By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
More than 11 million Koreans traveled overseas last year, about one out of every four people.
People are now well aware of the etiquette to be kept in the plane, but there are still passengers who make other travelers' trip unpleasant.
Here are the five worst behaviors on flights that cabin crew selected.
Quite a few passengers walk up and down the aisles in search of vacant seats, as they want to stretch themselves out for a rest on a set of two or more seats.
However, sudden change of seats is against in-flight etiquette and can cause safety problems due to weight distribution in the plane.
Airlines distribute seats by calculating the aircraft's weight and balance at landing and takeoff. For example, if a passenger has a seat at the left front of the plane, the next passenger will get a seat at the right back of the plane.
Passengers need to use their designated seats, and should ask for the cabin crew's consent if they want to move.
Some passengers, tired of long flight, put their feet on the armrests of the seats in front of them. But for the person in that seat, there's nothing more unpleasant than to see someone's feet put on his or her armrest.
In the meantime, passengers in the front seats are required to straighten their seats back when in-flight meals are served, as those behind them have difficulty in eating because their tables are attached to the seats in front.
If the feet of the passenger in the back seat stink, the passenger in the front row may not straighten his or her seat when having in-flight meals as a small act of revenge.
Few passengers walk about on the plane barefoot. But many do in socks, without wearing their shoes.
However, it is true that it's not easy to wear shoes during the whole flight time that sometimes lasts more than 10 hours, as feet are easily swollen on the plane due to low air pressure.
It is okay to take off shoes, but it is recommended to wear overshoes or slippers that airlines provide.
Korean passengers tend to drink the free alcohol on the plane excessively.
People get drunk more easily while flying because the air pressure is different, and the human body absorbs alcohol more easily in a plane where the humidity is low, as water in the body evaporates more.
Those drinking without considering this may disturb nearby passengers, and, if excessive, can be arrested and charged with air rage.
Although the cabin crew is instructed not to serve more than three glasses of alcohol successively, some honeymooners are already drunk when boarding the plane.
Some passengers call stewardesses ``eonni,'' a Korean word used when a woman calls her elder sister or another woman who is older than her.
The word is now widely used when people call female workers at shops or restaurants, and even men use the term _ some of them do the same when calling flight attendants.
Some others call attendants ``imo,'' a word referring to a sister of one's mother but now also widely used when calling middle-aged female restaurant owners or workers.
Some even poke flight attendants in the ribs with their fingers or tap them on the shoulder or arms in order to call them. You'd better just press the call button.