When travelling, some people seem to think that their manners can also take a holiday. From the seat basher to the gate crasher, here are Australia’s top seven travel pet peeves identified by a Sky Scanner survey.
1. The stinky traveller
A resounding 30 per cent of those surveyed said that smelly travellers are their biggest turn-off. From those who think that washing clothes is left for the fifth dimension, to the ones who don’t know what deodorant looks (or smells) like, pungent passengers top the list of pet peeves.
2. The seat basher
Unless you’re one of the lucky ones, at some stage or another, you’ve had the seat basher sit behind you. Or the kid who sits in front and pulls back and forth on the chair while you juggle hot coffee and a book. Around 27 per cent of respondents ranked kicking, pushing, pulling and bumping seats as their number one pet peeve.
3. The lounge chair traveller
I’d be one of the 17 per cent of travellers who, while flying domestic, hate the person in front reclining their seat back. International flight? Fine, but it’s really quite unnecessary to recline your seat on a one-hour flight. It’s already tight enough in economy.
4. The armrest hog
Coming in fourth with 9 per cent of the vote is the armrest hog. It’s common knowledge that, if you’re on the aisle or the window seat, then you should relinquish the armrest to the poor sap in the middle seat. Or you could at least just use the half of the armrest closest to you. Also, a note to the guy manspreading in the middle seat: while you may have the rights to the armrests, you don’t have the right to spread out further than that. Stick to your seat, sailor!
5. The impatient traveller
Seven per cent of Australians rate the impatient traveller as their top aggravation. You know, the woman who thinks that making her connecting flight means shoving whatever and whomever out of her way, or the guy who’s way more important than you and just has to be at the front of the boarding queue.
6. The talkative traveller
Seven per cent of those surveyed said that they hate getting the seat next to the chatty solo traveller who just has to tell them their life story. Or the seat behind an overly enthusiastic tourist who talks super loud to their travel buddy. That’s not to mention the teen with the music blaring so loudly from their earbuds that it’s a wonder they aren’t deaf as a post. These situations are when you’ll thank the gods for noise-cancelling headphones.
7. Other peeves
Three per cent said public displays of affection and other peeves topped their list.
Have you encountered any of these while travelling? What other peeves would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below.
