Pyjama drama and weirdness on flights

CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen a passenger do on a plane? If you said, “Change into pyjamas mid-flight”, then maybe you were on my red-eye from Orlando to Frankfurt, Germany, during which a passenger disappeared into the restroom and emerged in a nightgown.

It happens more often than you’d think. John Gray, who owns a company that sells gift baskets in London, admits to changing into his jammies on long flights.

“I like to wear my Pikachu onesie,” he said. “It’s super comfy and helps me get a good night’s sleep on longhaul flights. I usually get a smile from everybody who sees me and nobody has ever said something weird.” Brave man, John. There’s a subset of airline passengers such as Gray who take hitting 30 000 feet as an invitation to make themselves at home.

But Barbara Warrington, a retired occupational therapist said: “Children in pyjamas on a plane are one thing. Grown-ups are another… a no-no.”

But wait. Isn’t there a waiver for first-class passengers in those lie-flat seats? Yes, suggested Lauren Guilfoyle of Emirates Airline. Her air carrier hands out sleepwear with “moisturising” qualities to first-class passengers.

Well, if you have $12 000 (R176 565) to spend on a flight, I suppose you can wear anything.

For the rest of us, April Masini, an etiquette expert based in New York, had the following advice: “Adults should not wear pyjamas on a plane.”

Whatever it is that causes some air passengers to put on their pyjamas prompts others to take off their shoes – and even socks. This is a strange thing, as on land, these people wouldn’t dare place their shoeless feet on, say, a restaurant table.

It can also turn ugly when those same passengers feel it’s acceptable to rest their feet on the seat backs or armrests in front of them.

“It’s a personal-space invasion,” said Lori Geoffroy, a frequent air traveller from San Francisco who channelled her distaste for this type of behaviour into her business.

Her company, Ickerz, sells a line of novelty stationery products featuring cartoon animals stuck in (I’m not making this up) “smelly situations”.

“It’s annoying,” she said, “when people put their feet on the armrest of the passenger in front of them – and it’s even worse if they’re shoeless.”

So what can you do if you find yourself getting a very close look at a fellow passenger’s pedicure? From my experience of mediating travel disputes, both in the air and on the ground, your options are limited. Dirty looks only ratchet up the tension.

Your best move is to move. Find an empty seat or ask a flight attendant to reseat you. Don’t make a scene.

If another seat isn’t available, try hanging out in the galley in the back of the plane. You may have to take your seat if you hit turbulence and a crew member might shoo you back to your seat during meal service. But it’s preferable to the alternative.

At best, the bizarre behaviour of other passengers can make your holiday memorable. Amy Bloomer, a professional organiser who lives in Baltimore, recalled an overnight flight from Washington to Zurich during which she sat next to the oddest passenger ever.

“She got up to go to the bathroom and then emerged with a full head of hot rollers,” Bloomer said.

“She told me she had a photo shoot shortly after we were due to land and she wanted her hair to be perfectly coiffed.”

Maybe it’s best to take the oddness in stride. Flights don’t last forever and most of the unusual behaviour isn’t offensive but may be photo-worthy. Of course, there’s an Instagram account for that: @passengershaming, which is run by Shawn Kathleen Howard, a former flight attendant.

But you should probably wait until after you land to share your image of the barefoot passenger or the seatmate in rollers. | The Washington Post