I have had my fair share of complaints about airlines- but today I thought I would share a few tips about how not to be a rude traveler. I see these people all the time- they are the ones who think that everything revolves around them- maybe it’s because I travel a lot- but I spot them all the time- on my latest trip I encountered three of them.
In the first case I don’t think the man was being deliberately rude- but there was certainly something odd about his behavior. I was in line in security at Amsterdam airport, the line was moving pretty well, but as I got close to the front it stopped. I peered ahead and there was an old man checking every single one of his jacket pockets for change- inside pockets and outside pockets- once, twice, three times. Then he just got fed up and took off his jacket. The guy behind me yelled out “what did you check your pockets for if you were going to take off your coat?”. Then the old man started checking his pants pockets…
Why is it that people get to security and all of a sudden realize that they need to take the change out of their pockets? I can understand for first time travelers- but I can bet that most of these people have been on planes before and know what to expect; especially as there are usually huge signs before getting into the security lines.
The second rude traveler I saw on this trip was on the flight from Dubai to New York. This guy was loud and obnoxious, and fortunately not sitting right next to me. Partway through the flight he needed to get out of his seat- but instead of waking up the person next to him and asking him to move, he decided to jump over him. Unfortunately his feet did not make it to the aisle- but they did land on his neighbor’s knees. The other passenger was furious.
Later on, while everyone was trying to sleep, this guy insisted on watching a movie which had him cackling loudly every few minutes, and the person in the seat in front of him had to turn around several times to ask him to stop shaking his seat. I spent a good part of the flight looking over at the neighbor and shaking my head in sympathy.
The third rude traveler I saw on my latest trip was while I was again waiting to go through security, this time in New York. Just in front of me was a middle aged lady who was going to Italy. There had been some screw up with her ticket which was making her very late and she was concerned about missing her flight. She was discussing with another couple who may have been her friends.
At one point we got pulled into separate lines, the couple in one line, and the complainer in the other, I got into the line of the complainer. As she suddenly had no-one to bitch to (she glanced my way but I ignored her), she pulls out her cell phone and calls someone to complain that she is going to be late for her flight, etc… This goes on for several minutes until she is at the front of the security line. The workers there try to get her off the phone but she doesn’t- so they start sending people around her. When she finally got off the phone she had to wait for a bunch of people to pass through before her- and to top it off she was upset that they made the others pass before her! If she was in such a hurry then could she not have waited to make this call?
I just wanted to share these because I am past the point of getting upset at these people- actually I think about them and get a good laugh.
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