The Airline Passenger Code of Conduct

There are human codes of conduct that we all learn starting in kindergarten. They’re not difficult, but even as adults these common codes are sometimes hard to follow. When we’re busy, tired, stressed or late for a flight, it’s easy to justify that the rules don’t apply. The overwhelming majority of citizens stick to the cultural codes of conduct under all circumstances because they have a level of self-respect and empathy for those around them, but it’s the airline passengers who disregard this code that we read about in the news. Since their percentages are small but loud, airlines should tolerate nothing less from their passengers than what is expected in an elementary school library.

There are daily stories about a passenger’s inability to act like a child in school. They come on board feeling they’ve earned the right to be first in line, first for attention, first for overhead bin space and first to complain. It’s beyond their ability to sit still in their seat without having to smash their seat back into the person’s lap behind them when it takes just a moment to turn around and ask their fellow passenger if it’s okay to recline the seat – maybe just halfway. If it’s not okay, yes, go ahead and be mad, but keep your seat up. If you want more room, there is an option: pay for it. Don’t forget, if the person behind you has a knee defender on your seat, or asks you to keep your seat up, that passenger will also keep their seat up, so you’re indirectly helping another person.

The extremely rude or out of control passenger is a rare percentage. I was an airline and corporate pilot for fifteen years and I’ve only had two instances where a flight was interrupted because of a passenger (alcohol involved). The majority of passengers are intelligent, patient and considerate, and for that reason, the airlines should have zero tolerance for any type of rude behavior – even (especially) from their business and first class customers who might have entitlement issues. Bad behavior includes being overtly rude, watching porn where others can see, carrying on a bag that is obviously too big, clipping their toe/fingernails, talking on their cell phones too loudly, bringing stinky food onboard, sassing back to other passengers or crew, swearing., etc. – if you’re not sure, just ask yourself, can I do this at an elementary school library?

If a passenger is breaking the rules of common conduct and they’ve been given an opportunity to correct the behavior, then an airline representative should be able to instantly hand their money back and say fine, get off this airplane and take a bus. It’s not a right to fly, it’s a privilege and everyone else on this flight deserves courtesy. There is probably a bumped passenger whose seat was oversold who would gladly fill it. If the bad behavior occurs during the flight, put them on the naughty list and make sure they never get to fly again on that airline. There are many passengers who would specifically buy a ticket on an airline that kept rude passengers off the airplane.

I know the airlines have a small profit margin. I have been in the industry for 25-years and know all aspects of what it takes to move a passenger on a flight. It’s an intricate balance and the price of a passenger seat is so low because of the efficiency and knowledge gleaned after many years of learning. I also know airlines have to fight for every passenger, but by tolerating rude behavior, one passenger can ruin the experience for a hundred others and if they have a bad experience on a flight, they’ll blame the airline rather than just the bad passenger. In the overview of a good business model, it would be financially beneficial to eject these disrespectful passengers, even if they have a first class ticket. If passengers consistently had a good experience and they knew the airline was fighting for them, their loyalty would grow deeper.

You can argue what is rude to one person is acceptable to another. That is drivel. If you don’t know what bad behavior is, ask yourself: can I do this in an elementary school library? My nine and eleven year old kids can tell you if it’s acceptable or not. The good passengers of the world deserve to have the airlines stand up and fight for them.

Erika Armstrong has been in every aspect of aviation for 25 years. From customer service at a small FBO to the captain’s seat of a Boeing 727-200, she’s experienced everything in between. She can be reached at [email protected]