The Current - Why do people behave so badly on airplanes?

Episode Date: November 8, 2024

What is it about air travel that prompts so many people to behave so badly? As one airline tries measures to shame passengers who jump the boarding queue, we ask an etiquette expert about the dos, don’ts and absolutely nots of air travel.

In 2017, it felt like drugs were everywhere in the news, so I started a podcast called On Drugs. We covered a lot of ground over two seasons, but there are still so many more stories to tell. I'm Jeff Turner, and I'm back with Season 3 of On Drugs. And this time, it's going to get personal. I don't know who Sober Jeff is. I don't even know if I like that guy.

On Drugs is available now wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway and this is The Current Podcast. Picture this, you have made it to the airport, on time, through security, you are now at the gate. Finally, that magical moment of boarding is about to begin. And in a flash, hordes of your fellow passengers are descending on the gate. Forget about zones or priority boarding. Everybody's there at once.

It's chaos. That scene is no stretch of the imagination these days. In the airline business, it's known as gate lice, when people just kind of hoard at the gate. And apparently, American Airlines has had enough of that. Three U.S. airports will pilot a program where an alert will beep loudly if a passenger scans their boarding pass before it's their turn to board. Passengers at Toronto's Pearson Airport had mixed thoughts on the name and shame system. I think, yeah, it could be a little embarrassing for the person,

but I think it might be the only way to get people to actually comply if they're called out. I've never tried to cut the line, but I think this technology would ensure that other people would have a second thought if they wanted to cut the line, so I think it's a good idea. You know, public shame is never a good way to tackle a problem. It makes the people angry, and do we need more angry people at the airport? I don't really think so. For more on this new system and air travel manners in general,

I'm joined by Nick Layton. He's an etiquette expert and co-host of the podcast, Were You Raised by Wolves? Nick, good morning. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being here. What do you make of this, this idea that you go to the gate to try to board, it's not your turn and there's a bzzzt and you are publicly named and shamed. Will this bring more order to the

boarding process? I mean, something has to, but I mean, my first thought is what has taken so long? Why has it taken this long to get to this point where we can use technology for this? I mean, I feel like we should have done this from the beginning. Do you think that public shaming will be effective in terms of curbing behavior? Well, I mean, is it public shaming? I mean, I guess it's a little bit, but I think it will help. Yeah, because I certainly would think I would look twice at my boarding pass to make sure that like, oh, this is my boarding group to not hear that buzzer. But gate agents have always had the power to boot you if you're not in the right group. This just gives them a tool to play good cop, bad cop, where the machine can now be bad cop.

As an etiquette expert, how do you understand why people attempt to jump the line and not just wait their turn? Flying recently, and the agent at the gate was saying, we're boarding by zone. We're boarding by zone one first, then two, then three. Worked their way all through this and said, that's how numbers work. As we go through the numbers and you follow the numbers. How do you understand why people don't follow those numbers and just hoard at the gate? I mean, how do I understand why people are rude in this world? I mean, where do you want to start?

But I think when there are no consequences, people's natural inclination is often just to take advantage of that. And that is what we have seen. There are no consequences to bringing in a rollerboard luggage that is too big. There are no consequences to doing all sorts of things. And so when there are no consequences, then why should you change your behavior? You know, it feels very zero sum up there. And I think people have just gotten used to just taking the advantage.

And I think this might be a little bit of a correction which is needed. So if the buzzer is not the thing that's going to lead to that full correction, what else, just on this last point here, what else do you think airlines could do to make the boarding process, getting onto the airplane, a bit more civilized? Well, here's the thing. I think it's in the airline's financial interest to actually not make it civilized. They want to make it a little unpleasant because the more unpleasant it is, the more likely we want to pay to get out of that unpleasantness, which is what we do. It is why we pay for early boarding. It is why we pay for upgrades. It is why we pay for all of these things. And if they just made it totally pleasant for everybody in every boarding group, well, what financial incentive is there for us to try and get out of that?

So I think there's a little of that happening, which is not exactly etiquette approved, but that's sort of the world we're living in. You have done, what, more than 200 airline etiquette-related episodes of your podcast? I mean, who knows how much etiquette content we have on airlines? It is a perennial topic. We have not solved the problem. I was going to say, why is it a perennial topic? We'll talk about some specifics, but what is it about the, I mean, maybe it's that people don't want to be there or they want, they just want to get through the process. But what is it about airlines that leads us to behave badly? Well, I think what is interesting about air travel is that it brings people together from different etiquette backgrounds. All etiquette is local. You know,

Paris, Texas and Paris, France have very different etiquettes and both are correct in their respective locations. But an airline brings people together who are operating from different etiquette playbooks. And so my idea of personal space or my idea of what is appropriate to eat on an airplane might be very different from yours. And we add to that people who are tired, sleep deprived, maybe a little cranky, hungry, stressed out, there's anxiety. And then, of course, it's a recipe for etiquette disaster. So I think this is just the inherent nature of air travel. It just brings people together who have different etiquette rules in their heads. In 2017, it felt like drugs were everywhere in the news.

So I started a podcast called On Drugs. We covered a lot of ground over two seasons, but there are still so many more stories to tell. I'm Jeff Turner, and I'm back with season three of On Drugs. And this time, it's going to get personal. I don't know who Sober Jeff is. I don't even know if I like that guy. On Drugs is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

It's heading toward a pretty busy travel season. We thought we would ask you, beyond the boarding process, about some of the worst travel behaviors that people perhaps have seen. I'm going to start with this. You're sitting, I mean, in one of those rows that it's three across, it's a very crowded plane. Somebody in the middle or maybe the window seat is standing up kind of over top of you and they want to move, they want to get off, they want to get past you. What is the best approach? If you were there on the aisle, what's the best approach to deal with it? Oh, people try to get off the plane like as soon as the tires hit the runway. Yeah, we have stopped and you're not even supposed to undo your seatbelt yet and people want to get out.

Yeah, I experienced that recently. And I said to the gentleman, it's like, I unfortunately have nowhere to go. I cannot go anywhere. There is nowhere for me to go. And you could just say that in a nice, polite way. But if somebody is so insistent in just getting past you, getting out of that middle seat, getting ahead of you in that aisle, then just let them. I mean, is that 20-second delay on you going to make a difference in your life? Is that the hill you want to die on? So, you know, sometimes it's just better to let people have their way, even if it's sort of obnoxious. But yes, generally speaking, we want to just let people ahead of us go first. That is the general etiquette rule, which hopefully we all agree on.

Do you recline your seat? I do not. Because for me, the difference between that inch difference makes zero impact on my comfort. So I am not a recliner. But reclining, it does exist. There is a button. It does work. Technically, you can recline if you want.

But in etiquette world, you know, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. Like, you can not hold the door open for somebody at Tim Hortons. You're allowed to do that. But like, is it polite to hold the door open? Yeah. So yes, you can recline. But is the person behind you six foot five? You know, should you? Are we in the middle of meal service? Are they using a laptop? And are you going to recline real fast where you might snap their laptop? You know, there's some considerations involved. Wow, it sounds like you're actually thinking about other people.

Not just yourself. Isn't that so strange? I know, weird, right? Oh, if only that were a thing that people thought about. Okay, what about not using headphones in public spaces? No, I'm going to stop you right there. Okay. No. I didn going to stop you right there. Okay. No.

I didn't even finish. There's no justification whatsoever for playing whatever it is you happen to be playing, your podcast or Chapel Roan or whatever without your headphones. Here's the one exception to all etiquette. Health and safety always trumps etiquette. So if there is a health and safety reason why you need to be doing something, then do it, have at it, no etiquette. So if there is a health and safety reason why you need to be doing something, then do it, have at it, no etiquette questions asked.

So if there is a health and safety reason why you need to have your phone on, then okay, then do that. Otherwise, no, we have decided as a global society that we are not interested in hearing what is coming out of your phone. So you gotta wear headphones, especially in an airplane.

I mean, what a bonkers concept to like be blasting something from your phone. So headphones are one thing. What about something like this? She might be on the plane and passengers feel like this is the opportunity for them to live out their fantasy of being a pop singer. Maybe they get the, you know, the PA system going to their benefit. Is that something that you are in favor of? I'll have what she's having. Wow.

I mean, I think that's charming for a hot second. But, you know, how long is this flight and how close am I to this person? I mean, the etiquette rule is, you know, we long is this flight and how close am I to this person? I mean, the etiquette rule is, you know, we want to be mindful of people around us. You know, we just want to acknowledge that other people exist. And so, you know, how mindful are we being when we are blasting our karaoke, you know, in a small metal tube? You know, I think that's a very good question here. So, I don't think I love that. Being mindful can come in a number of different circumstances and a number of different scenarios. Some of that is about what you're hearing. Some of that perhaps is about what you are seeing

somebody else do, what you might smell when it comes to the food they're eating. This is a TikToker who's going through airport security. I don't like to drink water in airports. Can't get water through security. But you can bring coconut water on the airplane in a coconut. You can bring two carry-on bags and a bag of all food onto the plane. The food bag doesn't count as a carry-on. So you can bring three bags if one of them is all of your food that you brought that's animal-based. Hack number three, prepare food beforehand. Bring your food on the plane. I got grass-fed beef. I got a coconut you can bring on the plane, organs,

and I got some honey and yogurt. So this guy is bringing a bag of whole coconuts on the plane with him. You see at the end of the video, he has actually, I'm not sure how he got into the coconut, but he's drinking out of the coconut. He's sitting on his flight eating organ meat, apparently. Oh. How should people approach those who bring their own food on a plane?

Wow. Coconuts. I mean, I guess that's a loophole to the liquids rule. I mean, is it? Apparently so. Coconuts? Okay. If you believe TikTok. I mean, I guess I's a loophole to the liquids rule. I mean, is it? Apparently so. Are you allowed to eat coconuts? Okay. If you believe TikTok.

I mean, I guess I do today. I mean, one of the etiquette principles on airplanes, or in general, is this sort of fiction. You know, a lot of etiquette requires us to buy into a fiction, that like something is not happening. And on an airplane, the fiction is that like, oh, we are not jammed up against other people right next to us. And we just pretend we're alone. Like we pretend that we are not with all these other people. I mean, this is why you're allowed to start eating as soon as you're served. You do not have to wait for your road to be served. This is not a dinner party. We are not dining with these people. And so, you know, one

of the fictions is we also need to stay within our bubble, you know, our little bubble of noise, our little bubble of smell. You know, we want to contain ourselves within our bubble. And so if you bring something in very smelly, you know, if you bring in a whole can of tuna, which I just saw pop up on my social media, that's not great because that smell will leave your bubble. And that is rude. You could have that, I don't know where you store the coconuts. You might just throw them on your lap or something like that, but they might be in an enormous box that you're trying to cram into the overhead bin. You see these – because it costs money now to check luggage, people bring shipping containers, it seems like, to try to put into the carry-on bin.

Is this an etiquette faux pas or is that just economically like a smart thing to do? Because you are saving money if you can figure out how to get it into that bin. Well, I mean, it would be nice if everybody followed the rules and brought luggage that is exactly IATA approved sizes and all of that. But, you know, if the airlines aren't enforcing it, then of course people are going to try and push the boundaries and then it does sort of become the chaos that we're all familiar with. So, yeah, it would be nice if people just followed the rules. Unfortunately, people who do are often left holding the bag and are sort of the suckers. And so we just need more enforcement from the airlines. Passengers can't enforce this against other passengers. So the airlines really have to really enforce the rules that they have set

to, you know, try to make this less chaotic. Bare feet on a plane? No, except for that health and safety exception, which I discussed earlier. But yeah, in general, I would love for your socks to be on if possible. And I don't know, it doesn't actually really affect my life, but I would rather not see you walk to the bathroom in socks. There's just something about that which catches my eye, which I don't care for. And, you know, we all know what is happening in there. So I don't love the idea that you're stepping in wet puddles with your socks.

But yeah, I think you know your feet. You know if your feet smell. And so, you know, if you take off your socks and it's under the seat in front of you and no one can see or smell them, then, like, you know, it's the tree falling in the forest. You know, do your feet make a smell? If no one knows, you know, it's the tree falling in the forest. You know, do your feet make a smell? If no one knows, you know, who knows? But in general, yeah, I think we want to keep our socks on at least. What do you make of it?

And certainly want our shoes. What do you make of the fact, I mean, a lot of this behavior that we're talking about, we're talking about it in part because people have filmed other people doing it, right? And then it's been posted up on social media. What do you make of the fact that, is there an etiquette kind of approach to filming and posting videos of your fellow travelers online? It's technically considered rude. You know, to film people, especially at their expense, is not kind. And I think that golden rule of, would you want to be filmed?

I mean, who among us is at our best when we are traveling on an airplane? Who is camera ready? Who is feeling perfectly relaxed? You know, none of us are. And, you know, I would hate to be filmed at any of these moments. And so, yeah, it would be nice if we did not document all of this, you know. So I don't love it. But it is the world we live in. And so I guess because we live in that world, we just want to make sure we're really on our best behavior at all times. And even if we are feeling frustrated or if we do feel some injustice, we just want to be mindful like, oh, this might be filmed. So let me just proceed accordingly and not do anything that would get me canceled.

The documentation could lead you to believe that we are ruder as a society now than we were in the past. Are we less polite? Have we lost a sense of etiquette, do you think? Or is it just because this is being documented that we think about it differently? Yeah, I don't think things are worse. I think we just are more aware of it. I mean, going back to 1922, Emily Post, you know, one of the original etiquette experts in North America,

she was talking about train travel. And she actually was talking about how you don't want to assail the nostrils of fellow passengers with strong odors of any kind. I mean, this was happening in 1922. You know, more than 100 years later, it's the same problem. We have solved no etiquette problems. So, you know, I think some things are just human nature. It's just kind of who we are as a species. And so as the host of a podcast that, I mean, as we say, tries to make the world a nicer, more polite place, what should we think about? What's the golden rule when traveling to not fall prey to some of the things that we have spoken about this morning? I think you just have

to have a good sense of humor about travel. And I think you just have to approach it with sort of the idea that, yeah, this is a little unpleasant. This is not the glamorous Chateaubriand sort of table side, you know, Pan Am Clipper flights of yore. I mean, we just don't live in a world of glamorous travel anymore. This is just sort of, you know, a bus that flies. And so we just have to acknowledge that, yeah, it's going to be a little unpleasant. We can tough it out. Pick your battles. Decide, you know, what hills you want to die on. And know that it'll be over soon.

And I think, you know, if we kind of approach it with that sense of humor, then we can endure. And you are on that bus with other people. And so think about those other people when you're acting. Other people exist. Yeah. I guess that's the takeaway. Other people exist. Nick, thank you very much for this.

Thank you. This is a treat and a pleasure. Nick Layton is an etiquette expert and co-host of the podcast, Were You Raised by Wolves? For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.