What's worse... sitting next to a screaming kid during a crowded flight or settling in next to a person who smells....really bad? The DDB Life Style Study asked Americans what they considered the most unpleasant experience to have on an airplane.
The worst of the worst? Sitting next to somebody with strong body odor. It was the choice of 64% of the participants.
23% consider getting the seat next to a crying baby the worst. Parents with kids five or under were more tolerant of this "annoyance."
"Considering there are several movements currently taking place to create family-only sections of aircrafts, we were surprised to find that crying babies didn't rate higher as an annoyance to airline travelers," said James Lou, U.S. Chief Strategist at DDB. "There has been a lot of press indicating that people wish there were child-free flights. Stories of lawsuits about passengers claiming hearing loss as a result of sitting next to screaming children and news of families who were removed from flights because of their unruly children have received a lot of attention, but apparently those issues are in reality less bothersome than others."
Sitting next to boring people who won't stop talking... that irked 8% of the people the most.
Only 6% picked sitting next to an obese person as the their top complaint.
"Given how much conversation there has been around overweight individuals having to pay for an extra seat on some airlines, we were also surprised to find that sitting next to an obese person was the least bothersome to our respondents," added Lou. "It seems that we as a society may be more tolerant of overweight people than some of the new airline policies would have us believe."
About DDB
DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc (www.ddb.com) ranks among the top five consolidated advertising and marketing services global networks, according to Advertising Age. With more than 200 offices in over 90 countries, the DDB Group helps grow the value and influence of leading brands around the world. DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC).
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