Ask MS. BEHAVING

Airplane Flght Rules

   

 

Tags: travel etiquette, travel customs, travel manners, etiquette questions, air travel

Ms. Behaving at Royal Ascot


MS. BEHAVING continues her airline adventures. This time aloft:

A READER WRITES: I recently was on a plane and the flight attendant was outright rude to me, snapping when I asked for some water. This stayed with me for the entire flight. How do you deal with this kind of behavior?

MS. BEHAVING REPLIES: Think of the behavior the attendant has to deal with every day! Ms. Behaving has befriended many airline personnel in her day, and knows how difficult the job is – safety first, dealing with abusive drunks (not you, of course), those who have never learned “please” and “thank you,” etc. Punishing schedules, being away from family … you get the gist of this. The best approach is kindness. If the attendant is in the middle of 10 other jobs, wait to ask for water when he/she isn’t being slammed with the requests of more than 100 other passengers.

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A READER WRITES: On my last flight I was in business class, and the man next to me kept flirting with the attendant in a boorish way, constantly asking her to get things for him and talking up a storm. I was offended. Should I have said something to him?

MS. BEHAVING REPLIES: My dear, the boor wouldn’t notice and your blood pressure would rise. Don’t put yourself in the position of engaging Mr. Not-engaging. The attendant has no doubt experienced this before, alas, and is perfectly capable of putting him in his place if need be. Watch the movie, listen to music and block him out: the creep wants attention and he won’t get it from you. Carry on!

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WHAT’S YOUR QUANDARY? Have questions about etiquette, local or global travel customs or awkward moments on the road? Fear not! Ms. Behaving is ready to answer. Send your queries (putting "Ms. Behaving" in the subject line) HERE.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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