Modern Manners Guy here with the third and final installment of our look at airport and airplane manners. You've already navigated the terminal, avoided conflict brought on by the overhead bin, and made a concerted effort to keep yourself and others comfortable. There are just a few more things to look at before I can start handing out diplomas for this course.
A Clarification
Right off the bat here, I have a clarification about garment bags from last week's podcast. A former flight attendant and listener to the podcast wrote in to let me know that flight attendants are running out of places to put garment bags. Therefore, the solution is to either fold your garment bag or work with the other passengers to get your bag on the top of the other items in the overhead bin. There, consider yourself to now be the 2.0 of yourself.
Seat Exiting Manners
We worked pretty hard at getting you comfortable in Part 2 of this series. But the fact is that people need to go to the restroom periodically. And many times the one going to the restroom is the person in the inside seat next to you. First, I'll address this person who needs to egress.
As with any time you rise from your seat in an airplane (or any kind of row of reclining seat including the theater), do not use the back of the other seat to pull yourself up. It's like a tiny, cloth catapult that may or may not launch the person in front of you into the person in front of them. Either way, this is highly irritating and most certainly can be avoided.
Once standing, take care when making your way out of an inside seat as this has the potential to become a really awkward high-speed game of Twister. Give the passenger next to you plenty of time to understand what you are doing and take any initiative to exit their seat for your easy passage.
Should that person be asleep, you should probably just go ahead and wake said passenger. This person waking up in the middle of your transfer might turn the situation into a groggy fist fight, so just gently pat or nudge their shoulder and apologize for the inconvenience.
Now, to the passenger or passengers who are being inconvenienced. Get it in your brain that it is not an inconvenience. That is the way things work on a plane. We all make sacrifices and need to just live with them. When someone looks at you with that I'm-terribly-sorry look in their eyes, jump out of your seat like you thought they would never ask. As we have discussed numerous times, manners are about making others feel important, and a great way to do that is to help them think you are not being inconvenienced in any way. Stand up (without grabbing the seat in front of you), and move the direction away from the lavatory thereby clearing a wide path for your friend.
And pay attention to their return. Going back to sleep or reengaging with a movie or music player will make them feel bad all over again when they have to get your attention so they can return to their seat.
Many passengers covet the aisle seat; however, if you realize that you will be asked to move frequently while trying to sleep most of the flight, you might discuss swapping spots with your row partner. That might be an amicable agreement where both parties win.
Movies Onboard
Video entertainment on flights is becoming more and more prevalent, especially in the area of portable DVD players, personal computers, and personal video devices like the iPod or Zune. The short tip for those of us seated next to someone with a video device is to mind your own business. Unless you are invited to view what the other passenger is watching, do everything in your power to avoid looking at their screen.
Always wear headphones and always check around you to see if there are minors in viewing distance and, if so, adjust to an appropriate show. If you have a headphone adapter and the interest in sharing your content, please do so. However, understand that even though I just instructed everyone to NOT watch your screen, many people will. If you don't want them to watch, find another seat or just put your video player away. One note: I've witnessed a passenger watching pornography on his portable video player. That is absolutely inappropriate and should never be done on a public plane.
If someone near you is watching something that is disturbing to you, it is your job to find a way to avoid looking at the screen. And if you just can't keep their video out of your vision, politely interrupt them, let them know that the video is disturbing you, and ask if they wouldn't mind turning the screen away or watching something different.
Follow Instructions
Flight attendants have a lot to worry about on a flight. Make every effort to be courteous to them. It is their job to take care of you on the flight, but a more important part of their job is to make sure you are safe. It's not that hard to do what they ask you to do. If you are asked to put up your seat and tray table, what do you do? Put up your seat and tray table. If you are asked to turn off your electronic devices, what do you do? Turn off your electronic devices. It is absolutely unmannerly to turn off your electronic device until the flight attendant is out of sight. There is a safety concern with you being able to hear and follow instructions during the no-toys part of the flight. So I'm sure you can turn your stuff off for like two whole minutes.
The Great Egress
And finally, when the flight lands and the plane taxis to the gate, chill out. Everyone is interested in exiting the plane. Don't leap out of your seat before the fasten seatbelt light is off. Again, there is a safety concern there. Also, don't rush out of your seat to try and get by as many passengers as you can before everyone else stands up. That's just selfish.
It's not unmannerly to ask someone if he or she needs assistance getting to or taking a bag down from the overhead bin. That kind of stuff gets told to family members later on. And when exiting the plane, each entire row should exit in order. Someone might wave you on by, just count that as a bonus for being such a mannerly traveler. Oh, and if someone does rush by you or jumps ahead of your turn, let it go. They might gain about two seconds for their exit, but we all know they aren't going very far in life with manners like that.
Now, with these tips, everyone should be ready to fly the friendliest skies. Take it easy, watch out for those around you and, of course, email me your crazy airline stories.
Administrative
Thank you for listening to The Modern Manners Guy's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Polite Life.
There are transcript of this and all my other episodes at manners.quickanddirtytips.com where you can also find a link to my FaceBook group. Come on over, become a fan and join in the discussions. And don't forget to tell a friend about your Modern Manners Guy.
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