'Delayed flights': Travelers reveal top 5 in-flight frustrations

MANILA, Philippines — Traveling is exciting. It has its perks because you get to see different parts of the world, experience their culture and traditions, taste their exquisite food, and come home wiser and happier. But it has its own woes and nightmares, too, particularly while at airports and more so in-flight.

From overly chatty seatmates, lavatory hoggers, snoring backseat passengers to perennially crying kids, these can make traveling less exciting.

Digital travel platform Agoda unveiled a candid exploration of the frustrations people experience during air travel. Agoda's Travel Bugbears Survey 2023, conducted by independent market research firm YouGov covering 12,065 respondents interviewed online in July 2023, delves into the realm of in-flight annoyances. What it reveals as the top 5 in-flight frustrations may surprise you. 

The survey, which covers 10 markets across Asia, has found discourteous invasion of personal space to be the No. 1 pet peeve for fliers. Travelers from South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan are most offended by people who invade their personal space, be it the war with the armrest, the production of bodily noises, or unpleasant smells from uncovered feet.

Unsurprisingly, flight delays rank high, coming in second on the list of passengers’ grievances across Asia Pacific. The patience of travelers from the Philippines, especially, reaches a tipping point when it comes to flight delays as it topped the survey among travelers from the country. Their neighbors from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam share the same sentiment. 

Ranking as the third biggest in-flight annoyance across the region are loud passengers. These include overly chatty seatmates, couples fighting and airing out their dirty laundry in public, and raucous groups broadcasting their music or games across the entire flight.

Australians and Malaysians are least sensitive to noise, while Taiwanese and South Korean travelers appreciate more peaceful flying experiences.

Japanese travelers, too, appreciate some peace and quiet, but they are also the only market that expressed intolerance for disruptive passengers who are rude to cabin crew as their top grievance.

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