October 22, 2010 - Travel Etiquette

I've been traveling for work, which explains my departure from daily postings. It has also given me an enormous amount of fodder for my rants.

Reader's Digest online had an article recently about things your pilot won't tell you and this was included in the article:

“If you’re going to recline your seat, for God’s sake, please check behind you first. You have no idea how many laptops are broken every year by boorish passengers who slam their seat back with total disregard to what’s going on behind them.” -John Nance

I don't know who John Nance is, but I certainly couldn't have said it better. And the word "boorish" is a perfect description of so many travelers I encounter. Why does common courtesy take a vacation when people fly?Even when I'm ridiculously tired, I never recline my seat all the way - it's just rude. You don't like it when the seat in front of you slams back - why on earth do you think its acceptable for you to do the same to the person behind you? And yes - I have been bold enough to ask the person in front to pull their seat back up some. I usually get compliance, but with a horrible attitude. After all, I'm clearly asking for a huge concession on their behalf.

The article also refers to the people that gather at the gate before boarding "Gate Lice." Ha ha ha - I love that. But then again I'm not one of the people that swarms the gate because I have an over-sized bag that I'm going to stuff into an overhead bin five rows in front of my seat. Granted, I understand trying to use only carry-on's with the new checked bag charges, but there are limits people. Fork up the $25 and stop stressing about it.

Thanks to airline corporate brilliance - the flight attendants have to deal with a whole new level of grumpy passengers who are all trying to use carry-on bags. I bought the smallest possible carry-on bag I could find. If I can't fit what I need in it for my trip, I use a larger bag AND CHECK IT. I just can't understand why someone would want to drag a huge bag through the airport, wrestle to get on the plane, struggle to get it in and out of an overhead bin, risk having it checked at the gate, piss off other passengers and stress out the flight attendants. I clearly must be the simpleton.

Here's some tips for not losing a bag when you check it:
1) Be nice to the skycap or bag agent. They have a bit to do with where your bag goes. TIP if appropriate. (Skycaps.)
2) Check the tag they put on your bag to make sure it has your final destination on it. Takes two seconds.
3) Make sure you have a luggage tag on your bag with current contact info. Better yet, drop a few business cards inside the bag in various pockets. Even if the outer tag comes off, it can be identified easily.

Back to the gate lice . . . we're all getting on the same plane and we all have assigned seats. Why is it necessary for you to elbow you're way in front of me? Oh yes ... because I am just carrying my briefcase and am seated at a window and you want to test my patience since you are in front of me I will have to wait for you to stuff your bag in the overhead bin. But you forgot something, so you pull it back out and dig through it, then stuff it back in and plop in the aisle seat. Yes, I'm going to make you stand and let me in, with my laptop that I can fit under my seat and I'll be polite about it. It's the 40 passengers behind me that you've held up that are pissed.

I could go on, but then I wouldn't have something to write another day.