Bad behavior at the airport, Hollywood style and how to tips for keeping your cool

by Jamie Rhein on

When passengers show bad behavior at the airport, everyone notices. Bad airport behavior is one place Hollywood gets it right, even when scenes are a bit outlandish.

Here are two scenes that show just what can happen when a passenger is vexed beyond sanity–either due to traveling with a family member or the actions of another passenger coupled with airline staff reactions.

Perhaps you’ll see an element of yourself or someone you know in one of these scenerios. If you happen to have one of these moments when traveling for the holidays, try to keep a sense of humor. It can help.

Along with a sense of humor, there are a few tips to keep in mind to help you not go bonkers. If you do go bonkers, check in with Gadling, we’d love to tell your tale. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

First up: Rain Man. Here’s what happens when two family members have a different notion of travel. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman may be brothers, but their travel preferences don’t match.

To keep from having your own Rain Man situation, particularly when traveling with children, talk over the trip beforehand. Explain what will happen at the airport before you get there. Go over the various steps like waiting in line, going through TSA and boarding the plane. One resource that’s helpful for traveling with children is Shae By Air, a DVD made for children about taking an airplane trip.

For adults who have a fear of flying, there are resources aimed for you. Scott previewed Flying without Fear. Also, in one of his Plane Answers posts, Gadling’s own pilot extraordinaire, Kent Wien presents other tips for those afraid to fly.

Second up: Honeymoon in Vegas. If there was ever an example of passenger rage, this is it. Nicolas Cage perfectly nails the emotions. Here’s what happens when a customer service agent is overly solicitous to one very irritating customer. Tom warned about this in his post about the problem with travel professionals going that extra mile.

When another passenger is driving you nuts, try to stay calm by realizing you’re about to reach your limit. If you are in a hurry because you may miss your flight, calmly ask if you can please cut because you are about to miss your plane. I’ve seen people do this before and it works. At all costs, don’t raise your voice and start spewing spittle. It just won’t help at all.

Third up: Meet the Parents. Ben Stiller doesn’t go nuts when he’s dealing with this gate attendant’s power hungry nonsense, but her behavior does add fuel to his going bonkers behavior once he’s on the plane. Let’s call this priming the pump. The video embedding function is disabled, thus I couldn’t put it in this post but it’s an hysterical scene that’s so worth the watch.

For another example of airline personnel’s bad behavior check out these videos. This is one flight attendant who needs a chill pill.

–And, once again, Happy Thanksgiving!

Five ways to get the person in the seat next to you to stop talking

by Annie Scott on

Some people don’t mind a little chat on the airplane, but what do you do when you’re sitting next to the world’s most effusive babbler and all you want is to read, work, sleep or jump out the window?

It’s not your responsibility to act as your seatmate’s captive audience, but ignoring people is mean and feels awful. Here are five ways to delicately end the conversation.

1. The Book Heisman. Rather than the traditional “stop talking hand,” get your book between you and the talker. This works especially well when you have the window seat; pretend to lean against the airplane wall. Magazines can be even more effective, as they are larger. Once they notice the book is open, and between you, they should get the hint. If not, say “Sorry, I really have to finish this.” Let them figure out why you need to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on their own.

2. Offer them an activity. No, don’t give them a book or puzzle; they’ll ask you for help and talk to you about it the whole time. Just remind them of what they (hopefully) brought. Say: “What did you bring to read? Oh, I haven’t read that book, can I see it?” This gets their book (or laptop, or whatever they have) out of their bag and into their lap. Digging out their own entertainment may have been what they were trying to procrastinate by talking.3. Headphones. The only problem with this is that they’ll know there’s nothing to listen to during takeoff (because that’s before plane music starts and you’re not allowed to use your iPod) or landing. If you can stand it, let them talk through the first few minutes of your flight, then pop the earbuds into your ears and close your eyes or get to work as soon as you can. The trick? You don’t have to actually listen to anything at all. If they ask you anything, make sure they ask at least twice and pretend you didn’t hear them over the music. If they still don’t get the hint, add #1, The Book Heisman.3. Get excited about your activity. Even if it’s feigned,

4. Get excited about your activity. Even if it’s feigned, tell the person you are so excited to read your book, or dive into work, or nap. This works best right after they’ve told you something that you didn’t know (no matter how mundane). “Huh. I didn’t know that. Thanks. [yawn] Anyway, I’m really looking forward to this nap. Have a good flight.” If they interrupt whatever you’re doing, give them the puppy eyes so they remember they’re disturbing you.

5. Honesty. Is it always the best policy? Maybe not always, as this one might make the person feel bad. Still, if you’re tried 1-4 to no avail, the person probably needs someone to level with them about airplane talking: not everyone is into it. You’ll be doing someone on a future flight a favor. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t like to talk on the airplane. This is one of the only times I get to be quiet” works well. If that doesn’t work, or you have to repeat it more than once, you are totally within your rights to just ignore the person. You tried to be nice.

More ideas? Share them below.

Who was tops in Zagat airline survey?

by Alison Brick on

The fliers are having their say, and Zagat is there to record it.

It’s time for Zagat’s annual Airline Survey, tracking travelers’ experiences with 16 U.S. airlines and 73 foreign airlines, and 30 U.S. airports. Each airline was rated on its comfort, service, food, and website.

These are the airlines to come in first this year:

Large Domestic (Premium class): Continental Airlines
Large Domestic (Economy class): JetBlue Airways
Midsize Domestic (Both Premium and Economy): Virgin America
International (Both Premium and Economy): Singapore Airlines

Any guesses on the top-ranked airport? Portland, Oregon. And the worst? LaGuardia, New York.

The full survey goes on to list everything from best luggage policy, to best in-flight entertainment, to quips from the ‘write in’ portions, such as “Treats occasional fliers like dirt, and treats frequent fliers like a better class of dirt.”

In total, the survey gathers the collective consensus of 5,895 frequent fliers and travel agents, who took 97,600 flights altogether in the past year.

Orbitz reveals which airports to avoid this Thanksgiving

by Scott Carmichael on

As we slowly head into the worst time of year to be traveling, Orbitz has revealed which airports to avoid this Thanksgiving.

The list is not really filled with any surprises, but it is always nice to see some solid research done by those that actually have the data needed to make a top ten like this.

Of course, as with any busy time of year, it pays to be prepared. Know how to pack, know the current TSA rules, and know how to control your anger when you arrive at the airport and find that it looks like something out of a disaster movie.

Here are the top ten “Orbitz Insider” busiest airports for Thanksgiving 2009.

  1. Chicago, IL – Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
  2. Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles International (LAX)
  3. Denver, CO – Denver International (DEN)
  4. San Francisco, CA – San Francisco International (SFO)
  5. Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Hartsfield International (ATL)
  6. Boston, MA – Boston Logan International (BOS)
  7. New York, NY – New York LaGuardia (LGA)
  8. New York, NY – New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
  9. Newark, NJ – Newark Liberty International (EWR)
  10. Seattle, WA – Seattle Tacoma International (SEA)

If you have already booked a flight in or out one of these airports, well, then it sucks to be you. All is not lost for those still waiting to book – Orbitz also compiled a list of the 10 least busy airports.

  1. San Jose, CA – San Jose International (SJC)
  2. Nashville, TN – Nashville International (BNA)
  3. Richmond, VA – Richmond International (RIC)
  4. Sacramento, CA – Sacramento International (SMF)
  5. Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville International (JAX)
  6. West Palm Beach, FL – Palm Beach International (PBI)
  7. Hartford, CT – Bradley International (BDL)
  8. Orange County, CA – John Wayne International (SNA)
  9. Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
  10. Fort Myers, FL – Southwest Florida Regional (RSW)

Armed with this this information, smart travelers who hate crowds may be able to book themselves out of alternate airports. Anyone in the New York area is pretty much screwed – LaGuardia, JFK and Newark are all in the top 10, but it is a relatively short drive to White Plains Westchester airport. Passengers planning to avoid LAX may be better off with flights out of Burbank or Orange County and Chicago passengers may be able to find a better flight out of Midway (I doubt it though).

You’ll find the complete list of busy Thanksgiving airports over at the Orbitz blog.

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The TSA wants to remind you that pies are OK, cranberry sauce is not

by Scott Carmichael on

Despite all the mocking of the TSA, I do need to compliment them on how they try and educate the traveling public on how to deal with their (often silly) rules.

As we approach the busiest travel season of the year, the TSA has taken the time to once again remind people what you need to know about traveling with food or gifts.

The basic rules still apply – liquids are not allowed through the checkpoint unless they are in a “one quart baggie” and under 3 ounces each. Exceptions are made for medication, baby formula and breast milk.

These rules obviously mean that gravy, maple syrup, wine and anything else not on their exceptions list must be placed in a checked bag, or sent ahead in the mail.

The good news is that anything solid is permitted – this includes pies, cakes and that leftover turkey. I’m not entirely sure why jellies and jams are not allowed, but pies are. Bottom line; if you want to carry jam or jelly, put it in a pie.

A special reminder for snow globes – nobody wants to pack those in checked luggage, but the checkpoint will not allow them to pass, so either leave them at home, or send them with FedEx.

As a final reminder, always keep Christmas gifts unwrapped until you arrive at your destination. It sucks to have a TSA agent unwrap all your gifts just to be sure that Zhu Zhu pet isn’t actually a bomb. Once again – shipping gifts is best done by mail, UPS or FedEx. If you ship ahead of time, you’ll be able to send a large box from coast to coast for about $20, which is well worth it, considering how much hassle you’ll prevent.