Holiday Travel Pet Peeves Plus 31 Days of Giveaways – Day 2
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Holiday Travel in the winter months feels different than travel during other times of year. There’s excitement in the air as people rush to get out of work early, enjoy a holiday away or visit family & friends in rural areas or busy cities.
Not everything is Gingerbread cookies and fairy floss though. Far from it. Before lounging in front of the fireplace with loved ones and enjoying a round of bubbly, there’s often the matter of getting there, which can be plagued by delays and frustration.
Car trips can be bad enough with siblings fiercely defending their side of an imaginary line down the middle of the seat, wrong directions via GPS (like I experienced in Athens, Greece), poor weather and jammed roads.
Airplanes aren’t any better, and at least in the car you are hopefully surrounded by people you know and like. In planes, you’re stuck in a metal tube with people you might avoid if given the chance. Honeywell Aerospace even conducted a survey last December that showed some interesting statistics about holiday travel on airplanes.
Here are a few of the fun factoids from the survey –
31% of those surveyed would give up one of their holiday presents to avoid braving the holiday airport rush.
15% find the disorganized traveler in security lines the most annoying, over line-cutters and arguers. Is that a full water bottle in your backpack while waiting in the TSA line, by any chance?
41% want to avoid “the smelly traveler” that passes gas or doesn’t wear deodorant.
A whopping 72% of people in the survey have considered confronting an adult whose child won’t stop kicking their seat.
When all else fails, 30% of those surveyed admit to taking a sedative or sleeping pill to dull their frustration while traveling.
To win today’s holiday goodie bag, let me know in the comments below what your biggest holiday travel pet peeve is. Delayed luggage, seemingly apathetic salespeople in the mall, a hotel that is overbooked and “walks you” to a different property?
Contest ends at 9pm PST tonight. Click here to read full contest details.
Good luck to all!
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Passengers at the TSA checkpoint who don’t know what to do.
I really hate travel delays around the holidays. You have such a narrow target window for travel, and I would feel compelled to give up my seat for a person with a child.
Passengers who are in hurry for no apparent reason.
Passengers talking loudly on their phone!
My biggest pet peeve is the person (and there is always at least one) who is in such a rush to sit in their seat that they keep inching their way up to the front of the line, and glance around to see if anyone is watching. Drives me crazy. OF COURSE people can see you being a total asshat. Gah. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
ErinLoves2Run at gmail dot com
Trying to find a parking place at the airport parking lots is a real hassle.
Parents who ignore there own kids on planes are my biggest pet peeve.
Customer facing employees who forget about customer service.
Poor customer service.
Sitting next to passengers who are sick and keep coughing!
Gate agents who appear to enjoy telling people that they arrived too late to fly.
The crowds of clueless families at check-in/TSA/gate boarding who fly very infrequently and thus need extra time getting through the airport.
passengers rushing ahead of their row to exit the plane
People who stop and fill up the path of Concourse corridor.
when passengers stand directly in front of you to wait for the their bags at baggage claim
Flights delayed by bad weather.
Long security lines.
Seatmates who are sick, and cough or sneeze without covering their faces.
people pulling a Britney Spears in the airplane bathroom NOT WEARING shoes and going barefoot. I nearly vomited when I saw several people doing that
My biggest pet peeve: mothers changing dirty baby diapers out in the open either in the next seat or on the tray ugh This is how we pass diseases like e.coli
people coughing without covering up their mouths. I shoot daggers with my eyeballs but nothing happens. Asians on flight have the decency to wear mouth medical masks we should do the same worldwide so we don’t pass germs and diseases to one another. Common courtesy
I think it’s a tie between when other passengers give me the evil eye because I dare travel with my three young children (even though they Are generally very good travelers) and I’m not sure this is happening much anymore but I hated when people would get pre-check access who weren’t used to it so they were still taking things out of their bags, removing shoes and belts, and still managing to forget to remove their phone from their pocket…
The delays kill me
Naughty kids on the Airplane and parents doing nothing to stop it.
Delayed flights!
when i fly and the person ends up halfway on my lap sitting next to me
Apathetic airline employees. I know some are just like that but it seems to multiply at the holidays.
People who have no clue about the security line requirements.
Just dealing with the other passengers – everyone in a rush, knocking into you, creating a stressful environment..
Long lines at security with those who have no idea about the procedures.
people who use exit row extra space to stand when you’re the one sitting in the exit row!
All the nasty crowds and people who are inconsiderate!
Travelers with major gifts As carry on items ! ( BIG STUFF )
My biggest pet peeve is people listening to loud music while using earbuds. If I can sing along, it’s too loud!
Gosh hard to pick just one lol. Definitely hate the extra noise of gadgets and people that talk loudly though. It’s already stressful enough in that flying can!
My biggest pet peeve: people talking loudly on a flight when other people are trying to sleep.
Holidays just stress people out and stressed out people are often times cranky people! Biggest pet peeve would just be the higher concentration of irritable people (I’m guilty of this too!) traveling.
Getting to and from the airport. Based near LAX which is already pretty bad to go to/from but even worse during holiday travel.
Sitting next to someone who smells like a chain smoker is the worst. Seriously… Can you smell yourself???