7 Terrible Things That Will Probably Happen on Your Next Flight

You can’t blame parents for wanting (or needing) to traveling with their kids. You can blame them for not keeping said kid under control. This one is tricky, especially if you can’t tell if there are special circumstances contributing to the child’s behavior. In most cases, the child will eventually get what he or she needs to stop screaming or will fall asleep, and the best thing you can do is be sympathetic to the parent(s). If it’s really bad, you can ask to move—but a distraught baby can usually be heard by most of the plane.

There’s nothing worse than having to tell someone that their odor is a problem, but at least there are some discrete solutions.

For bad breath, offer them a mint or some chewing gum. You’ll be heralded as a generous passenger and their breath will hopefully improve. (Side note: Always bring mints or chewing gum!) If the problem is more of a bodily stench, take advantage of the personal air nozzle up above you. Direct a strong flow of fresh air at your face — it’ll save you the trouble of covering your nose or breathing through your mouth.

If your stinky seatmate is odiferous enough to render both tactics useless, you can always ask to switch seats if any are available. It’s best to do this out of earshot of the offender, of course, unless you don’t mind embarrassing your seatmate.

It’s hard enough to endure a long flight to begin with. It’s so much worse when the food is borderline inedible. If you’re served a gross meal, ask if you can switch it for the alternative. The worst they can say is no.

You can’t exactly blame the Chatty Cathy for being excited about traveling or wanting to know your life’s story. But you can still end up annoyed—especially if you view flying as an opportunity to read a book or catch up on your favorite shows. Thankfully, this problem is easy to solve. Headphones, books, and eye masks say “leave me alone” so that you don’t have to. If Cathy is really persistent, just mention how jetlagged you are or share that you’re excited to finish your book on the flight. Most people will take the hint.