Nasty Travel Habits; Washington State Among the Worst, It Turns Out

The Golden Age of Air Travel from the 1930's to the 1960's was a special time, even luxurious, with a sense of privilege and glamour.

Now, commercial air travel is more like public transit and our nasty travel behavior has become all too familiar.  Our lack of decorum ranges from eating smelly food, bothering fellow passengers with inappropriate behavior and even physical confrontations with other travelers.

A social media company has commissioned a survey to gauge how nasty our travel habits have become and the report card for Washington state is not good.

Get our free mobile app

Overall, the poor behavior breaks down to these complaints or admissions travelers confess they are guilty of;

• Mississippi, California, and Arkansas residents have the worst travel habits.
• Putting carry on luggage on seats in the terminal and reclining your seat without asking are the common bad habits American travelers admit to.
• Bags taking up seats in the terminal and talking loudly on the phone are the most common bad habits.
• 81% of Americans think airline etiquette has deteriorated.
• Passengers on Spirit and American Airlines are the travelers with the worst travel habits.

So where do Washington state travelers rank in terms of the best or worst behaved?

The rankings by Solitaire Bliss, an online gaming provider has Washington travelers ranked at #7, among the worst on the naughty travel habit list.  Our most serious offense?  Asking to cut in lines at TSA or for boarding.

Here are the pet peeves most travelers find irritating on public transportation, particularly in the skies.

• cutting in the security line
• asking to switch seats on the plane
• claim both armrests when not in the middle seat
• drinking too much, and vaping or smoking on the plane
• clipping or filing nails on the plane
• not putting phones on airplane mode
• recording video of other passengers, and watching porn or graphic material
•  hanging legs in the aisle or on the armrest in front of you
• wearing strong cologne or perfume
• leaving garbage in the seat pocket
• passing gas (really?)
• and my personal #1 gripe;  pushing on the seat in front of you.  It's so annoying.

Note--screaming babies did not make the survey lists and hopefully most air travelers realize how powerless parents can be in that situation.

We have all experienced most everything revealed in the survey and it would be nice to think that we have not been "that guy"

To read more about the litany of nasty travel habits making so friendly skies not so friendly, find the results HERE