Please sit down 27B.

The recent meltdown by a JetBlue flight attendant who profaned a passenger for getting his overhead luggage before the plane had stopped gave me a quiet chuckle. The attendant then let himself off the aircraft via the emergency shute, had a quick beer and rode off into the sunset. Via social media outlets he has become a folk hero and a felon all at the same time. Think about the times you’ve wanted to do similar to clients who have pushed you past your limits. This episode was a two way street, with the passenger telling the flight attendant to perform a sexual act upon himself but the fact the flight attendant was later arrested by New Jersey police for second degree criminal mischief (sounds naughty rather than dangerous) is probably one reason most of us play within the lines.

It’s interesting how the social norms have changed for travel and for airline passengers, who often have no right to criticise or speak up under threat of arrest for disturbance or worse terrorism. It used to be, passengers paid a lot of money for tickets and with that came high expectations, of service delivery, on time performance and a free drink. With prices today still hovering around the 1990s our expectations have become less about delivery and more about what we will put up with for the lowest possible price.

That also means passengers are at the mercy of the airlines and their staff. What recourse for opinions, do you have nowadays, if you are assigned that ubiquitous middle seat, are worried about a close connection at the other end or even just wanting a smile from the attendant? As soon as an attendant mentions the words security, terrorism or any other airline policy designed to keep you quiet and in your seat, your world shrinks to about 30cm by 30cm.

Not every airline is like this but the combination of GFC, volcanoes and terror threats keep their staff suitably bolshie. You do have alternatives and it is not out of the norm to ask for a customer feedback form, which you can hand to the Customer Service Manager on your way out as a quiet response to your concerns. Sometimes just the merest mention of the feedback form will transform a surly employees into what they were trained to be. Why not consider using the new social channels to voice your opinion. The majority of airlines now have online forums which they need to monitor and manage.

So when did the flight attendants become the air police? When did they start going to self defense courses? It happened quietly while we were moaning about airfare prices, the lack of customer service, tighter and tighter schedules and turnaround times and the ever present need to be somewhere quick. It was all about the process and nothing about the people that expedite the process.

Consider trying to control a couple of hundred strangers squeezed into an aluminium canister with food presented in cardboard boxes, seats that have been shaved to within an inch of falling apart, technology so complicated that when it breaks down 30 minutes into a 15 hour flight beads of sweat start appearing on a flight attendants. The glamour disappeared long ago and it is now as much of a struggle for the airline employees as the passengers, so we may as well make a pact and get on with it and try and enjoy as much of it as we can.

You might be surprised the next time you get on a plane, if you make the effort and smile and greet the staff, how much quicker and easier that flight turns out to be.