Anyone who flies regularly knows there are certain unwritten rules to air travel. We’ve all had an annoying seatmate or gross situation to contend with. Below are plane etiquette guidelines I recommend to keep you and other passengers happy, no matter the length of the flight.
1. Pack for the Flight
- Don’t block the aisle during boarding to arrange your things. Get everything you’ll need during the flight ready while waiting at the gate. If you need to rearrange things while boarding, step into your row and let people pass.
- If you plan to put your bag in the overhead bin, have a small bag/purse/container to keep at your feet with all the essentials. I keep my entertainment, medication, cell phone, limited toiletries, moisturizers, and snacks there. This way you don’t have to go into the bin during the flight for something small.
2. Limit Smells
- Don’t bring smelly food on the plane! If possible, try not to eat anything pungent before boarding as well.
- Shower before your flight if possible and use deodorant.
- Limit strong perfume or cologne.
- I was once on a flight where a passenger smelled so strongly, my colleague put a little bit of deodorant under her nose just to block the smell.
3. If You Can’t Lift It, Don’t Carry It On
- While someone usually will step in to help, it is not anyone else’s responsibility to put your bag in the overhead bin.
- Often, this holds up boarding while people watch you struggle and look around for assistance. I’ve also seen a bag drop on another passenger or knock into them on more than one occasion because the owner couldn’t boost their bag.
- If the bag is too big or too heavy to lift, I recommend you check it to your final destination or carry a smaller one that can fit under the seat.
4. Do Not Hog the Overhead
- If you have two carry-on bags, the smaller one should be at your feet under the seat. I really dislike when people put multiple bags and jackets in the overhead which then causes other people to put their bag in random bins or check it after they have boarded.
- Put your bag up in the way that takes up the least amount of room. Putting a bag in horizontally usually blocks two “spaces” in the bin.
5. Do Not Overpack the Overhead
On a recent flight, a person in the row behind me stuffed their backpack in our overhead bin, wedging it in an already full area. Mid-flight they opened the lid and the heavy backpack fell straight on my head and neck!
6. Pick the Right Seat
Are you someone who needs to stretch or use the restroom often? Will you need access to your bag in the overhead bin? If you answered yes to either question, choose an aisle seat. This way your seatmates are not inconvenienced by letting you in and out of the row.
7. Swap Seats
- Be willing to swap seats for children or persons needing accompaniment due to sickness or disability.
- Be prepared to move if the airline requires you. I have had to move my seat to weight balance a small plane.
- Otherwise, you are not obligated to swap seats, especially if the new seat is in a less agreeable spot like a middle seat or at the back of the plane.
- You may want to avoid pulling items out of your under-seat bag until everyone is settled and the possibility of moving to another spot is cleared. Who knows, it may be an empty plane and you can move to have a row all to yourself!
8. Turn Off Electronics
When flight attendants tell you to turn off your electronics prior to take off, please turn it off! Ignoring them and continuing to talk on the phone or work on your computer just causes irritation for the attendants and your seatmates while also causing a delay.
9. Do Not Recline
- Do not recline your seat on short flights.
- Keep your seat upright during mealtimes or beverage service.
- Reclining is acceptable for red-eyes or long-haul flights when sleeping is a normal occurrence.
- If you do recline, try to warn the passenger behind you or at least look back to make sure your seat back won’t hit a laptop or knock something off their tray.
10. Limit Noise
- If you are someone who loves to chat, take cues from your seatmates. A book or headphones typically mean “do not disturb”.
- If you are listening to music, video games, or a movie, wear headphones. Do not play the audio so loud that other passengers can hear it.
- If the plane is settled in for the night, keep any conversations quiet so your neighbors can sleep or relax.
11. Save Arm Rests for Middle Seats
The unlucky middle seats don’t have room to stretch their feet or rest their head so be kind enough to give them the armrests.
12. Stand to Let People Out
Everybody in the row should stand and move into the aisle to let someone out of the row. Half-standing or just moving your legs makes the other person awkwardly move around while trying not to touch you or fall in your lap.
13. Keep Your Feet Out of the Aisle
- Keep your feet out of the aisle. It is your job to pull your feet back under the seat.
- Feet in the aisle may trip other passengers, especially at night.
- Don’t get in the way of food/drink carts.
14. Stay Calm
If there is a bit of turbulence, try to stay calm instead of hyping up other passengers and children. This can cause chaos and be more dangerous than the turbulence itself.
15. Do Not Rush to the Front
- When you land, and the seatbelt light turns off, don’t push in front of everyone to try to get out early. The plane will empty from the front by row. What’s another few minutes?
- If your flight was delayed taking off and your next flight boards quickly, let flight attendants know before landing. They may ask passengers to let tight connections off first. Be aware that even with the request, people may still block you in.
- Also, if your bag is in an overhead far behind you, wait for the seats to empty before heading back. Don’t push yourself back as others are trying to de-plane.
Those are my top 15 plane etiquette rules to live by. Do you have any unwritten rules you look for when traveling? Comment below!
We have seen different blogs about travel but none of them come close to your attention to detail and covering the info so thoroughly. Thank you from this plein air group!
It makes our trips, and the ones we intend to go on in the not-to-distant future, so much more relaxing and enjoyable. I hope you are getting sign ups from those we passed on this great information.
Thanks CFA! I’m so glad you are finding these helpful 🙂 Thank you for passing on the information to others so they can also take advantage of tips and experiences they might find useful. I really appreciate it!