Annoying Habits That Make Business Travellers Cringe
The second you enter the airport, you align yourself with one of two travel camps: the business traveller, who often spends more time in airports than the airport employees do, or the lay traveller who, starry-eyed and overpacked, maintains a curious level of excitement for 5am flights and overpriced coffee.
Needless to say, business travellers and lay travellers are about as compatible as a Japanese electrical plug in an Israeli outlet.
Travel can be stressful, but these 5 annoying lay travel habits are enough to put frazzled business travellers over the edge.
1. An abundance of luggage
A wallet, a briefcase, and maybe a carry-on. As a business traveller, you love the freedom of travelling light, bypassing the baggage drop, and scoffing at those fools who require the assistance of a cumbersome luggage cart.
That is, until you’re stuck in the security line behind people who need 17 trays just for the contents of their purses and pockets. Or sandwiched between two fragrant strangers as you wait for the woman in front of you to stash her umpteenth carry-on bag in the already bulging overhead compartment.
How long are you people travelling for, a decade?!
2. Nonstop airplane chatting
Your flight is just another part of your workday, and to that effect you need every minute between takeoff and landing to get stuff done.
Enter the lay traveller, who’s determined to make you a part of their vacation memories. Not only do they want to know where you’re going and why; they want to talk family, kids, politics, religion, philosophy, and show you pictures of their cats.
Listen up, lay travellers: having headphones in and a laptop open are two universal signs for a
NO CHATTING ZONE.
3. Fashion faux pas
Whether you’re in the airport or doing business in your destination, your business travel attire must accomplish two goals: give off an air of professionalism that says “I’m not on vacation,” and refrain from offending local customs and sensibilities.
Why can’t lay travellers get on board with the latter?
Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean everyone else is. And just because you’re a plane ride away from home doesn’t mean it’s time to break out the flip flops, sun hats, and midriff-baring tanks – unless you’re in Key West. Or the Caribbean.
For all other destinations, do a little research so you’re not deepening the local’s distaste for foreigners with each bikini string you (un)tie.
4. The wrong luggage
It’s tough to make this mistake as a business traveller, especially if you’ve mastered the art of travelling light.
That’s why it’s so annoying to see backpacks in suitcase-obvious places, and suitcases in backpack-obvious places.
Lay traveller, listen up: if your trip involves lots of walking, bus rides, and a developing country, for godsake bring a backpack. Wheeled suitcases and rocky dirt roads do not mix!
5. Neanderthal aisle shoving
Why are lay travellers in such a damn hurry to deplane? Unlike the business traveller, who actually has a meeting to get to, the lay traveller becomes aggressive at the thought of spending one more second of their vacation cooped up on board.
This aggression manifests as pushing, shoving, and skipping in line to get three seats closer to the exit than they were before. Classy!
Okay, so maybe business travellers take things a bit too seriously, intently crouching over their tablets while everyone else is busy ordering their second cocktail.
But without the serious dedication of the serious business traveller, airports and world cities would be filled with nothing but sunburned Australians and sloppy Americans talking way too loudly as they photograph something that shouldn’t be.
It is the duty of the business traveller to sigh exasperatedly at the overstuffed luggage, begrudgingly relinquish the armrest to their clueless neighbor, and maintain a level of travel civility that says “Can’t you see I’m working?”
Rebecca Anne Nguyen is a freelance writer and the Founder of TheHappyPassport.com, an inspiration site for solo female travellers.
