Survey: Most annoying behaviors of airline passengers

When the front passenger suddenly reclines his seat into the tiny shared space, kicking back is not an option. [Photo/CFP]

Expedia.com, one of the world's leading full service online travel sites, released a study last week, showing passenger behaviors that people find most annoying on a plane.

The survey asked 1,000 Americans to rank the most annoying on-board behaviors. The response showed that "rear seat kickers", who use their feet to attack a fellow passenger in front, have passed "inattentive parents" from last year to be the top offenders, with a 67 percent vote.

Following "rear seat kickers" are "inattentive parents" (64 percent), "the aromatic passengers" (56 percent), "the audio insensitive" (51 percent) and "the boozer" (50 percent).

Seat wars are most likely to cause troubles in a plane. The survey showed that just 23 percent of those surveyed ask permission of the passenger behind them before they recline. When the front passenger suddenly reclines his seat into your lunch in the tiny shared space, some people choose to kick back.

When onboard incidents like this happen, about 12 percent of those surveyed say they would record the incident, and 6 percent say they would use Twitter and other social media to shame those passengers. Only 22 percent would talk directly to the offending passenger.

"Expedia's Airplane Etiquette Study is a lighthearted reminder that few places require more attention to etiquette than the inside of an airplane," said John Morrey, Expedia's vice president and general manager.

"You're in a tight space at 30,000 feet with hundreds of fellow travelers, so even the small things - helping your neighbor stow a bag or switching seats to put a mom next to her child - can make a huge difference."

Here is the Expedia's list of onboard etiquette violators of 2014, with percentage cited by study respondents:

1. Rear Seat Kicker: 67%

2. Inattentive Parents: 64%

3. The Aromatic Passenger: 56%

4. The Audio Insensitive (talking or music): 51%

5. The Boozer: 50%

6. Chatty Cathy: 43%

7. Carry-On Baggage Offenders: 39%

8. The Armrest Hog: 38%

9. Seat-Back Guy (the seat recliner): 37%

10. The Queue Jumper (rushes to deplane): 35%

11. Overhead bin inconsiderate (32%)

12. Pungent foodies (32%)

13. Back-of-seat grabber (31%)

14. Playboy (reads/watches adult content) (30%)

15. Amorous (inappropriate affection) (29%)

16. Mad bladder (28%)

17. Undresser (removes shoes or more) (26%)

18. Seat switcher (13%)