Just Give Me Some Space

November 12, 2015
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Travel Annoyances

I’ve got to admit that I enjoy flying. It goes beyond just the knowledge that I’m about to travel to some interesting destination. I actually enjoy the process of getting there … most of the time.

There are moments on a plane that don’t thrill me. My main frustration is being seated next to someone with no sense of personal space. Yes, I know that the armrest isn’t very wide, but you still have to share it. And don’t get me started on people who think that the fact they have limited legroom means that their legs should stretch into my small area of the plane.

According to Expedia’s 2015 Airplane Etiquette Study, which was released this week, those participating in the U.S. study find seat kickers to be the worst thing to endure on a flight.

When asked to choose from a list of annoying behaviors, 61 percent of 1,019 study respondents cited butt-kickers as the worst of the worst.

“Inattentive Parents,” parents who exhibit little or no control over their children, ranked a close second with 59 percent; while the “Aromatic Passenger,” that passenger who exhibits poor hygiene or is in some other way giving off a strong scent, was the third least-liked fellow traveler, garnering 50 percent of the vote.

There were plenty of other annoyances mentioned by survey respondents. Here’s the full list according to the study.

1. Rear Seat Kicker (cited by 61% of study respondents)
2. Inattentive Parents (59%)
3. The Aromatic Passenger (50%)
4. The Audio Insensitive (talking or music) (50%)
5. The Boozer (45%)
6. Chatty Cathy (43%)
7. Carry-On Baggage Offenders (38%)
8. The Queue Jumper (rushes to deplane) (35%)
9. Seat-Back Guy (the seat recliner) (32%)
10. Overhead Bin Inconsiderate (32%)
11. Pungent Foodies (30%)
12. Back Seat Grabber (27%)
13. The Amorous (inappropriate affection levels) (26%)
14. Undresser (removes shoes, socks or more) (26%)
15. Mad Bladder (window seat passenger who makes repeat bathroom visits) (24%)
16. The Single and Ready to Mingle (13%)
17. The Seat Switcher (13%)


I don’t find too much to annoy me on a flight, as long as I have my own bit of space and I can drift off into my own world. What do you find annoying when you fly? Do you agree with the list from the survey? Have you found yourself exhibiting any of the behaviour on the list without realising that it could be annoying other passengers?

Here’s an infographic that displays the survey results. Click the image for a closer look.

expedia-survey



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Just Give Me Some Space? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Something in the Air

July 28, 2014
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Flight

While I’ve got a lot more to say about my recent trip to Ethiopia and Rwanda, I thought I might write about something a little lighter today.

This morning I took the controls of a Cessna 152 flying out of Jandakot Airport with the Royal Aero Club. While I’m terrified of heights, I love flying, even in a small, ageing two seater like the plane I flew in today.

While Grant, the pilot, was constantly making adjustments during my thirty minute flight, he did let me take the controls a lot of the time. Of course I was under no illusions. Grant was doing a lot more than supervising. I was just the novice who was following instructions with more than a little correction coming from Grant’s dual controls.

We headed away from Jandakot down to Fremantle, up the coast to Cottesloe, then south again to Coogee before returning to Jandakot. The flight was a gift from my wife, Pauline. While I flew, she took pictures from the ground.

I was also able to take some photos while in the air. You can check out a few of them below. Just click on them for a closer look.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Something in the Air? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

We Apologise for the Delay

February 11, 2012
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

I love flying but I also like being on time. Those two concepts don’t always coexist.

Our family was up bright and early this morning. Well maybe a lot more of the early and a little less of the bright. Today my adventure begins. I’m flying to Melbourne, taking a coach trip to Geelong, then getting ready for another early start tomorrow as I begin the 25000Spins Great Ocean Road Challenge. I’ll be cycling to release children from poverty through Compassion Australia. It’s not too late to support the ride. Just go to my Everyday Hero fundraising page.

We were all out of bed around 3:00 a.m. so that I could be at the airport early enough to check in my ‘oversize baggage’ for the 5:30 a.m. flight. Well, it was meant to be a 5:30 flight. The oversize baggage is my bike, expertly boxed up by the wonderful Phil at Cyclebuzz Canning Vale.

With the bike checked in we headed to the departure gate for the usual wait. Once the call came over the P.A., one of the only announcements we could actually understand, I said goodbye to Pauline, Emily and James and headed on through. It was all going like clockwork.

I boarded the plane on time with the other passengers and got ready for take off. We taxied out to the runway …. and that’s when it all went pear shaped. A passenger three or four rows behind me had some kind of medical issue. If I heard the banter correctly he may have had a hard night last night but I’m not sure. What I do know is that the flight attendants headed his way with the oxygen bottle and started shifting passengers to other seats.

One of the flight attendants had obviously practiced her “everything’s alright” smile well. She was moving between the passenger and the flight deck a number of times, each time wandering down the aisle with a confident, happy look. She didn’t look this happy before the ‘incident’.

And so we headed back to the gate.

Five or six medicos headed on board and attended the patient … er passenger. After a long while they helped him into a wheelchair and left the aircraft.

Finally, once the paperwork was updated and the ambulance drove away from the plane we pushed out and headed for the runway again. Then, almost an hour late, we took to the skies.

The passengers who were near the incident noticed that the bloke had left a bag with some food in it and a choc milk. Oddly enough no one put their hand up for it so it was binned … and maybe incinerated.

So that’s where things are right now. I’m in the air on Virgin Flight DJ 678, winging my way to Melbourne and my 12:00 p.m. arrival is looking like a 1:00 p.m. arrival. Of course I won’t get to publish this post until we touch down. Until then I’ll keep listening to my iPod and enjoying a rather quiet flight. It’s amazing how dazed most passengers look but I suppose that’s to be expected on a 5:30, make that 6:30 flight.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading We Apologise for the Delay? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Making a Grand Exit

August 11, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
7 Comments

By now you’re very likely to have heard about Steven Slater, the US JetBlue flight attendant who spat the dummy and activated the aircraft’s emergency slide once his flight landed. He abused passengers then grabbed a couple of beers before heading out on the emergency slide.

He was later arrested and could spend up to seven years in prison.

A New York Times report says that after 20 years working as a flight attendant, one final disagreement with a passenger was one disagreement too much for Slater.

One passenger stood up to retrieve belongings from the overhead compartment before the crew had given permission. Mr. Slater instructed the person to remain seated. The passenger defied him. Mr. Slater reached the passenger just as the person was pulling down the luggage, which struck Mr. Slater in the head.

Mr. Slater asked for an apology. The passenger instead cursed at him. Mr. Slater got on the plane’s public-address system and cursed out the passenger for all to hear. Then, after declaring that 20 years in the airline industry was enough, he blurted out, “It’s been great!” He activated the inflatable evacuation slide at a service exit and left the world of flight attending behind.

While what Steven Slater did was illegal and dangerous, many people around the world have made him a hero. I’m guessing that there are a lot of people who feel hostility toward their workplace and wish that they could make an equally grandiose exit.

I’m wondering if you’ve ever made a spectacular exit from a job or if you’ve ever dreamed of it. What have you done or what would you like to have done to say a suitable goodbye to a workplace? I’d love to hear your story or your dreams of what you wish you could do. Just leave a few thoughts in the comments section of this post.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Making a Grand Exit? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Leonardo da Vinci

May 1, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

LeonardoSelfPortrait.jpgLeonardo da Vinci was passionately dedicated to scientific studies. His manuscripts are full of ingenuous solutions to practical problems of his time.

The remarkable thing is that he wasn’t just limited to his own time period, he was able to imagine future possibilities such as flying machines and automation. Amazing considering that he lived over 550 years ago. His anatomy drawings are still used today.

He was a musician, artist, town planner and so much more. I’m told he also played polo. He reminds me of that kid in the class who would make you jealous because he could do anything he set his mind to do.

Historical documents reveal that he commissioned local artisans to create some of his inventions. Unfortunately none of the original machines have survived and many of his inventions were forgotten. However, the last fifty years has seen a revival of interest in the work of Leonardo da Vinci.

The Da Vinci Machines Exhibition is in Perth until the 21st of July with many of da Vinci’s machine recreated by a new breed of artisans. The exhibition is interactive, giving visitors the opportunity to get hands on with a lot of the machines.

During my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM this morning I spoke to Tom Rizzo who is managing the exhibition. You can find out more about this great man and the exhibition by clicking play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Leonardo da Vinci? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.