Sitting next to someone with poor airplane etiquette can easily ruin your flight, and sometimes it also depends on which U.S. state you're flying from.
From the passenger in front leaning onto your lap to the passenger occupying both armrests instead of the middle seat, there are plenty of annoying behaviors that fellow passengers can face. In an April survey by Solitaire Bliss, 78% of 2,002 Americans said they thought air travel etiquette had gotten worse in recent years.
Participants cited people reclining their seats without permission, using their phones loudly in the terminal, and placing their bags on seats in the terminal as some of the most common inconsiderate behaviors they have seen at airports and on airplanes.
The survey asked people what bad behavior they've seen and if they've committed such transgressions while traveling by air, and many admitted that they have. Survey respondents came from every state in the U.S., so the report revealed which states have the most polite and inconsiderate passengers. (Yes, that's a blanket statement; good and bad passengers exist everywhere.) States were ranked on a scale of 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating that travelers from that state are more likely to have poor air travel etiquette.
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“As the summer travel season arrives, we can expect a flurry of media reports about inappropriate passenger behavior and airline issues,” Solitaire Bliss founder Assaf Cohen said in an emailed statement to USA Today. “In addition to common behaviors like using bags to take over seats in the terminal or reclining seats without permission, one in eight passengers report witnessing a physical altercation.”
Read on to find out the top five states with the best and worst travel etiquette.
States with the worst travel etiquette
5. Georgia
4. Texas
3. Virginia
2. Illinois
1. Iowa
Iowa respondents, who received the highest score of 94.29, were most notable for poor travel etiquette, including leaving luggage on seats in the terminal and handing out gas on the plane. Virginia respondents' top flying habits included leaving luggage on seats in the terminal, not putting cell phones on airplane mode and reclining their seats without permission. In Illinois, one in four residents admitted to ignoring seat belt signs when flying.
States with the best travel etiquette
5. Kansas
4. Ohio
3. Florida
2. Wisconsin
1. Arkansas
Some might call it “Southern hospitality” or “Midwestern friendliness,” but the states that reported the least amount of rude behavior on airplanes were located along the South and Midwest. Arkansas took the top spot by having the most well-mannered passengers, or at least those who didn't admit to their own rudeness.
Kathleen Wong is a Hawaii-based travel writer for USA TODAY. She can be reached at kwong@usatoday.com.
