‘Demure’ is the word of the year. Let’s practice it during our holiday travels.
Dictionary.com has named the word “demure” as the word of the year for 2024. The word’s popularity skyrocketed following a beauty influencer’s tongue-in-cheek use of it in early August. “Demure” means to be “reserved, quiet, or modest”, and it may be the best byword to remember when traveling during this upcoming holiday season.
We’re also entering a season when feelings run quite high in the travel-sphere. Airline veterans have a parlance for holiday travelers: “one and done”—they fly once during the holidays, and then they’re done traveling for the next 365 days. Unlike the frequent traveler, the one-and-dones have a tendency to gum up the system, getting in the wrong security lines, attempting to board before their group is called, being unfamiliar with the latest TSA procedures, or pushing the carry-on limits a bit too hard.
Infrequent travelers, coupled with the propensity for bad weather and general holiday stressors, can make holiday travel miserable for everybody, but we have a few tips to offer on traveling demurely and mindfully this holiday season.
@joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron
Headphones, Please
It’s certainly not demure to blast your electronic device for all to hear in a crowded or enclosed area like an airport gate or onboard an aircraft. Airlines like Alaska and American request passengers use headphones when their devices are making noise, while other airlines don’t have explicit prohibitions. Regardless of what the airline stipulates, it’s always a good idea to keep your (or your child’s) device’s noise to yourself with headphones.
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That said, that doesn’t always happen, and it hardly does anybody favors to be confrontational to other passengers about it. In the event someone is making too much noise onboard a flight, keep your own headphones handy to preserve the peace.
One particular nicety to follow with headphones though—take them off when interacting with flight attendants during inflight service. It helps smooth transactions and speed up the service so everyone can be served in a timely manner.
Stay Fit to Sit
It never fails. A passenger gets to their seat, then stands in the aisle while the line backs up behind them. They’re invariably digging for something out of the carryon bag they intend to put into the overhead bin before hoisting it aloft. Demure travelers will get everything they need out of the bag they intend to put up prior to boarding—better yet, pack it in the back you’ll be putting under the seat. And if the bag fits under the seat, that’s where it should go. Don’t take up bin space with bags that don’t need to go up there.
Mind the Traffic
Plenty of time to get to the next gate? Wonderful. Understand that while you might not be in a rush, airports are often full of people who are, so keep an eye out for them, and make way for them to get where they’re going. You’d certainly want them to afford the same courtesy to you if the situations were reversed.
Try Stoicism
Holiday travel is frustrating, we get it. But getting riled up can get other passengers riled up. It can also get you denied boarding if it makes the flight crew uncomfortable, or put you at risk of becoming an internet meme.
Travelers love to share war stories about delayed flights, inept airline employees, or the seemingly incoherent systems that surround air travel. But oftentimes, travelers have misunderstood situations, or have only a small portion of the story. Then they turn around and crow about flight crews who “didn’t show up,” airlines who don’t have the foresight to keep spare airplanes around just to cover their flight delays, or think something is horribly out of place whenever airlines announce they need volunteers because of overbooking (which is a common practice, not an oversight or a mistake).
But in situ, this simply isn’t helpful. You’re not going to solve the perceived problems of the airline industry during a busy holiday travel day, and you’re not going to make anybody around you feel any better by moaning about your own troubles. Take it in stride, and if you feel you’ve truly and irrevocably been wronged, file a complaint with your airline or the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Remember the Rules
Flight attendants aren’t just following airline policies—many of the rules they outline onboard the flight during their safety demos are in fact federal laws, and the FAA holds them personally accountable for ensuring passenger compliance. Save yourself time and aggravation by quickly complying with crewmember instructions—and demure if you disagree with their necessity.