A five-point in-flight etiquette guide for air travellers: follow this for a happy landing
- Be considerate with your fellow passengers and don’t invade their territory
- Ask before you recline your seat and don’t take up more room than you should
Nobody likes flying, and many of us are bad at it. As planes get more crowded, the way passengers of all ages and from all walks of life behave towards each other in a confined space for long periods is becoming more important. The trouble is, not everyone knows the rules.
“The aeroplane is the scene of countless etiquette breaches,” says Paul Russell, a luxury lifestyle and etiquette expert who recently launched a Virtual Finishing School covering manners, etiquette, body language and small talk.
Do not be territorial
If you sit in the aisle, you own the aisle and control who gets in and out of your row. In the middle seat, you own both armrests. If you’ve got the window seat, the shade is yours. These may be the unspoken rules, but be adaptable when it comes to hardware.
If you are in the middle seat and the passenger next to you is trying to get some work done on a laptop, are you really going to force him to tuck in his elbows and peck at a keyboard?
“It may be that you have the use of both armrests for a while, and relinquish your grip on one side as your neighbour catches up with work on their laptop,” says Russell, who thinks it would certainly be ill-mannered to take control of both armrests the moment you sit down.