At 35, 000 feet courtesy is not what it is in a kitchen or an office or a crowded elevator. The cabin is a mobile work station with slim corridors, routine-timed schedules and safety regulations, which allow little room to improvise.
Flight attendants do not stop noticing or noticing passengers who attempt to make their lives at least somewhat easier. The issue is that some of the most frequently used gestures of being nice cause discomfort: they disrupt service flow, create confusion as to ownership, or place crew in the embarrassing situation of unhelpful doing so in front of a full row.
1. Policing other passengers
Fixing a mask, seatbelt, or phone use of a stranger may seem civic-minded, but it may also create conflict in an area where nobody is able to leave. Well-meaning passengers are not trained and certified to intervene to resolve compliance and de-escalate scenarios as the cabin crews are. The better option is to discreetly alert a flight attendant about the problem and leave it to the crew to work out how to deal with it.
2. Repacking overhead bins other than theirs
The act of making room by shifting the bags of other people tends to work against one. It is able to isolate passengers and cargo during the journey, create conflict over what was transported, and increase the disembarkation when the bag of one passenger has travelled several rows across. The more amicable route is to pack personal stuff as fast as possible, carry little bags under the seats wherever feasible, and leave the revamping that must occur to be guided by crew members.
3. Caressing a flight attendant to wake him up
Tapping the arm might not be so harsh as shouting, however, most members of the crew do not like to be touched during work. A polite excuse me and looking straight into his eyes is usually sufficient and the call button does not do nothing in vain. There are also reports of passengers poking the crew when they are already busy, which is another irritant in passenger etiquette lists.
4. Asking the flight attendants to refill large water-bottles
Reusable bottles are convenient, though requesting a full 32-ounce refill may cause exhausted onboard resources- at least on longer routes where water is necessary to service the aircraft on a regular basis. Quite simply, as one of the flight attendants who had almost 20 years of experience stated, we simply can not fill all of your water bottles, otherwise we will not have enough to give. The low-drama option will be filling up at the terminal following security and take the normal cup service on board.
5. Making the beverage cart self serve
Taking a soda or a snack out of the cart may be time-saving to the passenger but it can interrupt the inventory and order system of the crew and pose hygienic issues as the hands touch over supplies. It adds to the congestion of the aisle at the point when the crew is attempting to pass through it as well. No one can predict when the cart will arrive at the row, and this delay can be expected to keep the service foreseeable to all.
6. Direct delivery of dangerous garbage
Soiled tissues, diapers, and objects with body fluids are not common trash in a small studio. Handing them directly to a crew member leaves them with dealing with bio-waste in the aisle and prevents service. The more responsible thing to do is to wrap up the disorganized stuff and deposit it in the toilet bin. When it comes to medical sharps, the best thing that passengers can do is to bring a suitable container and dispose it upon arrival.
7. Excessive control of carry-on baggage
There are those passengers that loiter around the bin, turn bags around, or seclude other passengers to occupy adjacent room so that they can guard their items. That slows down boarding, squeezes the aisle and tempers behind them. The cabins of airplanes operate on a momentum; baggy, baggy with the handles packed and fitted in the most efficient way work to ensure that boarding continues to go.
8. The crew is one of the social outlets in the middle of the flight
There is nothing wrong with conversation, it is timing of conversation. Attendants are performing safety checks, paperwork, and service cadence whilst some passengers ring the call button to chat, or entertain a member of the crew. Engaging in small talk during less stressful times (usually after service of meals and beverages) is more respectful of the workflow of the crew and minimises disturbance to adjacent rows.
9. Only giving attention to the cockpit to the exit
Most passengers will not leave the cabin crew without pausing to give a thanks to the pilot who managed to serve, ensure safety and address requests during the flight. Flight attendants report that being out of balance may hurt particularly following a stressful cabin. One quick farewell to the crew at the door a few seconds only, but it counts as an obvious indication of the respect given to the people who spent the flight in the aisle.
The cabin also has a social code but it is a work site. What seems kindly on the ground, may cause an additional step in the air, where space and time are the scarcest resources of all. By keeping the passengers help simple follow directions, be conscious of shared space and letting the crew run the system, the entire flight is likely to feel smooth even to those passengers who never utter a word.
