip. But seriously, if more people just thought about the kinds of things that they were annoyed by on various airplane trips, maybe they could see past all their own selfish needs and be a little more considerate. Or at least stop running down the aisle when the place stops. Ya'think?