Drunkenness, PDA, grooming in flight, behaviour that irritates passengers

Interestingly, only 28% of the respondents felt that PDA was unacceptable

Taking a flight is the fastest mode of transport to travel long distances, and a happy flying experience is the result of several aspects, including your carrier and the in-flight services. However, a survey by YouGov has revealed that fellow passengers' behaviour can have a significant impact on one's journey.

The survey covered 18 international markets and tried to look into the behaviours passengers find most irritating.

Drunkenness

The survey data revealed that drunkenness is the least acceptable behaviour among consumers globally. More than half (55 per cent) of the respondents said that it's completely unacceptable for them. On the other hand, one in five respondents said that they find it somewhat acceptable.

Grooming

On the question of personal grooming, 55 per cent consumers said that they find it unacceptable. Personal grooming included acts like combing one's hair or clipping one's nails.

PDA

Interestingly, only 28 per cent of the respondents felt that public displays of affection (PDA) were unacceptable. In fact, PDA was one of the most tolerated behaviours in the YouGov survey.

Children

The survey also asked questions about the loud and noisy children above the age of four, and 51 per cent respondents said that they find such behaviour unacceptable. On the other hand, only 23 per cent respondents said that they find crying babies in the flight unacceptable.

Playing media without headphones

However, when it comes to making a flight journey difficult, it is the sound of devices playing media without headphones that takes the cake. Six in ten respondents said that they find such behaviour unacceptable. Only one in five (18 per cent) respondents said that they could tolerate such behaviour.

Taking off one's footwear

The survey asked questions about passengers taking off their shoes, and more than half (51 per cent) respondents said that removing shoes or socks is a big no-no for them. However, the survey found that front passengers fully reclining their seats was even more disturbing than somebody taking off their footwear.

Male and female respondents

The survey noted that there was a general trend for female consumers to be more intolerant of several behaviours. For example, 81 per cent women said they find drunkenness unacceptable, compared with 70 per cent of men saying the same.

Not using headphones presented similar results, where 64 per cent female passengers and 55 per cent male passengers found it unacceptable. The survey reported that crying babies is the only aeroplane behaviour that male respondents (25 per cent) find more objectionable than their female counterparts (21 per cent).

UAE was an outlier when it came to being tolerant of passenger behaviour. Passengers from the UAE were found to be generally more accepting of most aeroplane behaviours when compared to passengers from other international markets.