With permission obtained from my dear friend and mentor, Ross Bentley, I submit his essay on air travel etiquette unedited below. It is a masterpiece, please read and spread the word! And DO NOT IN ANY WAY think that Ross has read, approves of, endorses, or even knows about my other blogs. His words are no reflection on me, nor mine on him. You must not hold him accountable for a damned thing I say or ever said. This is a standalone article, period, exclamation mark! Norm Murdock
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Ross Bentley, Author
I travel a lot for my coaching work. And I mean a lot, often flying a couple of hundred thousand miles each year. That could be in the range of 75 to 100 individual flights annually, in big and small planes, making connections in cities that I’ve never seen beyond the actual airport that I’m hustling between gates in.
We all learn through experience, and something I’ve learned a lot about is air travel etiquette. That is, how to move through airports, get on and off airplanes, and what one should and should not do when in the big aluminum (and sometimes carbon fiber) winged tubes in the sky.
My overall mindset is to have as little impact on fellow travelers as possible. And hopefully, with the points I set out below, my fellow travelers have as little impact on me as possible. So, please, before your next trip through the skies, read and memorize the following.
1. When boarding an airplane with a backpack, take it off your back and carry it, or don’t turn sideways when getting into your seat or placing another bag in the overhead bin. Why? Because I – and other passengers already in their seat – don’t appreciate being smacked in the side of the head by your swinging baggage. Understand that your backpack is a weapon.
2. When boarding and wanting to get into your middle or window seat, do not try to climb over my legs which are already taking up space in the aisle seat. In fact, step back to allow me to get out of my seat and move out of your way. Yes, that may mean stepping back a little, as I’m unable to stand up and move into the aisle if you’re already there.
3. Do not use the seat in front of you as leverage when standing up to go the bathroom or for a walk up and down the aisle. That seat belongs to someone else, and that someone else might be trying to relax or even sleep. When you pull yourself up by yanking on or bracing yourself with the seat in front of you, you’re interrupting whatever the person in front of you – the one that paid for that seat back – is doing.
4. If you’re going to cough or sneeze, cover up. After what we’ve all experienced in the past few years, I shouldn’t have to remind you of this. It doesn’t matter whether you and/or everyone else around you are wearing masks or not, please cover it up.
5. When the plane gets to the arrival gate, plan your getaway. Don’t wait until everyone around you have gotten up, retrieved their bags, and left the plane before thinking about collecting your bag from the overhead storage bin. No, think ahead, and consider how you can exit the plane without holding up everyone behind you. You may not be in a hurry, but I bet there are others on the plane who are… and they’re waiting on you.
6. As you exit the plane and walk up the gateway, get a move on. That means not stopping to repack your roller bag and briefcase or backpack. Be aware that there are other people behind you, and they may want to get into the terminal within the next hour or so.
7. As you walk through the airport, be aware that there are other people also walking through the airport. And sometimes those people are in a hurry to reach their flight in time (you can recognize these people by the speed of their walk, or the fact that they might even be running). Respect them by giving them room. Walking through airport terminals should be similar to driving on a freeway: keep right except to pass.
8. If you’re traveling with a group of people, such as your family, it’s tempting to spread out, two, three, four or more abreast and take up the entire width of the “walking lane” in a terminal. I get it, and it makes some sense. But it can greatly inconvenience other travelers, so do your best to minimize the space you and your group take up so others can pass you by.
9. The moving walkways in airport terminals are not rides like at Disney World. Their purpose is to assist travelers in getting somewhere important in a more efficient manner, and most people prefer to actually walk on these moving sidewalks to get to where they’re going more quickly. If you do choose to stand and ride it, or slowly stroll along it like you’re on an evening beach walk, then keep to the side so that others can pass. “Stand right, walk left.”
Well, there you go. If all air travelers followed these simple guidelines we will have fewer frustrations, and many more smiles. It all comes down to awareness that we’re not the only person traveling at that moment in time, and respect for your fellow travelers.
