Travel Etiquette

Travel etiquette is as important on cheap flights as it is in first class and you should know what is good travel etiquette and what is not.  The whole idea behind travel etiquette is that everyone should practice it in order to ensure that everyone has a pleasant flight as well as a pleasant stay abroad. If it does happen that someone does not practice good travel etiquette, it does not necessarily mean that that person is a bad person.  Sometimes people act incorrectly without them knowing or by accident.  It can happen to anyone.


The first tip that we have for you is what you should do when you have missed your flight.  This can happen to anyone, but your response is the most important thing, since it will determine what happens next.  When you miss a flight, you should be prepared to pay a rebooking fee, since you will be charged to get on another flight in most cases.  You should also always make haste, since you may get lucky if there is a delay.  You should never take your time in alerting your airline and you should not expect to be rebooked on a different airline, even if the next available flight is 12 hours from now, since you will have to pay for a new ticket for that.

When you encounter noisy neighbors at your stay at a hotel, you should never take matters into your own hands by confronting the neighbors yourself and you cannot expect them to move.  You can either call the manager and ask for him to deal with them, ask for earplugs or expect to have to move to a quieter room, even if you feel that they should be the ones moving.

When you encounter a reckless taxi driver, the best thing that you can do is to ask him/her to pull over politely and pay the fare, since you will need the slip in reporting the driver and also because you owe the distance traveled.  You should also get the registration number of the vehicle.  Never remain in a taxi where you feel unsafe and never shout at the driver.

It often happens that the person next to you on an airplane may be slightly greedy with the space.  You should never be greedy yourself, but rather assert your territory early on by claiming your baggage space and arm rest.  Remember that the person sitting in the middle is entitled to both armrests available to him or her.  Keep in mind that you should always be sensitive about large passengers and, should you wish to be moved, ask for it discreetly.

Since we are human, we all make mistakes and, as stated above, it is your reaction that is important.  When you accidentally damage your hotel room, the first thing that you need to do is to assess the damage.  If it is something that can be cleaned up, it should not be a problem, but you should realize that, if you broke something like a piece of furniture, you may be liable for the damages and revenue lost.  You should report your damage to the manager because things will only get worse if you do not.