Taking a flight can be a trial at the best of times, but if you're seated next to a passenger who doesn't know how to behave, it can become close to unbearable. And because your "next door neighbour" for the next however-many-hours is probably a complete stranger, it's difficult to say anything.
But there's some comfort, perhaps, in knowing that other people have endured their share of irritating flight "buddies", too. A new study by Expedia has revealed the things people find most annoying in fellow plane passengers, and it's a roll call of behaviour many of us have experienced.
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Top of the irritation list is passengers who kick, bump or grab your seat during the flight; in fact, more than half of the people who spoke to Expedia mentioned this as an annoyance.
Passengers with poor personal hygiene and parents who don't keep a close eye on their children were the next most mentioned irritations. Personal space violators and people who make too much noise rounded out the top five. Check out the top ten below.
1. The Seat Kicker/Bumper/Grabber (mentioned by 51% of people)
2. The Aromatic Passenger (43%)
3. The Inattentive Parent (39%)
4. Personal Space Violators (34%)
5. Audio Insensitive (29%)
6. Pungent Foodies (14%)
7. Baggage Mishandler (13%)
8. Armrest Hog (13%)
9. Airplane Mode Violator (11%)
10. Security Newbie (9%)
The study also found that 90% of people don't think it's appropriate to go barefoot during a flight. Removing your shoes is fine, they said, but socks should stay on.
Meanwhile, 54% of people said they think it's acceptable to wake up a fellow passenger who's snoring - something I, in all honesty, probably wouldn't have the courage to do.
Oh, and globally, passengers from South Korea, the US and Thailand said they were most likely to take advantage of the plane bar and get drunk on a flight. To which I say: as long as they don't pass out snoring or get a little messy, why not?
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