We start the second part of our overview of different passenger types with one of the more comfortable seat neighbors. You can find the first part here.
The distinguishing feature of true frequent flyers at German airports is the blood-red luggage tag made of fine leather with slightly rounded corners. Lufthansa honors its best customers, whose mileage accounts cover at least 100,000 kilometers per calendar year, with this discreet identifier and a gold card for their wallets. This type of frequent flyer can call themselves a senator and has long since internalized that pushing does not get you to your destination faster. These are the most pleasant of all types of passengers, and don't waste a word, concentrating on their appointments and working on the tablet.
The opposite of the experienced frequent flyer are people with a fear of flying. According to surveys by the Institute for Demoscopy, 15 percent of Germans suffer from aviophobia - that's a good 20 passengers per plane in a plane with 150 seats. Fear of flying can manifest itself in sweating, clammy palms, dizziness, tachycardia and nausea. These people can no longer get the traumatic images of emergencies, turbulence and bad weather out of their heads. What helps: Distraction and talking to those sitting next to you. Large airlines also offer this group of people professional seminars to help them overcome their fear of flying. What hardly helps: the consumption of alcohol on board.
They always appear in groups, order one or two "rounds of piccolos", even if they are only available on low-cost airlines for a fee. They are excited, chattering loudly and discussing in the group across several rows of seats whether the special perfume offer from the inflight sale is really a bargain. They not only stand out because of their behavior, but also because of their clothing: If the destination is a bachelorette party (JGA), everyone wears the identical T-shirt with bright colors and snappy slogans. This type of passenger is only topped by the male counterpart, who is traveling for a similar reason.
Even worse are men with their JGA shirt loosely based on the motto "Last night in the wolf pack". These creatures usually board the planes heading south in small herds at the weekend after they have already warmed up in the terminal. The preferred destination, whatever the season, is PMI - Palma de Mallorca Airport. On board, the tanks are diligently refueled until the flight attendants put a stop to the boozy pleasure. If you sit near them you have the choice between partying or earplugs against the bawling.
It is well known that you should drink a lot on long-haul flights because of the dry air in the cabin. But some passengers misunderstand this and order one drink after the other - with alcohol, of course. The drunkard can be the most awkward of passenger types and, unfortunately, is becoming more common, especially on board low-cost airlines. Since 2015, several Ryanair flights to Ibiza have had to make unscheduled landings. The drunk rioters were then handed over to the police. At Prestwick Airport, the Rynair staff at the gate will therefore check all hand luggage for duty-free liquor bottles and banish them to the hold. If you show up to the departure drunk, you are not allowed to fly and you are not entitled to a refund of the flight ticket.
Also read part 1 of passenger types.
