✈ Let’s Talk About Airplane Etiquette, Citi’s Exciting New Transfer Partner & More From TPG ✈

September 22, 2026

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Who gets the armrest? Who controls the window shade? Who deplanes first?

by Clint Henderson, Principal Spokesperson

Don’t be a jerk on the plane. We all know that much about airline etiquette, but what are the actual rules on the plane?

We surveyed more than 2,500 Americans on the rules of flying to find out.

Fasten your seatbelt. Some of these responses really surprised us.

Let’s start with armrests. We’ve always said that middle-seat passengers get the armrests, but we were shocked to see how few people agree with us.

Perhaps not so surprising: A lot of Americans believe passenger behavior has gotten worse over the past five years. But they don’t blame the airlines. Instead, they blame fellow passengers.

Here are a few of our other favorite findings:

Is reclining OK? Most American travelers aren’t opposed to reclining, but there’s an important catch.
Who deplanes first? Most agree on this sequence.
Seat swapping: People are more open to this than you might expect, but that doesn’t mean you have to say yes when asked.
Courtesy counts: Overall, the survey suggests travelers aren’t necessarily asking airlines to police passenger behavior more aggressively. They mostly want people to be considerate.

The single biggest complaint? Noise. So please, for goodness sake, put on headphones before you take that call or blast that YouTube video.

Check out our report for the full breakdown. Essentially, Americans want fewer rules and more courtesy on planes. Good luck with that!

Want some related reading? Check out these articles:

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Photo Credit: Alexander Farnsworth.

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Today’s top stories

Citi adds an exciting new airline transfer partner — with a 30% bonus

Citi points now transfer to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, opening up some excellent award options — with a limited-time 30% transfer bonus available at launch.

1,000 flights (and counting) canceled on East Coast: What options do travelers have?

Here are TPG's tips for navigating Monday's mass flight cancellations on the East Coast after an FAA outage.

American Airlines’ expanding partnership with Starlux will include mileage and status earning

American Airlines and Starlux are expanding their partnership with a new codeshare agreement: AAdvantage® members purchasing a codeshare flight can earn miles and Loyalty Points.

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Accor's MGallery is expanding in the US, with New York City's Ink 48 set to become the boutique hotel brand's flagship property in 2028.

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