Air travel just isn’t what it used to be. No we’re not talking about the ever-shrinking legroom, the high prices, and the lack of flexibility in change policies — but then there is that too! — we’re talking about the fact that it feels like every week someone is going viral for making a wild scene on an airplane. To be fair, it might’ve always been this way, but people in the past were less connected than they are in 2023, so there was less of an incentive to document your crazy travel experiences. But maybe, just maybe, two years of a pandemic caused people to truly forget how to act because it certainly feels like traveling isn’t quite as chill as it used to be.
So much so that an American Airlines pilot actually had to call it out in a pre-flight message that was captured by a passenger, Anna Maltezos, on a plane flying from New York to Chicago a couple of weeks back. The video begins mid-message but we’re given this opening salvo:
“Be nice to each other, be respectful of each other, I shouldn’t have to say that… but I have to say it every single flight.”
That would’ve been enough, but the pilot continues:
“Don’t lean on other people, don’t fall asleep on other people, don’t pass out on other people or drool on them unless you’ve talked about it and they’re wearing a weather-proof jacket.”
Bars! But the gold just keeps coming”
“The Social experiment of listening to videos on speaker mode or talking on a cell phone on speaker mode? That is over and done in this country. Nobody wants to hear your video. I know you think it’s super sweet, it probably is, but it’s your business, right?”
Amen, brother! Seriously, give this guy a raise for speaking on what we’ve all been thinking. Here is to hoping your next flight is more civil than your last.