Being Rude to Flight Attendants Is the Biggest Breach of Airplane Etiquette in the U.S.
With vaccine doses nearing 350 million in the U.S., and more than 70 countries falling into the low- to moderate-risk category for American tourists, some people may be looking to get back onto airplanes sooner rather than later. In fact, TSA data shows that the number of travelers per day of late is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
As reports of unruly airline passengers surge, 81% of consumers support airlines’ decisions to pause in-flight alcohol service.
Unfortunately, the long time spent avoiding travel and the high stress of the pandemic may have consequences: There has been a surge of cases of unruly airline passengers in recent times.
To find out how the pandemic has impacted public views on airplane etiquette, we surveyed over 1,000 Americans about their opinions. We included questions specifically related to pandemic-era travel faux pas, as well as general do’s and don’ts.
Key findings
- Being rude to the flight attendant is the number one biggest breach of airplane etiquette, according to 72% of travelers. The next two are kicking the seat in front of you and getting on the plane while sick.
- More than half (54%) of Americans agree that the pandemic caused flyers’ airplane etiquette to get worse. And in many cases, other passengers suffer: 24% noted another passenger’s poor behavior caused the plane to turn around.
- 81% of consumers support airlines’ decisions to pause in-flight alcohol service in efforts to curb unruly passengers. Additionally, 65% agree that getting drunk on the plane is a big no-no.
- The battle over yoga pants and leggings continues. 40% of consumers don’t think it’s okay to wear them on the plane. Men are more opposed than women: 55% of men don’t think that apparel is airplane-appropriate, compared to 26% of women.
The top 10 breaches of airplane etiquette, according to travelers
To find out what’s considered to be a breach of airplane etiquette, we asked about several potential offenses. For most (72%), the most commonly cited offense was being rude to flight attendants. That could be due to an awareness of the difficulties faced by those who work with the public during these high-stress times. Other top offenses included kicking the seat in front of you (69%), getting on the plane while sick (67%) and getting drunk (65%).
It’s important to note that when this survey was last conducted, in mid-February 2020, 56% of people named traveling while sick as a major etiquette breach; that number is now up to 67%. It’s a signal that some are taking the pandemic seriously — though perhaps not as many as you might expect during a time like this.
However, this trend doesn’t seem to apply to the youngest segment of Americans we surveyed: Fewer Gen Zers (48%) thought getting on a plane while sick was a breach of etiquette than other generations. That’s a slight decline compared to when we first conducted this survey (back then, 52% of Gen Zers said sick passengers were a breach of etiquette.)
“It’s possible that after over a year of being cooped up in quarantine, the younger generation isn’t as concerned with etiquette if that means it will interfere with long-awaited travel plans,” says Sophia Mendel, a travel writer at ValuePenguin.
Interestingly, taking off your shoes while on the plane (34%) didn’t make the top-10 list: https://www.valuepenguin.com/travel/airline-etiquette-survey