The reality of air travel in the 21st century is that flying economy is unpleasant.
Airlines are cutting service and packing planes to improve razor thin profit margins, while flights aren't getting any shorter.
If you don't have the cash or the points to secure an upgrade, there are ways to make flying more pleasant, but they depend on everyone's cooperation.
To play your part, here are 13 basic rules of etiquette, for everything from how to get through security, to whether or not you should recline your seat, to getting off the plane politely and efficiently.
Follow them, and your flight might just be bearable — along as everyone else does, too.
#1 Remember how security works.
This is all about thinking a few steps ahead, so you get through the screening process as quickly as possible.
Before you get to the x-ray machine, take everything out of your pockets. Put it all in your bag, or the pocket of a coat that you'll put through the machine.
When you belongings come out, collect them quickly and move to a spot where you’re not blocking anyone. Then you can put your shoes and belt on.
#2 Don't hog the overhead bin.
In the era of checked bag fees, carry-on space is at a premium. If you have two carry-on bags, keep the smaller one at your feet.
And, as the flight attendants will likely remind you, don't take up someone else's space by putting your bag in the bin horizontally.
#3 Don’t fight the flight attendants over electronics.
The ban on the use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing may be absurd (and soon to be done away with) but that doesn't mean it's not a rule.
Furthermore, the flight attendants didn't create it. Giving them a hard time is obnoxious, and just delays the plane getting to cruising altitude, when you can finally get back to Words with Friends.
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