The Most Irritating Airline Passengers Have Been Identified

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The worst, most aggravating thing you can do on a plane is kick the seat of the passenger in front of you.

That’s according to Expedia’s second annual airplane etiquette study, which revealed that the majority of Americans (67 percent) surveyed think seat kickers are the worst airline passengers, followed closely by inattentive parents (64 percent).

In my experience, an inattentive parent is usually to blame for a seat-kicking kid, or a loud, screaming child, or a kid who’s flying up and down the aisles like a crazy person. I dislike inattentive parents and seat kickers equally, and they definitely top my personal list of the most annoying airline passengers.

Earlier this year two passengers got in an in-air confrontation over a Knee Defender, which prevents the person in front of you from reclining his or her seat. “Notably, ‘Seat-Back Guy,’ the person who reclines his seat back into another passenger’s leg space, ranked all the way down at ninth, implying that kicking the seat in front of you is a graver sin than reclining your chair into the vicinity of someone else’s legs,” Time wrote.

Aromatic passengers (think too much perfume or excessive body order), audio insensitive passengers, drunken passengers and chatty Cathys also ranked high on the list of the most irritating plane passengers.

Expedia said:

This year’s study … serves as a lighthearted reminder that few places require more attention to etiquette than the inside of an airplane. In a tight space at 30,000 feet with hundreds of fellow travelers, even the small things such as helping your neighbor stow a bag or switching seats to put a mom next to her child can make a huge difference.

I really dislike seat kickers. I shamefully admit that during a particularly long flight with a very annoying seat kicker, I peeked through the small space between seats and glared at the offending child and his parent. The kicking subsided soon after.

Who do you think is the worst airline passenger? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

Now, here’s a video about picking out the best seat on whatever plane you’re on.

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