Download the new Switched app for your iPhone

Skip to Content

Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

Map of the world

Bad behavior at the airport, Hollywood style and how to tips for keeping your cool

When passengers show bad behavior at the airport, everyone notices. Bad airport behavior is one place Hollywood gets it right, even when scenes are a bit outlandish.

Here are two scenes that show just what can happen when a passenger is vexed beyond sanity--either due to traveling with a family member or the actions of another passenger coupled with airline staff reactions.

Perhaps you'll see an element of yourself or someone you know in one of these scenerios. If you happen to have one of these moments when traveling for the holidays, try to keep a sense of humor. It can help.

Along with a sense of humor, there are a few tips to keep in mind to help you not go bonkers. If you do go bonkers, check in with Gadling, we'd love to tell your tale. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

First up: Rain Man. Here's what happens when two family members have a different notion of travel. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman may be brothers, but their travel preferences don't match.

To keep from having your own Rain Man situation, particularly when traveling with children, talk over the trip beforehand. Explain what will happen at the airport before you get there. Go over the various steps like waiting in line, going through TSA and boarding the plane. One resource that's helpful for traveling with children is Shae By Air, a DVD made for children about taking an airplane trip.

For adults who have a fear of flying, there are resources aimed for you. Scott previewed Flying without Fear. Also, in one of his Plane Answers posts, Gadling's own pilot extraordinaire, Kent Wien presents other tips for those afraid to fly.

Second up: Honeymoon in Vegas. If there was ever an example of passenger rage, this is it. Nicolas Cage perfectly nails the emotions. Here's what happens when a customer service agent is overly solicitous to one very irritating customer. Tom warned about this in his post about the problem with travel professionals going that extra mile.

When another passenger is driving you nuts, try to stay calm by realizing you're about to reach your limit. If you are in a hurry because you may miss your flight, calmly ask if you can please cut because you are about to miss your plane. I've seen people do this before and it works. At all costs, don't raise your voice and start spewing spittle. It just won't help at all.

Third up: Meet the Parents. Ben Stiller doesn't go nuts when he's dealing with this gate attendant's power hungry nonsense, but her behavior does add fuel to his going bonkers behavior once he's on the plane. Let's call this priming the pump. The video embedding function is disabled, thus I couldn't put it in this post but it's an hysterical scene that's so worth the watch.

For another example of airline personnel's bad behavior check out these videos. This is one flight attendant who needs a chill pill.

--And, once again, Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Airlines, Video, Airports

Search Travel Deals

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Gadling Features



Categories

Become our Fan on Facebook!

Gadling on Facebook

Featured Galleries (view all)

Dim Sum Dialogues: Bangkok
The King Tut exhibit in SF
Flea Market Finds: Brooklyn
East of Africa: Ilakaka
Amsterdam's Floating Flower Market
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo
Air France Inaugural A380
Roatan, Honduras
New Zealand Icebergs

Our Writers

Grant Martin

Editor-in-chief

RSS Feed

Scott Carmichael

Executive Editor

RSS Feed

View more Writers

Autoblog Green

DailyFinance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Luxist

Switched.com

FanHouse

WoW