FLYING ETIQUETTE

Plane travel has changed. It used to be that you could smoke cigarettes in the cabin. Kids could go up the front and spend time in the cockpit. But modern air travel has put a stop to all of that. The rules have changed. The style of air travel has changed, the cost of air travel has changed, the frequency has changed, and the enjoyment has changed.

It is so easy to spot an annoying passenger who is selfish, arrogant and ill tempered. Misbehavior in a public place is simply unacceptable because you are sharing the space with all other flyers. It is time to lay down some unwritten rules for passengers travelling the world by plane. If you want to be a good flyer, a respectful and courteous flyer who expects everyone around you to do the same, these are the rules to follow.

Turn up in time

Airlines play it on the safe side – they tell you to be at the airport three hours before an international flight; at least two hour before domestic ones. Now, in India this is necessary, given the security procedures. But if you're already checked in and don't have luggage you can spend less time clogging up the airport. Consider the traffic to the airport and the distance and turn up in time.

Don't try to sneak in too much cabin luggage

Modern-day air travel has changed the luggage game, with plenty of carriers charging extra to check a bag, and limiting hand-luggage by weight and size. That also means loads of people are trying to get away with dragging far too much on board, filling up the overhead bins and forcing others to store things at their feet.

Don't queue up to board too early

It drives me nuts when you see a queue forming at the boarding gate with 15 minutes or even half an hour before it actually opens. The more people who queue, the more others are forced to join it to make sure they'll have space in the overhead lockers once on board. It means everyone spends far longer standing in a line than they really need to. Just sit down until you're called – it's better for everyone. Airlines have now started calling you by seating zones, back rows first and front rows last; help them to get this boarding exercise organized.

Wear a shirt with sleeves

You don't have to dress up for air travel like you're going out for dinner. But at the same time, no one really wants to be rubbing up against your bare, sweaty shoulders when they go to take a seat. Wear a shirt with sleeves. Incidentally, ladies too sweat and cramped economy seats makes the situation worse.

Reclining your seat – be considerate

The issue of seat reclining gets people pretty hot under the collar, but to me it's pretty simple: unless you have a medical reason for reclining your seat, don't do it on short domestic flights. On long-haul journeys, keep your seat upright during meal times, and take-off and landing. The rest of the time, you have the right to recline whenever you want but please turn around and forewarn the passenger sitting behind you.

Armrests

Left Seat: aisle with extra leg space and left armrest. Middle Seat: Both armrests. Window Seat: Window and place to lean against and right armrest.

Treat cabin crew like real people

The stewards who serve you in the sky are real people who are just doing a job – be courteous to them and you'll be amazed at how you're treated in return. Just like you they may be having a bad day in office so help them.

Keep your kids under control

I have a huge amount of sympathy for anyone travelling with children, who will inevitably get stir-crazy in the air. That's rough. But still, as a parent you have to at least try to deal with it. Make an attempt to keep your kids under control – tell them to stop kicking the seat in front of them, for example – and your fellow passengers will love you for it.

Don't glare at babies

If you are traveling with a baby it is tough and the vast majority of fellow passengers are kind and understanding. A few, however, clearly feel babies have no place on planes, and give angry glares to the babies in the whole flight. But flying wasn't the kid’s decision. Direct all glares towards the parents, tough guy.

Don't listen to anything without headphones

No one else wants to hear your podcast or your video game or your terrible music choices or religious shlokas. I'm still stunned that people actually do this. There is a science to help you with your audio-visual recreation, use it.

Keep your socks on

This is the cold reality of modern air travel: hundreds of us all have to share a limited space for hours and hours. That experience is made far more pleasurable if people can keep their socks on and not stink the whole place up.

Don't pull the back of people's seats

When you're getting in and out of your seat, yes it's squeezy, but it's really annoying to use the seat in front of you for balance. There's someone sitting in that chair. They get yanked violently backwards when you do that. If you need to hold onto something, use your own seat.

Don't get drunk

Alcohol is free on full-service airlines, and it's readily available. But this isn't a binge party. Go easy on the booze. On international flights you are actually identified by your nationality or even worse, your religion, so be very careful how you behave.

Don't stand up too early

You can tell a lot about a country by how quickly everyone lunges for the overhead lockers once the plane touches down. I've have seen people pulling down huge sacks of goods before the wheels have even hit the tarmac and dropping them on unsuspecting heads. Guys, you're not going to get off the plane any sooner. Relax.

Don't push to get off

Clearly these are also the people who honk their horns in traffic jams. We know that you're frustrated, and everyone wants to go. There's also a reason the queue hasn't shuffled forward yet. So just hang out back there patiently and stop pushing the person in the front.

Stand back from the carousel

If everyone could just stand a few paces back from the baggage carousel, rather than banging their shins and trolleys right up against it, collecting luggage would be a far more pleasant experience.

Relax

You could pretty much take away all of the other rules and just introduce this one: relax. Try to take things easy when you fly. Expect the unexpected. Cut your fellow passengers plenty of slack. Take your time. If everyone does that, modern-day air travel becomes far more enjoyable.

What are your rules for modern air travel? What are your personal bugbears? Any of mine you disagree with?