Coupled with the Expedia finding that almost a quarter of air travellers think other passengers are discourteous and the knowledge that air rage and discourtesy incidents have been climbing, I reached out to some airlines to ask them what they are doing about it. Responses were not helpful:
We trust that our customers will act in a manner conducive to a pleasant atmosphere for all. JetBlue
and
We want every customer to enjoy a pleasant and trouble-free travel experience when traveling with us or any of our oneworld partners. American
and
Martin, we truly value you as a customer and hope to welcome you onboard sometime soon!
So, what are airlines doing?
- Showing customers how to be “nice”:
- Training staff in defence techniques
- Hosting undercover staff carrying firearms
-
Showing customers how to be “nice”:
Fiji Airways put out this cute video which addresses some of the things they struggle with (including pungent foods):
JetBlue had a series on Flight etiquette two years ago. Here is one on tackling “Chatty Cathy”:
2. Training staff in defence techniques
The TSA of the USA provides a four hour Crew Member Self Defense Training Program to help staff identify and deter potential threats through behaviour recognition. Then how to mitigate and apprehend a threatening subject.
HK airlines reportedly train their staff in King Fu to deal with the 12 unruly passengers they see each month on their network:
3. Hosting undercover staff carrying firearms
For example, El Al has armed guards at every ticket counter and on board planes. – many of whom are former Israeli soldiers. Although these are more to deal with possible terrorists than drunk passengers who recline their seats during dinner service.
Are there other ways, airlines are working to prevent and mitigate poor passenger behavior including air rage?
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