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Manners and Aircraft...the Ten Golden Don'ts

I am leaving in a couple of weeks for the UK and Europe – a family wedding in Kent after two days of retail therapy in London and divine indulgence at Grosvenor House - and then two delightful weeks with my Prince in Europe.

And after I gave  a recent radio interview with the ABC about aircraft etiquette I thought I would again go through my Ten Golden Don’ts for travelling in an unnatural state through air and time...particularly in economy class.

1. Do not take over your neighbour’s personal space...the armrest is a necessary boundary.
2. Do not interrupt the in-flight movie...it’s bad enough that the pilot chats through it, yet alone
an unknown flight neighbour.
3. Do not take an overhead luggage compartment that is not above your own seat...and if you
cannot lift your own bag up, it’s too heavy anyway...don’t ask someone else to do it.
4. Do not hide your active Iphone from the flight staff...you will one day get caught and be in lots of trouble.
5. Do not get out of your seat during meal/drink service...check the line for the loos once you
can hear the trolley wobbling up the aisle and make a quick dash.
6. Do not abuse either the person behind you/flight staff when they ask you to put your seat
upright for meal service...it’s a nightmare using good inflight table manners with the tray 2cm from your stomach.
7. Do not forget your personal hygiene...putting dirty, bare feet on the seat in front, wearing strong
perfumes/aftershave, actually, don’t get me started!
8. Do not ever forget to say please and thank you...to the person next to you who moves so you
can make the loo dash as soon as the movie is finished, the flight attendant who gives you that
extra wine with a smile, not a querulous look.
9. Do not allow your children to kick the seat in front of them, or engage in any other “childish” behavior...and if a mother is trying to comfort an upset infant, don’t be “childish” about your reaction.
10. Do not laugh when the Customer Service Officer invites you to “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”.

So to all my fellow travellers over the southern winter/northern summer escape period,please be kind, be courteous and be caring...it will make your journey far more enjoyable. Bon voyage!
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Comments

  1. DamoJune 23, 2010 at 2:09 PM

    Do not put your extra luggage under your seat as it will squeeze your fellow passenger behind you in a long and uncomfortable position, especially in mysery class.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LouiseJune 23, 2010 at 6:09 PM

    Apologies for leaving out the important "11th" don't...thanks for this comment Damo. Perhaps you have personal experience of this lack of manners?

    ReplyDelete
  3. PaulJune 23, 2010 at 6:18 PM

    On a recent flight home from Melbourne I was unfortunate enough to experience number 3. Upon entering the plane with my wife and our 12 week old baby, we found our overhead luggage compartment completely full. Lucky for us a very helpful hostess assisted us by housing our baby's supplies in the nearby staff storage.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LouiseJune 24, 2010 at 6:17 PM

    Paul, thanks for visiting my blog. I bought my son, aged 4 weeks, back to Australia after his birth in London.And to have caring flight staff was a joy. Politeness and kindness works universally.

    ReplyDelete

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