Air Travelers Weigh In On Common Travel Problems

When should travelers act when onboard an aircraft? A new survey from Travel Leaders Group asked consumers how they would handle various inflight situations, including when fellow passengers don’t turn off their cell phones in-flight – 61.4 percent said they would take some sort of action. 

Another example cited by the survey - a child kicking one’s airplane seat  - would prompt 73 percent of those polled to take action. Distractingly loud music or movies would stir 73.9 percent to action. The survey was conducted from April 4 to May 16, 2012 and includes responses from 855 consumers throughout the U.S.
 
“With more and more people flying today, there are bound to be situations in which air travelers aren’t quite sure if, or how, they should take action. Let’s face it, there are no real etiquette rules for air travel,” stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben.

“The ‘What would you do?’ questions we asked were to gauge on how airline passengers handle potentially prickly situations such as an unruly child and how tolerant they are of requests to switch seats or put their carry-on items under the seat in front of them so a large roller bag can go up above. By better understanding consumer behavior, our travel experts can provide sage advice to their clients to hopefully better defuse many of the situations they may face while traveling,” Liben said.
 
When asked, “If another airline passenger seated near you won’t turn off his/her cell phone while in flight, what would you do?” the responses were:
 
Call a flight attendant and let him/her handle the situation - 34.3 percent
Say something directly to the person - 27.1 percent
Sit quietly and say nothing - 23.9 percent
Not sure - 14.7 percent.
 
When asked, “If another airline passenger seated near you is using headphones to listen to music or a movie and the sound is so loud that everyone around him/her can also hear, what would you do?” the responses were:
 
Say something directly to the person asking them to turn it down - 47.4 percent
Call a flight attendant and let him/her handle the situation - 26.5 percent
Sit quietly and say nothing - 17.3 percent
Not sure - 8.8 percent
 
 
When asked, “If a child was seated behind you on an airplane and constantly kicked your seat, what would you do?” the responses were:
 
Turn around and say something directly to the parent or child - 62.8 percent.
Call a flight attendant and let him/her handle the situation - 10.2 percent
Sit quietly and say nothing, while hoping the parent will stop their child - 9.7 percent.
Ignore it, children will be children - 6.7 percent.
Turn around and glare at the parent or child - 6.1 percent.
Not sure - 4.5 percent.
 
When asked, “If you were flying alone and a couple asked you to switch seats so that they could sit together, what would you do?” the responses were:
 
Gladly move regardless of what kind of seat it was - 44.7 percent
Move only if it was not a middle seat - 27.2 percent
Move only if new seat was an aisle seat - 13.6 percent
Not sure - 6.4 percent
Move only if new seat was a window seat - 4.4 percent.
 
Many elite status frequent flyers get upgraded. When asked, “If you were traveling with a companion on vacation and you received an upgrade to first class, would you…” the responses were:
 
Depends on who I'm traveling with - 38.4 percent
I would pass up the opportunity so we could continue to sit together - 29.9 percent
I'm not sure what I would do - 11.8 percent
Give it to my traveling companion – they deserve a little extra something - 7.8 percent
Depends on the length of the flight- 6.3 percent
I would say “see you after the flight” and head to the front of the plane - 5.8 percent
 
When asked, “If you placed a small bag in the overhead bin and were asked to place it under the seat in front of you so someone else could put a very large roller bag above, would you …” the responses were:
 
Do so without a second thought - 54.6 percent
Do so, but grudgingly. I believe the other passenger should’ve checked their bag - 22.1 percent
Politely decline offering one or several reasons why your bag should stay where it is - 9.9 percent
Politely decline offering no explanation - 6.9 percent
Not sure - 6.5 percent
 
When asked, “While passing through a TSA security checkpoint, if a traveler in front of you is taking too long removing shoes, laptop, etc. would you…” the responses were:
 
Patiently wait - 51.3 percent
Wait, but be frustrated that they don't have their act together - 37.8 percent
Jump in front of them - 9.0 percent
Not sure - 1.8 percent
Tell them to move faster - 0.1 percent
 
This is the fourth consecutive year the consumer travel survey has been conducted.

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