To recline, or not to recline. There is a clear line drawn in the sand, and you’re either on one side, or the other. This argument being had across kitchen tables and water coolers around the world got me thinking. What does it mean to be a good citizen of the skies?
We could likely collectively come up with 101 things a traveler should or shouldn’t do, and these opinions are formed based on our individual temperament, comfort in flying, experience, and personal preferences. That said, there are some little things we can all do to make flying more enjoyable both for ourselves, and those around us. I’m not going to pretend I’m perfect. I recently had a moment of “I don’t care, I have missed my connection, there are no more flights out to Ottawa, I need to sleep in the airport” type of situation which led to my usually calm flying demeanour to change to a somewhat bitter, and “don’t look at me, don’t touch me, don’t even breath in my direction” manner. So I get it, air travel can really test our moral compass, and make us question everything we thought we knew about humanity.
All that said, as travellers, we have a duty to our fellow fliers, as well as the crew. Yes, you just shelled out 879.00 for a round trip ticket from New York to Miami, but you don’t own the plane. The airline crew are there to help us board in an efficient manner to get ALL passengers off the ground on time and as safely as possible. Likewise, we travellers need to band together to ensure that this flight runs like a well oiled machine, with little dilly dallying, complaining, or nasty side eye’s at the guy sitting in 13B who clearly doesn’t understand how overhead bin space works. We’ll get there, together.
So what can we all do to make this flight less stressful, confusing, disorganized, and dare I say, friendlier?
1. Get organized!!! Here’s the thing, airlines are pretty clear about what you can and CANNOT board the plane with. Most airlines permit you to carry one carry-on bag, along with one personal item (a purse, laptop case etc.). If you have more than that, you better start purging or stuffing. Consolidate everything you have BEFORE the airlines start calling your boarding group. Holding up the boarding lineup because you were called out for having 6 bags is not cool!
2. Speaking of boarding zones, can we all agree that zone 4 should be chilling on ice until zones 1-3 have taken their turn? Yes, I realize that zone 1 is not the first zone to board the plane. You have your travellers needing extra assistance, First class cabin, Business Class cabin, Premium class, folks traveling with small children, and active military members who are boarding ahead of zones 1-99. But that could all take up to a good 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the plane. And here’s the thing…zone 4 is still boarding when it’s time for zone 4 to board, so blocking the path for other travellers who are ahead of you DOES slow down the boarding process, and creates confusion (the dreaded “are you in zone 3?” conversation that is being had around the world by millions as we speak). So as good citizens, can we align on two things? 1. Don’t stand in the way of other travellers trying to board and, 2. Do use the specified zoning queues ahead of time, only when they actually exist….no making your own queue ahead of time!
3. What are you planning to stow in the overhead bin, versus under your seat? I know, this sounds like a no-brainer right? If I had a dollar for every instance a traveler held up the seating process because they weren’t sure which bag should go above, versus below, let’s just say, I could potentially retire early. Here’s the thing, you don’t get to stow both of your bags in the overhead bin. That’s not fair to the people boarding after you who have actual carry-on luggage to stow. You get to stow one of your two bags (usually the bulkier bag), and the second will go under your seat. Non-negotiable!
4. Help those around you. Do you see a parent traveling solo with a child or two, bags, and no extra hands? Give them one of yours. Helping those around you is not only the courteous thing to do, it helps speed up the overall boarding process and ensures that people don’t get injured in the process.
5. Okay here’s the fun one. Should you recline? I am going to preface my answer by saying that there probably isn’t one single answer. The answer is most probably, it depends. Why? Because people come in different shapes and sizes, have different comfort levels, and differ in their expectation around flying etiquette. My opinion has always been to ask. I myself do not enjoy reclining my seat, I find it uncomfortable so I never find myself in this predicament. I do however observe. Let’s say you are lucky enough to have scored a seat on a red-eye flight. I think that it is reasonable to expect that people around you are going to want a few hours of “quality” sleep. Same goes for a long-haul flight. At some point, people are going to want to lounge as much as they possibly can. So let’s give these folks some leeway here. Here is when I DON’T think you should recline:
- The person behind you is really tall (they are already being squeezed into a small space, let’s not make that more painful)
- A parent is traveling with a small child in their lap…I think that one is self explanatory
- We’re eating! Again, I think this was one is written in the stars
You get the idea. Let’s just be a little more conscious about what’s going on around us.
6. I am pretty passionate about this next one. 23A does not get to deplane before 22B. There is a sequential order to getting off a plane and it involves letting the people in front of you collect their belongings and walking out ahead of you. Are there exceptions to this rule? Possibly. Let’s say the guy in front of you, sitting in 22B had to stow his luggage in row 31…likely because someone took up too much overhead bin space, see point 3 above. Well in this scenario, usually, 22B would have to wait for the plane to empty, walk back to 31 and then deplane. This is true unless some cool and courteous travellers behind him are willing to grab his bag and pass it on forward. But that’s a big IF.
As we cap off this weeks blog post, I do want to give a shout out to all of the flight attendants who have to put up with us full time. Again, their role is to ensure our safety and to get us off the ground in a timely manner and in all seriousness should be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy, just as we expect back from everyone around us.
-Nathalie