14 Travel Quirks That Grind A Reader’s Gears, From Pilot Commentary To Drinks

I get a lot of messages from readers that act as a great source of inspiration for blog posts. Along those lines, OMAAT reader Brendan just sent me an email that I think is a blog post in and of itself…

Who has explanations to these travel quirks?

Brendan shares over a dozen travel quirks that he’s hoping to get explanations for. It’s not often that I simply copy and paste emails and turn them into a post, but I find this to be thought provoking, largely accurate, and hilarious, and I figure some others in the OMAAT community will enjoy sharing their take on some of these questions.

More from OMAAT Air Greenland Acquiring Airbus A320neo To Fly Between Ilulissat & Copenhagen Read more

Brendan has a great (and somewhat sassy) writing style, so I appreciate the way he frames these points. So here’s the email in its entirety:

Not sure if this is a fully-finished thought–or makes sense as a post–but I was thinking about some of the weird quirks we experience during our travels.  These are things that may puzzle us during the trip, but aren’t “big” enough to make a stink about to anyone, or warrant their own post.  Wondering if there’s enough meat there to make a post that runs down some of the common ones.  

For example:
1. In your recent post, you mentioned the one king bed had two separate duvets (as is normal in Germany).  
– …what [the hell]?  If there is one bed, why would there be two comforters? 
– So one person doesn’t pull it to their side? 
– Because it’s German custom for [reason]?
– Presumably if two people are close enough to share a room–and a bed–they don’t need separate duvets…?

2. What is proper “strategy” for eating before/during a premium cabin flight?
– We all get there early and eat/drink in the lounge.  
– But then immediately after takeoff, a full, multi-course meal is served 
– But, by definition, all of these (business/first) passengers had lounge access and presumably just ate, immediately prior to boarding.  
– If the person was only going to eat once, wouldn’t they prefer lounge food to airplane food?
– In my experience, many times it’s “now or never” with the meal as most airlines are not dine on demand.  If I say “I’m not hungry now, can I have it in a few hours” that’s generally met with scorn since they only turn the ovens on once, etc.

3. Pre-departure drinks
– Why give me anything at all if I only have ~5 minutes to drink it?  It basically has to be slammed since they collect the glasses hastily.
– Honestly I’d rather just have a bottle of water at the seat, then serve me anything else as soon as we pass 10,000 feet.  Am I crazy?  It’s not like they’re opening anything good on the ground anyway.

4. Common meal practices 
– Maybe I’m just dense, but many of the “standard” parts of meal service just don’t make sense to me
– I understand champagne or water pre-flight, but orange juice?  It’s just flavored sugar water.  Why would I want that?
– Why would I want a bowl of mixed nuts with my champagne, if I’m about to eat (see above) like a 3+ course meal?  Nuts are incredibly filling.
– Is nutrition just not a thing, or do we pretend it doesn’t exist in the air?  I’m not advocating for broccoli, but that ramekin of nuts probably has 500+ calories in it, and that’s not even the meal…yet alone the appetizer.  Do they just think we have unlimited appetites?
– Why serve me ice cream if it’s frozen solid (Polaris) and I have to wait 10+ minutes to take the first bite?  Just–god forbid, think ahead–and take it out 10 minutes prior, then serve it to me in its intended state.

5. Waste
– What is the proper thing to do when you don’t want part of a meal?  
– What if it comes on one tray?  
– What if it’s a course in an individually-plated menu?  Does that course get tossed, or does someone get to eat it and prevent waste?
– I am probably overthinking this but, for example: Say you’re served breakfast on a tray- Omelet, fruit, yogurt, croissant, beverage.  
*What if you don’t want the yogurt?  It’s a sealed Chobani yogurt, for example. 
*Should you return it the second the tray is dropped before the FA leaves?  
*Will they even take it, if you try to give it back 10 minutes later…even if unopened?  
*Even if you give it back immediately: Does it just get tossed, or will it potentially be re-deployed (to another tray, to the flight crew, anything to prevent waste)?
– Why is a napkin served underneath every single drink?  (Looking at you, Southwest) Many times–especially domestic or in economy–the cups are plastic.  Either way–glass or plastic–the armrests and tray tables aren’t made of old wood, so what are we trying to prevent…rings?  Who cares?  It’s a plastic armrest, nothing will leave a mark.

6. Plane bedding
– Why is there a gigantic stack of pillows, mattress pad, and comforter on my seat?  I haven’t even sat down…and now I can’t until I move all this nonsense.
– Passengers are just going to shove this stuff somewhere so they can…sit…in their…seat.
– Why is this not stored in the overhead bins to begin with, then brought down on request, or offered proactively during sleep time?  

7. Refillable amenities
– What is the future of refillable amenities?  I understand it is/was a plastic waste thing originally, which I commend, but does that outweigh hygiene and safety concerns?
– Does that outweigh “authenticity” concerns?  For example, you mentioned there were [brand] products in your Germany hotel, but they smelled weird and you think it was refilled with something else.  
– Is there not reputational damage when this is done?  If I were the shampoo company I’d be upset.  Aren’t they paying some fee, or giving favorite pricing, for the wide exposure?  Wouldn’t refilling with non-authentic stuff cause brand- and reputational- harm?
– How is this any different than someone filling a Dom Perignon bottle with Andre and passing it off?

8. Airplane mode
– Planes’ systems are not “interfered with” by consumer cell phones.  Can we end this charade?  Dozens of people leave their phone on “normal” mode and the plane operates fine.  
– Why is this line still repeated without applying logic or common sense?

9. Call button etiquette
– When is it appropriate to press?  
– I’ve pressed it (in a premium cabin) if I need a refill but haven’t seen a FA in 10+ minutes. Do they hate me?
– If the cabin is hot as hell, can you press it and request the A/C be turned up/down?
– What other debatable edge-cases are there that aren’t (yet) agreed on?  I understand FAs are there for safety first, but the line is blurred when they greet you initially, help load bags, serve drinks, make small talk sometimes, etc.  Am I a monster for asking for a refill?  

10. Reprinting boarding passes
– I have a digital boarding pass, which “the system” could–presumably–tell the Ticket Agent.  
– With that said, if/when I go to drop a bag, why is a physical boarding pass always printed?  I never asked for it.  I just want to drop a bag, and am required to interact with this kiosk/employee to do so.  I never said I wanted a physical pass, and I don’t.  

11. Pilot commentary
– Why do they tell us the flight plan?  35,000 or 38,000 feet is indistinguishable, makes no difference to me, and has zero effect on me or the flight.  Just tell me if it will be smooth or turbulent.
– Why do they tell us the weather and the wind?  
– We aren’t pilots flying a plane, I don’t care about the wind, that’s your job.
– 100% of the people onboard purchased their ticket online and have internet access, let alone a smartphone they’re staring at for the entire duration of the flight.  
– If we really wanted to know the weather, we’d simply look it up in less than ten seconds.
– Even if we genuinely didn’t know the weather, telling us after landing during taxi is pointless since (1) I can’t go back in time and re-pack and (2) everyone onboard has a general idea of what the weather roughly is and, (3) if they don’t know, they’re about to find out when they deplane.  
– If It’s February and you’re flying to Chicago, probably not a surprise it’s very cold.    

12. TSA
– Do I keep my laptop in or out?  Why does this change on a daily basis?
– Do I put my personal items (phone, watch, keys, chapstick, etc.) in a little bowl on the belt, or inside my carry-on.  Are there even bowls for personal items anymore?  Why does this change regularly?  The bowls are gone forever, then they reappear a week later.
– Things like this are easy to fix/clarify but aren’t, and just contribute toward hatred of TSA.

13. Window shade etiquette
– Why is it expected that all window shades will be voluntarily closed on an overnight flight?  (What if I’m trying to adjust to the destination/different time zone?  What if I’m contemplating life?  What if I enjoy looking at stars?)
– Why is it expected that all window shades will be voluntarily closed on an early morning departure?  
– I’m not a monster, I understand common decency, but if it’s 7am: everybody on the plane woke up at 5am, physically got to the airport, went through security, etc. so they are, by definition, awake.  

14. Duty free
– How is this still a thing?  These prices don’t make sense in any scenario.  
– I’ve purchased something from duty free exactly one time: post-security, a bottle of liquor on the way to Bora Bora, where everything is famously overpriced.  Regardless of the duty free price, anything was cheaper than the prices at my destination, but this probably only applies to 1-2% of places in the world (Maldives, French Polynesia).  
– Even in this example–which is fairly niche–I didn’t purchase it because it was a good price with no “duty”, I purchased it since it was post-security and I wasn’t going to check a bottle of vodka in my checked bag.

This has sort of devolved into “old man yelling at cloud”, but I hope you see at least a couple items above that you agree with.  Whether or not they are worth a post is debatable and up to you, but just wanted to suggest some potential discussion points.  I travel extensively, as do you; we know the hidden reasons about “why” many aspects of the travel experience happen the way they do (dings on the plane, FAA-mandated safety briefings, etc.)  But to me, the above are some of the things that “grind my gears” and, to me, have no explanation as we sit here in 2026.  I can’t be the only one.

These are all valid questions and points!

I’m sure many people have wondered the same things as Brendan. We might not all agree with every point, so I’ll leave it to OMAAT readers to share their take. Let me provide my very quick opinion on each of these points:

1. Hah, I’m actually not totally opposed to the two duvets in Germany, because even if you’re comfortable sleeping next to someone, we all have different preferences when it comes to feeling warmth, how we like to snuggle with duvets, etc.
2. I think this highlights the value of dine on demand, especially for airlines with big connecting networks, where everyone is on a different sleep schedule, has a different amount of time in the lounge before departure, etc.
3. I find the whole culture around pre-departure drinks to largely be pretty dumb, especially in the US, where we’re typically talking about plastic cups with orange juice or water
4. I agree 100% on airplane orange juice, and yeah, the concept of nutrition and tracking calories simply doesn’t exist on planes
5. These are great questions about waste, and there’s no denying that a ton of food gets thrown out on airplanes; best case scenario, crews will consume fully untouched meals, but otherwise, you can assume that just about everything else will end up in the trash
6. I suspect this is a United Polaris reference (given the great bedding), and I suspect the short answer is that overhead bin space is limited to begin with, and with airlines not loading much extra bedding, the concern is that some people will end up without “their” bedding
7. As refillable hotel toiletries have increasingly become a thing, it does seem there’s also an increasing pattern of hotels not being totally honest about what they’re offering; I doubt we’ll see much of a crackdown from corporate, but maybe we should
8. Yeah, I got nothing for you when it comes to airplane mode…
9. I’ve shared my take on call button etiquette here; regarding asking for the temperature to be adjusted, it can’t hurt to ask, and the higher the cabin you’re in, the better the odds that the request will be honored
10. The reprinting of boarding passes seems like a huge waste that’s just due to some outdated system not being updated, and I fully agree
11. Pilot commentary is a funny topic, because I think some passengers really love hearing these details, while others couldn’t care less; similarly, some pilots almost take on the job of tour guide, while others can’t be bothered to provide basic details
12. The inconsistency with the TSA sure is frustrating, and likely largely comes down to transitioning to new screening technology, and figuring out the most efficient interim measures; what’s most annoying is how TSA agents yell at you, as if you should know what the policy is at their exact checkpoint
13. I’ve shared my take on window shade etiquette here; as an early riser, it drives me absolutely bonkers how the standard on morning daylight flights is to just shut all the window shades
14. Duty free exists solely because you have a captive audience with time to kill, and not because it’s generally a good deal; it’s more about consumer psychology, plus airports basically being shopping malls that just happen to have gates

While we’re at it, can I add a 15th quirk that I can’t make sense of? Why do we always hear people say “have a safe flight?” Like, when you leave some place and get in a car to go to the airport, it’s more common to have someone say “have a safe flight” than “have a safe drive?” For that matter, you’ll often have airport and airline agents say “have a safe flight.” Being on the plane is literally the safest part of your travel journey, and also what you have the least control over, so I just find it to be a strange custom.

Bottom line

An OMAAT reader shared a variety of travel quirks that he has noticed, that people might not individually put much thought into, but which sure make you wonder. He makes a lot of great points, and I appreciate his humor in all of this, so I couldn’t help but share.

They’re all great questions, and I agree with most, and have a slightly different take on others. Either way, I couldn’t help but share…

Where do you stand on these travel quirks? Which do you agree with, which do you disagree with, and do you have any explanations?