Discover the indisputable rules of domestic plane etiquette.

Planes can be a wild place. All of a sudden, you’re forced into the personal space of many random strangers. You even have to share the (rather unpleasant) air with them. And something about that turns otherwise civilised people into animals. Debates on plane etiquette will pop up on the internet time and again, but we have the unquestionable list that all plane passengers should be following for a brighter world.

Read on, and take note.

1. Never put your seat back

There is never an excuse to lower the back of your seat on a domestic flight. Domestic planes are much tighter spaces and those of us who are six foot and over simply cannot squeeze our legs into the tiny gap that is left when the chair in front of us is leaning back. The maximum length of flight around Australia is what, five hours? You can sit upright for five hours. If you can’t… catch the train.

2. Don’t dig into the seat in front

Unless the seat in front of you has broken rule number one, don’t dig, bang or hang on their seat back. But if they have broken rule number three, well then they’ve made their own bed and they can get kneed in the back for it.

3. Armrests are for the middle seat

I don’t know how to make this any clearer – the middle seat sucks and the only saving grace is having both the armrests. The aisle seat has its own armrest, and the window seat can lean into the wall of the plane.

I will die on this hill.

4. Keep your feet to yourself

It’s the eternal mystery, but for some reason there will always be people who can’t grasp where their foot space begins and ends on a plane. Some people will also get hung up on the barefoot issue, but to be honest, I truly don’t care as long as you keep your foot in the imaginary box of your chair. And, just to remind you all, I am a tall woman saying this. If I can do it, so can you.

5. Be polite

Just as with hotel staff, the obvious, yet often ignored, answer to getting the best out of people is simply to be kind and polite. That goes for both the airline staff, and your fellow guests. If you ask for things nicely and respectfully, more often than not, you’ll receive an agreeable answer. Yes, even when things seem to be going wrong.

6. Don’t push someone to switch seats

Sometimes, in plane travel, you will not be seated next to your party. Sucks to be you, but may I just say: too bad. If it’s important to sit next to your travel companions – be they friend, lover or offspring – pay the extra $20 to choose your seat ahead of time.

What you certainly should not do is guilt a fellow passenger into switching seats with you just because they’re travelling solo. If you have the same seat (or better, you may ask the question – in a casual, guilt-free tone. But if the answer is no, sit yourself down and buckle up for a ride without your nearest and dearest. It’s no one else’s fault that you’re not sitting together, and it’s likely every person on that plane has been very intentional about their seat choice.

Controversially, as someone who does love kids, I also have to apply this to parents and kids. There may be some slim exceptions to this, but in general, it’s no excuse to behave poorly.

7. Switch if you can, though

Having said that, if you’re flying solo and the seat swap you’re being asking for is the exact same position (or better) in a different row, you really should just say yes. If they’re trying to force you into a middle seat though, you hold strong on that no.

8. Don’t hog the overhead bins

Some passengers are just so darn desperate to fit everything into a carry on bag, that they screw everyone else over by hogging more than their fair share of the overhead bins. The rules are, one small bag up the top, one even smaller.

9. Wait your turn to get off the plane

There is an order to deboarding the plane, and it goes row by row. We can all agree on that. However, I do have just a couple of caveats. The first is if someone is desperate to go to the toilet, they can’t get to the plane toilet because the aisles are filled, and they’re very open and honest about the desperate need to get to the loo with passengers around them who are perhaps moving a little slowly – just step aside for one moment and let them run off. Don’t be such a stickler for the etiquette rules that you literally elbow them to stop them getting in front of you, even though you’re in no way ready to walk off the plane.

Pointing this out for a friend, not from my own life. Personally.

The other is that if someone is literally ready to race off the second the plane lands, no need to gather things or get a bag from the overhead locker, probably just let them go.