To recline or not to recline the seats?
Position you’re flying in – and the way passionately you approach the subject – may depend upon where you’re from.
The outcomes of the survey published on Monday show that the extent to which passengers found certain behaviors “unacceptable” on flights varies by region.
Study of 18 markets conducted by the research firm YouGov found that Europeans were more bothered by certain behaviors on planes, while those from the United Arab Emirates were the most acceptable amongst a lot of the same behaviors.
What’s “unacceptable”—and where?
According to the survey, European respondents found drunkenness, not using headphones, and private hygiene to be unacceptable behavior when flying at higher rates than in other regions.
Europeans were also the least tolerant of those that recline their seats fully, with almost 60% saying the practice is “somewhat” or “completely” unacceptable. Note: Europe is home to tallest people in the world too.
Conversely, only 32% of respondents in the UAE found the reclining seat unacceptable, which is lower than the global average of 53%.
Respondents in the UAE were also found to be the most tolerant of younger passengers. Only 19% found crying babies “unacceptable” and lower than a 3rd were concerned about noisy babies over the age of 4.
Nevertheless, there was one issue that nervous UAE respondents greater than European travelers. Almost 40% indicated that public displays of affection are unacceptable, greater than 21% of Europeans said the same.
Point of agreement
The poll found one thing in common – an almost universal disdain for drunken antics in the air. According to the results, intoxication was ranked as the most unacceptable kind of behavior across all regions, led by 77% of respondents in North America and 78% in Europe.
Female respondents showed even lower tolerance to intoxication than males. Worldwide, 81% of girls said that drunkenness is unacceptable to them, over 70% of men.
Respondents were less tolerant of each kind of behavior in the study, with the exception of 1 — crying babies. Only 21% described crying babies as unacceptable, lower than 25% of men in the survey.
What’s “unacceptable” for American leaflets
Americans are more likely than the global average to view activities equivalent to grooming and taking off shoes on flights as unacceptable. The study shows that they’re less accepting of crying babies compared to the global average, and so they are much more irritated by noisy babies on planes.
YouGov provided CNBC with the following chart, which shows the percentage of American respondents compared to the global average who consider various situations unacceptable:
The outcomes show that Americans are less concerned about the continuing problem of reclining seats (43% compared to a worldwide average of 53%). Fewer Americans hassle chatty passengers (37% versus 39% globally).
The outcomes show considerable variability between age groups, with the level of intolerance increasing with age.
Younger Americans, ages 18 to 24, were most accepting of in-flight behavior that tends to annoy other passengers. People aged 55 and over were the least accepting, with nearly three in 4 older travelers finding noisy children on planes “unacceptable”.