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Which air travelers do you dislike the most?

September 29, 2009

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The ones that smell bad, according to a new poll by Travelocity. Fellow travelers with poor hygiene were called the “most disliked” in the survey, with a total of 45 percent of respondents calling out the unwashed masses.

A close runner-up — no pun intended — were air travelers who are “coughing and sneezing” (30 percent) followed by large fliers (15 percent).

Perhaps the biggest surprise: Who wasn’t on the list.


Chatty passengers and kids only got 5 percent of the vote each. Snoring passengers received only one percent of the vote.

Are we to believe that kids on planes are no longer annoying?

I think not.

Instead, worries about Swine Flu may be pushing health concerns to the top of our “worry” list. A coughing, sneezing seatmate — or one that isn’t clean — may expose us to H1N1, we fear.

Travelocity also broke the responses down by nationality, which provided some interesting insights. The answers are uniform for the bottom three responses. But Americans seem slightly more concerned about coughing passengers, while Canadians find dirty or XL passengers to be more offensive.

Bottom line? Pack a face mask. It’s going to be a long flu season.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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41 comments

  • http://www.wanderingeducators.com/marketplace/apparel/update-mbt-shoes-reviews.html jessiev

    chris – TOO funny. i would add that they forgot the drunks. i’ll never forget the time we flew with our 2yo daughter, who colored nicely the whole time, btw, and she kept asking why the man next to her smelled like that. hoo boy.

  • Khalaf Haddad

    I most dislike the demanding passengers who make known to all around them that the airline owes them more than they’re getting (i.e. an elite flyer who didn’t get the upgrade, etc.). Obnoxious, complaining types make me far more uncomfortable than any of the ones listed.

  • Toni

    The drunks. People who put their pets on their laps. People who carry too much on board and expect others to help them stow it or give up their own room for it.

  • Toni

    Those who bring smelly, messy food on board. People who NEED two seats, for whatever reason, but don’t BUY two seats.

  • Justin

    Hey now,

    They made alcohol on a plane to make the flight O’ so that much enjoyable. However, moderation is key!!! It’s not a good idea to get hammered to the point of tipsy turvy. Anyway, I think the guideline stands. Hygiene is important. People are in close quarters so be respectful of that issue. Want to drink, limit yourself. There’s no need to get obnoxious and unruly. That might be a bad decision when an air marshal hauls you off in handcuffs if you become unruly…..

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    firstly.passengers who never shutup;they have to tell some stranger the most intimate and morbid detail of their lives; mothers nursing; mothers who give the flight attendant a difficult time about their infants concerning take off rules; overweight passengers; people who arrive at the last minute and ask passengers who seated to move so their child can sit next to them; which causes delay.because of the neccesity to play the shuffle game.

  • Renee

    They forgot arrogant passengers.

    I was on a flight out of NYC to Paris and an bunch of Hassidics were on there, going on and on about how awful everything was–the food, the air, the movies, etc. They complained left and right, one woman whining about how she was being discriminated against because they didn’t have a certain kind of milk on board. Then, one even said they needed to turn the movie off because it was “offensive.” Uhh…no.

    It was the longest flight of my life.

  • Toni

    Agree with Barbie45 about folks who want to talk too much and/or about the wrong things. BUT, most nursing mothers use a blanket and you would never know what they were doing. I don’t think it’s so terrible for someone to want their child to sit next to them; if you really don’t want to move, sit next to the child. But I don’t think you’d like that, either. On the other hand, long-time marrieds or parents with teens don’t NEED to sit together the way a toddler/school-ager and a parent do. As a flight attendant, I can agree that folks with babies tend to do the intuitive thing (strap the baby under their own seat belt, for example) and NEED to be told the rules; I’m ok with that. Why aren’t you? I tell people flying with babies to ignore the people who give them dirty looks before their child has so much as made a peep or a poop. Better a planeload of babies than a single drunk. We aren’t all parents, but we were all babies once.

  • http://www.all-travel-sites.com Adam

    @Renee I really hate whiners too. I remember on one flight, a woman behind my wife almost scolded my wife for not keeping her hair under control..I guess she didn’t want my wife’s hair in her food. Not that my wife has extremely long hair..just a bad hair day I guess.

  • Toni

    I get peeved with passengers that want to compare their pets to other people’s kids. Pets are pets; people are people. Of COURSE your pet behaves better than the kids on the plane. It behaves better than most of the adults on the plane, too. It’s supposed to. It’s a PET. Kids shouldn’t be allowed to kick the back of the seats. (I’ve found that tying my tot’s shoelaces together put a stop to it!) But your pet shouldn’t come out of that carrier, either, no matter HOW much you love it or HOW much you paid to bring it on.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    oh renee; i so sympathize with you they are obnoxious; when my hysband and i went to the Hassidic part of Israel ; Ihadforgotten to cover my arms completely , there were banners saying we will stone you if you are not properly dressesd, Luckily someone gave me a shawl; needless to say we made no purchases in that section.

  • KF

    I really dislike passengers who wear too much perfume/cologne or who smell like they’ve been chain-smoking for the last couple hours. I also have a problem with people who carry-on way too much stuff, especially when they refuse to put a single bag under their feet (and it’s a short flight).

  • Kelly

    I was on a flight from Houston to Minneapolis a few years ago and there was a family in front of me, let’s just say, not from around here, that had the worst body odor ever. I asked to have my seat moved even though I was in the front of the plane because I was so naseous. Unfortunately the plane was was full so I couldn’t be moved. Even the other passengers around me were scrunching and twitching their noses. I just couldn’t believe it. My naseua didn’t go away until the next day.

  • Sarah

    My worst flight was TPA to ORD. I had a kid (probably 10 years old) behind me who started kicking my seat. When I turned around to see who was behind me, the dad who was sitting behind my mom started to kick her seat. Plus, the woman in the window seat next to me was rude and didn’t even look at us when we blocked the aisle at the end of the flight so that she could get off the plane ahead of us. And the woman in front of me had her seat fully reclined the entire flight and had to be told twice by the flight attendant to put her seat up for landing. So I had a kid who was old enough to know better with (more importantly) a parent who didn’t care, both of whom were deliberately kicking seats; a woman next to me that I was worried about offending by simply talking to my mom during the flight and another woman’s head practically in my lap for 2 hours. So my worst passengers are parents who let their kids do whatever they want, people who invade my personal space and people who don’t even say thank you when you do something nice for them.

  • Garnet

    My biggest pet pevee are people that try to carry on a full weeks worth of luggage. You know the ones. They have a full size suitcase, overstuffed, and try an cram it into the overhead bin. They are also usually the last person on the plane and all the space is already taken. The flight attendant then must rearrange everyone else. The next and almost as annoying, is the passenger that just has to have that sandwich with double onions and salami. Great sandwich, but not on a closed plane. The last one.. I was setting across the aisle from a man that was covered from head to toe with very active poison ivy. I pity the person that set in the seat after him. It was a 6 hours coast to coast flight and he scratched and dabbed the entire way. I had to move to the other end of the plane.

  • Monica

    I’m totally with Garnet!!! I HATE the people that bring all their luggage on board with them. In 20+ years of flying (business and personal) I’ve only used the overhead compartment once. If it can’t fit in my backpack, I don’t carry it on. The rest goes under the plane where it belongs. My other peeve would be the people that kick the chair. I had my armrest up during one flight and the guy behind me decided that his foot went between the seats and repeatedly kicked the armrest trying to get it to go down to make room for his foot. It kept hitting me in the elbow. Kids don’t bother me so much anymore since I have my own and know what they are going through. But only if the parents are trying everything to distract and calm the baby/child down. The ones that are left screaming are the ones that bother me.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    The most despicable passenger i have ever met was coming fromAmsterdam to Boston;on Northwest; In Edinborough Iwas assured of an aisle seat; when i boarderd Iwasplaced in amiddle seat six across ; as the flight attendants were busy with seating i figured Iwould ask after departure; ehile going to the bathroom Inoticed an empy aisle seat; asked the attendant if Icould sit there, she said yes; The young man whom i assume was of Middleeast bacgound was annoyed; When lunch was served iaccidentally spilled some soda on his pants; he loudly asked the flight attendent to change my seat, back i went to my old seat, when about an hour later i had to go to the bathrrom i noticed he was sprawled over two seats; this was the last aisle and rigt near the rest room; as i was in line i was taking to another passenger and mumled somethin g like alquaida not to the seated person but the man in line ;when iarrived loand behold was greeted by 6 ma state troopers ; the pilot had not reported me it was that nasy young man ; rember this one in 2001 , That had to be the most horrible experience traveling in air; luckily iWAS JUST REPRIMANDED.

  • LeeAnne

    @Barbie45 – Did I read that right? Did you really say you have a problem with mothers NURSING THEIR BABIES????

    Is this a joke?

    How exactly do you expect a mother with a breastfeeding infant to FEED THE BABY???

    Or do you expect the mother to deny the baby sustenance for however many hours long the flight is, to save you the horrifying experience of possibly being exposed to the sight another woman’s breast? Would you rather expose yourself (and the rest of the plane, I might add) to the loud wailing that would ensue if the baby wasn’t fed?

    Your name is Barbie…I’m assuming you are female. I must also assume that you avoid mirrors at all costs, so as to not be exposed to the sight of a female breast. Or is it just the thought of seeing another woman’s breast that made you put “nursing mothers” near the top of your list of hated passengers?

    By the way, there would be a way for you to allow the nursing mother to not have to STARVE HER INFANT while seated next to you….howzabout you do the polite thing and look away?

    Wow. That one stunned me.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    Well they could bring along bottles with breast filled milkok;Secondly I believe its very decalsse in public especially a tiny cramped space area; Frankly it is my opinion and I am entitled to it. And no I am not a prude;

  • LeeAnne

    Okay, well, I posted my above comment before barbie45 posted this last one. Now I get it.

    I’m sorry, but anyone who starts spouting off about Al Qaida ON AN AIRPLANE clearly is lacking some basic sense.

    I’m sure it was a horrible experience. As I’m sure it was for the young man who was spilled on, and then subjected to blatant, hostile racism. Hint for future travels: if you wish to avoid reprimands (or even arrests), you might want to refrain from talking about certain topics onboard aircraft…topics like bombs, terrorism, hijackings, etc.

    And please, can ya tell me when you’re flying next? I’d like to NOT be on that flight.

    Speaking of the types of passengers I dislike the most: obnoxious racists lacking in basic human kindness and common sense.

  • LeeAnne

    And I just gotta ask: barbie, when was the last time you flew? Were you aware of the difficulties in bringing liquids onto planes? Even bottles of breast milk are subject to scrutiny, and will often be opened by TSA agents. I’m also assuming you never breastfed an infant. Expressing enough breast milk into bottles for an hours-long flight is not an easy task. Nor is getting it past the screeners. I ask, why would any mother go to all that trouble, when everything she needs to feed her baby is safely and securely carried INSIDE HER BODY, and can be served warm and fresh to her child on demand?

    Instead, you expect some poor mother to manually express her milk into bottles, carry those bottles in her carry-on, be subjected to ignorant TSA agents who might very well open those bottles (exposing them to germs), and all so that you don’t have to see a woman’s breast next to you?

    Nope. Not a prude. Uh huh.

    You are entitled to your opinion. Even if your opinion is bizarre, inconsiderate and unkind. But you are certainly entitled to it.

  • Jennifer

    Barbie, so it’s the Jews being a problem in one of your posts and Middle Eastern people in the next post. Wow. You are required to cover your arms and wear a skirt in Catholic churches in Europe also. Do you refuse to buy anything there as well?

    I am most annoyed by people on planes who act like they’re holier than thou. Sit in your assigned seat, don’t spill your food or drink on me, use your “inside voice,” try to keep your kids busy and, oh yes, breastfeed your child so they’re not screaming from hunger.

    Do

  • Noah

    This isn’t the most annoying group, but one thing I can’t stand is people who use the seat in front of them as a handrail when they go in and out of their seat. If you’re elderly, or disabled, fine. But your average Joe should be able to sit down without yanking back on my seat.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    Jennifer ; i was writing to express my sympathies to a passenger who found an obnoxious situation; I explained andprobably should explain that this a subsect of JUDAISM that is relatively minor in this countrybut in Israel even though it is a small sect. they hold some very unpopular views and in some cases have used violence against their fellow citizens; believe me they were quite annoying tothis passenger I am sure; LEE ANNE ONCE AGAIN this is my opinion ;What you think is your business ok; Also despite the Middle Eastern man he was reclinning in both seats with a blanket over him ; Iwas disturbed and nmuttered something to a fellow passenger in line ; He heard it and took offense; when Ifly I take a couple of books shut up and try to .ignore every body now ; it works.

  • LeeAnne

    Jennifer – I didn’t catch that she also had made that obnoxious comment about Hassidics. Wow.

    So, to continue on with the theme of this thread: the types of passengers I dislike the most are:

    – Racists who openly insult people based on their race or nationality (e.g. saying Hassidics are “obnoxious”)
    – People who think they are so special they should never get stuck in a middle seat
    – Slobs who inconsiderately slosh their drinks all over other passengers’ clothes, and then get all huffy when the other passengers don’t appreciate it
    – People who disrespect the cultural norms and expectations of a region that is foreign to them (Having to cover one’s arms…how HORRIBLE!)
    – Passengers who think it’s okay to openly make comments suggesting someone is a terrorist WHILE ON A PLANE, and then grouse when they get “reprimanded” by the authorities
    – People who would, for no reason whatsoever, deny a nursing mother the right to feed her child in the natural way, expecting her instead to lug bottles of deteriorating milk, with no refrigeration, through rigorous TSA screening, onto an aircraft

    At this rate, I’d happily sit next to the smelly drunk!

  • Carver Farrow

    My pet peeves in order

    1. Flight Attendants/Gate Agents who have achieved transcendent Godhood and expect worship and supplication.

    2. Nasty Odor.

    3. Seat Stealers. I’m one of the overweight passengers that Barbie despises. I take great pains to chose a flight/seat combination to not disrupt anyone else’s comfort. If you steal my seat, those carefully laid plains are ruined.

    4. Self-righteous passengers Version 1. The one who are convinced that if everyone else followed their examples the world would be a better place. They’re ones that complain about the dress code in first class, or that the flight attendant isn’t eye candy.

    5 Self-righteous passengers Version 2. The elite traveler who is struck with a terminal case of DYKWIA. Like the Gold Club gentlemen at Hertz who believed that because his name wasn’t on the display board, he was entitled to cut in front of everyone else and have his issue take immediate priority.

  • Renee

    I did say that group of Hassidics were obnoxious because they were! Sheesh. Complaining about everything, whining that while their meals were marked kosher they didn’t “seem” kosher, telling the FAs to turn off the movie because it was “offensive….” Oh! And they objected to the FAs serving alcohol because it’s against their beliefs. So, it’s not against mine! Don’t like me having a beer, don’t look, people. I didn’t ask to sit next to you and your 10 kids!

    I tolerate a lot of things but listening to a small group of people on a flying tube act like babies and expecting the world to kow-tow to them is obnoxious!!

  • LeeAnne

    Barbie – you wrote: “when Ifly I take a couple of books shut up and try to .ignore every body now”

    Probably a good policy, as opposed to openly “muttering” that passengers are terrorists, because it “disturbed” you that he made himself comfortable in the empty seat beside him. (I suppose he should have let that space stay empty? Perhaps yo should have been a bit more careful with your drink and your racist comments…you might have been able to sit there.)

    You also wrote: “LEE ANNE ONCE AGAIN this is my opinion ;What you think is your business ok”

    That is correct, what I think is my business. And now, what YOU think is my business too, because you openly posted it on a public forum. If you don’t want to receive comments about your untenable, inconsiderate and, frankly, bizarre opinions, you might want to keep them to yourself. The moment you publicly post them, they are open to comment.

  • Christopher Elliott

    Let’s be nice to one another, please.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    Leeaneen; you did not read my letter carefully ; Iasked the flight attendant if Icould take the seat, she said yes; I took that seat gladly; aThe spill was an accident I apologized; I was upset when i saw that person stetched out on two seats while there were no other seats on the plane; It was a year after nine eleven and the atmoshere was very tense; also we were asked to comment on what annoyed us not to condemn each other for their views; or force our attitudes on anyone;

  • LeeAnne

    @Renee – I don’t think anyone was taking issue with your comment. You spoke about a small group of passengers on an airplane who were behaving obnoxiously. This is in contrast to barbie45, who essentially stated that ALL Hassidic people are obnoxious.

    @Chris – apologies for the harsh comments, but there are certain things that I consider completely unacceptable – not just among airline passengers, but in people in general: racism, religious intolerance/bigotry, and intolerance of mothers feeding their children in the natural way that Mother Nature intended. None of those are defensible positions or opinions, and people who openly express such opinions in a public forum should expect to receive shocked and angry responses.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    I do not appreiate being called a racistwhich Iam not; nor religiously intolerant ; that is very insulting to my character; Isaid AL QUEIDA WHICH IS A SMALL MINORITY INTENT ON BODILY HARM; I DID NOT INSULT JUDIASM BUT A SMALL SECT OF A SUBCULTURE WHICH CAN BE VERY INTOLERANT ; AND I DO NOT SEE THE POINT OF BRINGING UP NURSING MOTHERSAGAIN AND AGAIN; I HAVE NOT SLANDERED YOU IN ANYWAY; HOWEVER YOU ARE DOING A DARN GOOD JOB OF SLANDERING ME; LETS JUST DROP IT.

  • Lizabethvm

    I feel pretty lucky when I get on a plane that has personal touch screens so you can play games and whatever movie you want. My biggest pet peeve is when people start pounding on their screens, i.e., the back of my seat. It’s a touch screen, not a punch screen!

  • LeeAnne

    Barbie, I don’t need to slander you. You are doing a fine job of it yourself.

  • Jennifer (the other one)

    Technically, if the seat is empty, the neighboring passengers don’t have veto power over someone choosing to sit in it. However, on a practical level, if I’d had the good fortune to be next to the only empty seat on the plane, I wouldn’t be thrilled about someone else claiming it. (That’s why I always spread out over empty adjacent seats the instant the doors close.) There’s nothing weird about him wanting both seats to sleep more comfortably, even if he wasn’t technically entitled to them. If he had asked her to move, and then the seat sat unused for the rest of the flight, that would have been weird.

    I doubt the ‘Middle Eastern’ man called the police from the plane to complain about whatever Barbie said. Most likely, he reported her comment to an FA, who decided (for whatever reason) to report it to law enforcement.

    I’d much rather people feed their babies than allow them to scream. That said, just because something is a natural, beneficial bodily function doesn’t automatically mean that it’s appropriate in a public setting. People are certainly entitled to their own opinions on that subject.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    Jennifer; Iexplained in my initial letter in Scotland I requested an aisle seat back in Scotland and was assured no problem; When Iboarded the plane via Amsterdam the flight attendants were verybusy accomodating other passengers in seating; the flight was completely full; before departure i had to use the bathroom ; I noticed a empy aisle seat; Iwas given permissin by the flight attendant to have the seat; the young man was unhappy ; he showed if from the beginning ; lumch was served ; I inadvertantely spilled some soda the space between seats and a full tray led to the mishap; He demanded I be removed ;I was very unhappy ; and on the way back noticed he was very comfortabely sprawled out on two seats; while Iwas crushed in the middle of a long flight It was about a year after nine eleven so public opinion WAS VERY HIGH.; I never should have mumbled that to a passenge r inline that he overheard; however for him to be so nasty was uncalled for :Iam not a racist and MOST PEOPLE IN THE IDDLE EAST PROBABLY HATE THEM TO .
    I was not reported but since learned just to take a few books along. ignore or try to other people;I wasnot arrested just reprimanded;

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  • LeeAnne

    Barbie, I’m quite sure everyone who is still reading this thread (probably very few people now) are fully aware of exactly what went down that fateful day on your flight. I don’t think there is any more information you could offer that would illuminate it any further. And the more you write about it, the more you reinforce everyone’s opinion about you, and the type of passenger you are.

    The bottom line is, you spilled your soda on a passenger, he asked (understandably) to have you moved back to your assigned seat. (Yeah, stinks that you got a middle seat – but so did most of the OTHER passengers on that plane…you do not deserve one any more than anyone else.) This left an empty seat beside the young man, which he (understandably) spread into. This ticked you off, so you made some kind of mean-spirited comment suggesting he’s a terrorist, loud enough for others to hear you. Somebody reported you, and you were reprimanded. The truth is you have no idea who reported you. It may very well have been the passenger you muttered to! I know I wouldn’t appreciate some mean-spirited, ticked-off lady talking about terrorists on MY plane, ESPECIALLY only a year away from 9/11. It was a rash, foolish thing to do, and you deserved every bit of that reprimand.

    You keep talking about this as if the young man was, in fact, a member of Al Qaida. You seem to forget that you have no idea whatsoever what he was…what race, what nationality, what religion. He was just a young man who appeared, to you, to be “iddle Eastern”. Because you were jealous of him having an open seat next to him (which you could have kept, until you spilled your soda on him – accidentally or not, you did it, and those were the consequences), you chose to bring up the topic of terrorists, on an airplane, in flight. This was foolish, shameful and, yes, RACIST. You branded him a terrorist because of his apparent race.

    You wrote (in caps, which I will spare everyone from): “Most people in the iddle East probably hate them to.”

    Hate who? Themselves? Or do you mean terrorists? Or Al Qaida? So you actually think the poor, spilled-upon young man WAS a terrorist? And you know this…how???

    You did say one intelligent thing in your last post: “I never should have mumbled that to a passenger inline that he overheard”. That is right. The vast majority of travelers these days know full well that you don’t toss around comments like that on an airplane, or even in an airport. You are likely to get slammed to the floor and handcuffed by the nearest air marshall.

    In any case, I’m very happy to hear that you learned to take a few books and ignore other people. I’m sure this makes for far more pleasant travel for your fellow passengers.

    This whole shameful episode, which has now been dissected ad infinitum, does serve as an excellent lesson for other air travelers – one that, fortunately, most people already know just through basic common sense, but a few people such as yourself might need reminding: in this day and age, DO NOT MENTION TERRORISTS, BOMBS, HIJACKINGS, AL QAIDA, or any other similar topics while traveling by air.

  • Jonathan

    If you were not reported then how did anyone know to reprimand you?

    I guess I’m the only one frustrated by people who stand in the aisle while stowing their bags in the overheads instead of stepping out of the aisle to let others pass while doing it. I know this only affects a small part of the flight, but I bet it cumulatively adds 10 minutes to every boarding time. But there’s certainly nothing wrong with using your share of the overhead space instead of checking bags. That’s what it’s there for, and it gets you in and out of the airport much more quickly. If it fits in the sizer it’s fair game.

    I think public nursing is fine so long as it’s done beneath a blanket. The benefits to the child of breast milk are so overwhelming that it should be encouraged.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    LEANNE YOU ARE JUST GETTIN MORE AND MORE OBNOXIOUS; YOU HAVE SLANDERD ME AND COTINUE TO DO SO; I HAVE ABSOLTELY NO RESPECT FOR YOU; AND YOUR HOLIER THAN THOU ATTITUED.

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