Therese Sta. MariaWe need to address the elephant in the room…or plane. Isn’t it so annoying when you board a plane so optimistic, calm and collected, but then you come out cranky and annoyed because your flight had to be ruined by certain types of people? We feel you. We’ve all been there. And we’re here to let out some steam so you all can live vicariously through this rant.
Also read: 7 Types of People You Never Want to Travel With
1. Passengers who don’t listen to flight attendants
When you see someone who’s intentionally disobeying safety instructions or reclines their seat during take off right after the flight attendant told them they shouldn’t, you know there’s a troublemaker in your midst. Uncooperative passengers are the biggest inconvenience not only for flight attendants but also for you as a fellow passenger. Every time a person is gently told off by the FA, everyone’s attention is immediately diverted towards them. Stubborn passengers are unfortunately hard to ignore!
2. Noisy groups
We know that travelling with a group of friends and even family can be lots of fun. But do they have to be so noisy on the plane? Some people are just too excited that they forget that they aren’t the only ones on the plane. There are elderly people, businessmen and women who need to rest, passengers who won’t be able to focus on their movie, and even babies who no one wants to wake from their naps. Although we can always ask the FA to ask this loud bunch of people to tone their voices down, sometimes we feel like the villain just by requesting it when in fact, we’re the victims.
3. Babies
Speaking of babies, we love them. Really, we do. Except maybe when they’re crying at the top of their lungs on the plane. Goodbye, sleep! But if you brought earplugs, good for you!
4. Unapologetic feet stompers
People who don’t observe basic etiquette or niceties like “Excuse me” or “May I pass?” when walking by or passing over others are rude enough. But when they also step on your feet and hurt you without saying sorry, it’s almost as if they’re testing your patience. I mean really, how hard is it to look down and watch where you’re going?
5. Loud snorers
If we’re stuck on a long-haul flight with loud snorers, our beauty sleep is sure to be interrupted. We’re pretty pissed when we get off the plane because we kept waking up at random times on our red-eye flight while the loud snorers got their healthy dose of slumber. How unfair!
6. Overly demanding passengers
It’s not exactly your problem, but you feel deeply for the flight attendants when you see them dealing with passengers who are overly demanding. These are the passengers who keep asking for assistance even if other people need it more. The ones who can’t keep their voices down when they have complaints and the ones who can’t wait for their turn to receive their food tray. You almost want to go up to them and say, “You’re not the only passenger on this plane!”
7. Armrest hoggers
If you’re sitting in the middle seat, the least your two seatmates can do for you is give you the two armrests when you need them, right? You don’t get a view like a passenger in the window seat, and you can’t go to the lavatory as easily as the person sitting in the aisle seat. So when you have seatmates who deprive you of your armrests, it’s all just inconsiderate of them and inconvenient for you.
8. Messy people
It’s so easy to place your trash in the seat pocket right in front of you, but for some reason, other passengers just can’t seem to do that. Plastic wrappers, tissue paper, and even food bits end up on the floor. Messy people won’t even bother to pick them up or give their trash to the FAs to be thrown. What would make it worse is when you need to go to the lavatory while the person in the aisle seat places his food tray on the floor in front of him/her. So hard to go over!
9. Non-stop selfie-takers in front of you
Nothing wrong with taking selfies…unless you’re disturbing people around you. Sometimes we innocent passengers become reluctant and unintentional photobombers in a person’s photo. They keep clicking — before take-off, during the flight, after landing, and because we’re seated behind them, we get included in the photo too. We had no intention of becoming conscious of our appearance, but because of non-stop selfie-takers, we, unfortunately, get triggered!
10. Seat traders (without your permission)
Perhaps the rudest passengers of them all are the people who “trade” seats with you even before you get to your reserved seat. This has happened to me before and what made it extra difficult was that the one who “traded” seats with me wouldn’t listen AND was speaking in a foreign language. I think she thought I just wanted the seat. I couldn’t get my point across.
Thankfully, the FA who helped me out was from the same country as me so we were able to resolve the problem eventually. If you’ve experienced this, it’s not only inconvenient but kind of embarrassing too, even if it’s not your fault. It’s okay to exchange seats, but they should ask you first!
Also read: How to Say “NO! You Can’t Take My Reserved Seat”
11. Unhelpful fellow passengers
Needed help putting your carry-on in the baggage compartment or did you drop something on the floor without anyone lending a hand? You’re not asking for much, but when you see other passengers just staring at you when they could be helping you, it makes you wonder why they’re just sitting there. “Hi sir/ma’am, I could use a little help!”
12. Seat kickers or pushers
Most of the time, this happens when a kid is sitting behind you. You know they mean no harm, but because children quickly become restless and bored, they move around a lot. Unfortunately, that means they end up kicking or pushing the seat in front of them. But if you think that this only happens when kids are behind you, think again.
I once experienced this when a grown man sat behind me. He wasn’t kicking, but he was definitely pushing. He was pushing the buttons on his personal television (which as you know would be connected to the seat in front of you and in this case, mine) so hard that I could feel the force through my headrest. It was so annoying that I almost turned around and told him, “Sir, please use the remote! It’s at your armrest!” But thankfully, he stopped when the plane was in the air. Phew!
13. Overly talkative seatmate
Do you remember that scene in Home Alone 2 where Kevin gets stuck sitting beside a talkative French-speaking man on the plane going to New York? He ends up listening to his headphones to block the conversation. This, of course, happens in real life too. There are passengers who simply don’t know when to stop talking to you and can’t take a hint that you don’t want to engage in the conversation anymore.
The awkward thing about the situation is, you don’t want to be rude so you’re unsure how to tell your seatmate that you don’t want to talk. Maybe at some point, you manage to get your message across, but how you wish you didn’t have to go through such awkwardness!
These types of people can make our flying experience memorable for all the wrong reasons. And if you hate flying with these said characters, better be sure you’re not being a stressful fellow passenger yourself!
