Even During A Global Pandemic Airline Passengers Are Awful

Before we were all grounded, air travel had become incredibly small-d democratic, with people of all walks of life, cultures, and belief systems mixing in a small metal tube. It had become far more affordable over the past 40 years, no longer something you dress up for but also a place where behaviors clash and people come into conflict with one another. (This was the worst passenger of 2019.)

Now with only the most pressing or somber of occasions leading people to travel by air, you’d expect the level of bad behavior on planes to lessen.

And with planes going out with so few passengers, and people intentionally social distancing, the amount of conflict should dwindle. There’s no reason to put your feet on someone’s seat back, for instance, because you have the whole plane mostly to yourself.

That should mean the end of awful passenger stories. And yet…

Maybe they figure that without other passengers on the plane they can behave like they’re in their own living room (hopefully minus the cheetos and boxers).

On the other hand I suppose it’s a good thing that airlines are cleaning and disinfecting more than ever before.

Meanwhile others are having fun with being alone on a plane in a different way.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. That video is nuts. One passenger, and still not able to social distancing. That flight attendant is no more than three feet away.

  2. I like your posts, but this logic astounds me:

    “Now with only the most pressing or somber of occasions leading people to travel by air, you’d expect the level of bad behavior on planes to lessen.”

    On what basis would you make that claim? Looking through my neighborhood, you see absolute blessings and angels in the form of people, but the past few weeks have also brought out the worst in people.

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