Forget snakes: What about diapers on planes?

Harriet Baskas Travel writer

In a summer already filled with wild, wacky and woeful tales of air travel, last week was a whopper. It started off cute enough: a man smuggled a tiny monkey onto an airplane by hiding his furry friend under his hat. Sort of precious, don’t ya think?

But things went straight downhill from there: Fire led to a power outage and flight delays at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Authorities spent hours searching for a man who evaded security screening at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. And on Saturday, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection computer malfunctioned and more 17,000 international passengers were stranded for hours at Los Angeles International Airport.

Not cute at all.

Events like these really suck the fun out of air travel and make some travelers vow never to fly again. But not the little girl I met recently on a flight from Eugene, Ore., to Seattle. I chatted with her as she settled in beside her grandma in the row ahead of me. And I admit that I eavesdropped (just a bit) during the flight and heard how thrilled she was to be served “free” soda and dolphin-shaped crackers and to get to see mountains outside her very own little window. When we landed, I expected her to turn around and recount her adventure. Instead, this young traveler turned to me and politely asked, “And how did you enjoy your flight?”

That reminded me that for some people — not just little kids — plane trips can still be magical. And it made me think of another item to add to the Air Passengers’ Code of Cordiality I described here a few weeks back. In that column I proposed a basic set of “let’s get along” travel rules that all passengers would be encouraged to abide by. Asking fellow passengers if they’re having fun on their trip wasn’t on the list. But maybe it should be. Along with some of the other suggestions sent in by readers, including:

• “Don't bring foods with a strong odor on the plane. Sitting next to someone eating something with an intense odor makes me gag.”
• “If there is a tall person sitting behind you, please don't recline your seat.”
• “Be ready to go through security BEFORE you get to the security check point. This means having all your belongings put in a carry-on bag before you get to the security check point and not rushing through all your crap just before the security guy calls you through.”
• “How about this one: Do not take someone else's assigned seat! If you have the middle and no-one has taken the aisle or window, wait till the door is shut and the plane is pulling away to snag it. Don't make its rightful owner fight you for it. Grr.”
• “Other passengers should not automatically assume kids are going to be awful to travel next to and should also cut some slack to parents who are trying to be responsible.”
• “Please, please, please don't board a plane reeking to high heaven ... both in terms of B.O. or heavy perfume.”
• “When moving in and out of your seat, do not grab the seat in front of you.”
• “When you go to baggage claim it is just plain rude to walk up and stand so close to someone they can feel you breath to try to be the first to get your bag ... stand back, watch for your bag, and then excuse yourself forward so you can grab it.”
• “Keep your shoes on when you are on the airplane. It is a confined space and no one wants to smell your feet.”

All these seem like fine additions to the Code of Cordiality. But there’s one item from my original list that needs a bit more research.

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