Morality in the Air

A flight attendant once told me a story of two passengers who had been issued tickets for the same seat on a crowded plane. One man arrived at his seat to find the other already occupying it. He launched into a panicked fit of self-righteousness particular to airline travel, demanding to speak to the purser and that the other passenger be moved.

"I looked at their tickets and saw that they had duplicates," the flight attendant recalled. "We had one extra seat on the plane, and it was in first class. So I turned to the second man, who had sat quietly in his seat throughout the tirade. I said, 'Today's your lucky day, sir. Please follow me to first class.'"

Just as high altitudes mean that one alcoholic drink in the air equals two on the ground, rudeness in the skies is tantamount to all-out warfare. Every year, more and more people seem insistent on checking their manners with their luggage. There's even an official name for this syndrome now: air rage. Last year, a passenger at Newark Airport threw a ticket agent onto the floor and severely injured him when the agent wouldn't let him onto the jet way. There have been countless incidents of in-flight inebriation leading to violence, not to mention a few notorious cases of passengers defecating in the aisles. Even those who keep their mischievousness to more common infractions, like threatening to file a complaint with the airline, hold up lines at the gate and cause widespread discomfort.

It's ironic, really, because air travel is miraculous when you think about it. The idea that you can get from New York to Los Angeles in five hours seems almost supernatural. Flying, indeed, used to include connotations of transcendence and technological wonder. It carried with it the sense that it was a venue for showing respect. So why do we make it an opportunity to make unreasonable and petty demands?

There are countless factors that contribute to air rage. Ever since airline deregulation lowered the price of tickets, planes have become more crowded and noticeably bereft of '60s-era perks like gourmet meals and elegant highball glasses. Air travel has grown more akin to a bus ride.

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