Yesterday I read a really nice article about a survey conducted by  Lonely planet ! The aim of this survey is “to establish some basic guidelines for the traveling community to promote peace on airplanes”. This resulted in a ‘Bill of rights’.

“Article I: The right to remove shoes
Passengers shall be allowed to remove shoes from their feet, but only if the aforementioned feet don’t stink or present health risks to other passengers. The right of the passenger to go to the lavatory without shoes shall not be infringed, as it is really your own business should you want to stand in the urine of others.”

 68% of the people they asked, said it was ok to take of your shoes during the flight. And I’m one of the 68%, especially on  a long flights, because if you have a flight  for 10 hours or more, letting your feet get a bit of air can be really nice.  I remember one time flying back from Thailand I was wearing wrong shoes . Maybe you know this feeling when your feet are swelling a bit and  you feel like sticking my feet out of the window J… I know I do!! I really was in heaven (or close enough)  after taking of my shoes… man did that feel good   

BUT watch out when taking off your shoes….

 “Article II: Freedom from unreasonable aromatic assault
No passenger shall, in the time of flight, be subjected to unreasonable aromas, be it from powerful perfume, foods redolent of onion, or other fragrance wholly unnecessary whilst on an airplane.”

I can’t remember too many flights  where I didn’t have the pleasure to experience the great smells a plan has to offer. There was this one time (long before you could pick your own seats via internet) and they had put me in mid console 5 seat row and of course they gave me the seat right in the middle. Sitting at my right hand side Smoky Smokersen and at my left somebody they just picked off the street (damn strong cologne) … it was so bad I even lost my appetite (yes, my appetite), that’s how bad that smell was. And below graphic shows what the most irritating fragrances you will find on a plane:

“Article IV: The article of reclension
A well-justified act of reclining one’s seat shall not be prohibited at all times, apart from meal time and other times specified by the flight crew. All instances of reclension shall be preceded by a rearward glance so as not to unwittingly crush the patellas or portable electronic devices of the affected passenger.”

 Beeing a tall person, I really don’t like it when people in front of me recline their seat… because then I can’t move anymore. Although I have to admit that it depends which flight company you use, the planes having the most space (flying economy) would be South West and Jet Blue, for International flight KLM usually also has “reasonable” space. I’ve flown quit a lot and most of them are ok, but the really good ones you can count  on two hands…. (unless you fly business)

 “Article V: Freedom of no speech
There shall be no requirement for other passengers to listen to you drone on about your child, cat or other subject not directly germane to an immediate inflight emergency situation. The right of other passengers to give you the ‘book-off’ shall not be infringed, nor shall you assist with the answer to 14-across if unprompted.”

This Article actually reminds me of my flight back home from Toronto (connecting flight to New Delhi). I saw an older guy sitting next to me looking at the little display in front of him and thinking “how does it work”. So being a nice person I thought I’ll just help him… I should have NEVER done that, because for the next 9 hours of my flight he’s been going on about religion and tried to convince me to become a Hindu… I now understand why the Pope kisses the ground when he gets out of a plane! Lesson learned, the only moment I’m not social is on a long flight 🙂

I know I ‘ve skipped some articles, but if you want to see that whole blog post from Lonely planet, please click on Lonely planet blogpost

 What experiences do you guys have? I’m sure you have some!! Let me know