Top 5: 1st of September 2013

At the end of each month I´ll give you a small resume of my top 5 and bottom 5 passengers´ nationalities to work with

1) Japanese: this little people person loving-the-nature-human-beings are the best travelling material not only they are perfectly well mannered and know how to prepare themselves for the trip but also they have this spontaneous way of trying to help others even if there is a language barrier. Did you notice how fast they are during security check-ups in the airport? They know what to carry in their bags, how to dress in comfort but also keeping a kind off proper travelling style with them. They like rules and they respect them no matter what. Keeping their seat belt fasten at all times, respecting their neighbor passengers when it comes to boarding and disembarking and they try to be as clean as possible during the whole journey. These instinctive trademarks are naturally reflected from a 6 hours trip to a 13 + extra long haul journey.

2) South Koreans: an impressive fact is that they know exactly how to do it and how to deal with things. During boarding and disembarking they are fast and don´t play around the cabin while they are walking to their seats; during meal service they are accurate in their decisions and certainly they don´t want to make you lose your time. The sense of politeness and respect toward their surroundings is felt not only by their kind interest in hearing what the other is saying but also a remarkable aspect is that they listen to what the other is trying to communicate. If they don´t understand, they´ll ask and if they keep on not understanding they will make an effort to do so. Carry on items? Only the necessary. Personal hygiene? They know what face cream and hair conditioner are.

3) Malaysians: the Malaysian spirit has been almost all about a smiley face. During the journey this people may smile no matter what, but not a fake smile as most of us are used to, no. I´m speaking about a genuine and pure smile that sometimes can even cool you down if you are very hyper. Politeness comes along and that not only may help us but also helps them, how? Respect is the base for their education and way of life; this may be naturally transmitted throughout the travelling experience and aid a bad day. They ask things with the magical non common words as for example “thank you” “you’re welcome” “please”  “may I” and the list goes on. Time is value for them and a key point for their way of life, because of this they are very accurate during boarding being on time at the gate and if there is a delay they don´t panic they just seat and wait trying to naturally understand that maybe the root of the delay goes beyond airline responsibility.

4) Swedish: it´s H&M but they look much more expensive than that. Style is a distinctive icon for these travelers and they respect that no matter where they are travelling. Accurate in the size and weight of their carry on items respecting the rules of what and what they shouldn’t take on board. Rules? They know them by hard and they may go in that list from top to bottom without hesitation whatsoever. During check-in they may form an almost straight line without even noticing it, in security they are fast and totally coherent with what they are carrying, at the gate they are sharp on time and when boarding comes they already know where their seat is (as they are proactive they seatgurued months before). When we start the service their seats may be already in the upright position keeping their seat belts fasten almost at all times. They don´t like to bother others as much as they don´t like to be bothered. The only small thing in all of this is that they might be a little bit too cold, but that’s when they are leaving Sweden. When they are returning from a hot beach weather destination back to their homes you may actually see them smiling behind the sun burned red skinned tone.

5) United States of America: grey zone. These passengers may be fun, especially if they come from the west coast. Fun, always laughing, always trying to make a joke about something and they try to hear you so they may learn experiences from others. This is kind of an irony because they hear you, yes but many times they might be afraid of living those experiences (it´s like they need an extra push to do so). The other issue is weight, not all but a mayor part of these passengers are a little bit over the personal weight limit and that may be uncomfortable to other passengers as they get accidentally hit by them when they walk through the aisle of the aircraft. Nevertheless rules and directions are usually heard and followed so when it comes to safety protocols most of these passengers obey making our jobs a little bit much easier.

(I don´t own the above picture)