Come fly the polite skies

Of course we weren't on that flight, so we don't know whether or not Reed used the magic word when asking for his OJ, but even if he didn't, by all accounts the flight attendant's behavior was bizarre and inexcusable.

Even so, I often find the rudeness of airline passengers equally bizarre. When asked, "Can I get you something to drink sir (or ma'am)" by a flight attendant (or by a waiter for that matter), it is not acceptable to bark out "Coke" without looking up from your Sudoku. It's not acceptable in the air, and frankly, it's not acceptable on the ground, either. But especially not in the air. Flight attendants are trained to save your life if there's an incident. Flying is stressful for all concerned. We're stuck together in an aluminum can, sometimes for six hours or more. This is not a flying McDonald's.

And it is not acceptable when handed your beverage to skip the "thank you." You are not the Sultan of Siam. She is not your girl. I think flyers should all take a lesson from my mother, who, when we flew together, laid down certain rules of decorum. "Georgie," she would remind me near the end of each flight, "when we leave the plane you are to say thank you to the pilot and stewardesses." To this day, I never fail to do so.

Not that all the politeness in the world will save you from the wrath of a flight attendant gone bonkers, and times have changed drastically since my first transcontinental flight with mom, on a TWA 707, as a bowtie-clad 10 year old.

On that flight, my mother suggested I help the stewardesses clear the meal trays, which task I gamely performed (after all, one of them had pinned plastic wings on my blazer, so I was crew, right?). In recognition of my valorous service, one of the stews pinched my chubby little cheek and said, "Oh what a nice little boy you are." And then I got to ride up with the pilots for a thrilling half hour. As I said, things have changed.

Fast forward to a flight a few years ago when I was sitting in the back of a Continental Airline's 737 waiting in vain for a meal tray to be removed. Needing a lav visit, I got up and placed the tray on an empty counter in the galley, where the flight attendants were busy gabbing away about whatever. "You can't put that there!" one of them barked at me. Shell-shocked, but ignoring her, I went into the loo and upon emerging looked her in the eye and said, "You know, you could have said that a bit more politely." She, indignantly: "I wasn't impolite." Me, equally indignant: "Oh yes you were, and you know it." Luckily I guess, I didn't get one of those FAA warning letters, but while I'm all for politesse in the skies, modern airline travel is fraught enough as it is, and it does take two to maintain a civil atmosphere. I'm willing to do my part. I wish more people were willing to do theirs.

George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog™, the most inclusive source of airfare deals that have been researched and verified by experts. Airfarewatchdog compares fares from all airlines and includes the increasing number of airline-site-only and promo code fares.