The New Book of Etiquette doesn’t have a lot of advice on travelling byplane, as “it’s still new enough to be thrilling for most of us!” Still, there must be something we can learn; after all, as Money Grubbing Lawyer* pointed out a few days ago,  flying was (in theory, at least) a far more enjoyable experience in the early days of commercial aviation.  

so, without further ado, Lillian Eichler’s tips for airline travel:

-”On most of the large planes, passengers are given glassine envelopes containing cotton and chewing gum. The  experienced traveler pads his ears with the cotton and chews the gum to adjust his ears and throat to higher altitude. This is one occasion when chewing gum is not frowned upon as a vulgarity!”

-”The cabin of a plane is so small, the passengers in such close proximity, than any attempt to observe social formalities is quite out of the question. Nobody waits to be introduced- everybody talks to everybody else- strangers are drawn to the common thrill of flying.”

-”It is not customary to tip airplane hostesses. However, if a hostess has been especially kind and attentive and the passenger wishes to show his appreciation, he may have a small, impersonal gift such as a box of candy or an interesting new book mailed to her after the trip is over.”

*(for advice on keeping flying in the present more tolerable, read his post. Don’t go expecting Air Canada to hand out glassine envelopes, now.)