Published by Rick Seaney on June 29, 2011

Top 5 Things We Hate about Flying

Remember when flying was fun? I do. It was fun and it was a big deal. In fact, getting on a flight was a "dress up" occasion (and please see the airline dress code quiz at the end).

Nowadays, people hate to fly, and they're not too crazy about the airlines in general, either. The industry as a whole scored a dismal 65 in the annual rankings by the respected American Customer Satisfaction Index. I talked about this in my weekly column for ABCNews.com and put it in perspective by noting these organizations that scored higher than the airlines:

• Domino's Pizza
• The Post Office
• The Internal Revenue Service (electronic filers)

When the tax man beats you in a customer service contest, you know you've got problems. Just ask any flyer, which is exactly what we did on Facebook and you generously shared your air travel pet peeves. Here's a sampling:

1. Lack of Comfort

Deirdre: "I hate the tiny seats with no legroom to move!"

Peggy: "The aisles are too narrow."

Sharon: "It's the greyhound bus in the sky!"

Sandra: "Passengers who sit beside me and immediately take control of the arm rest."

2. Noisy Children

Lauren: "I can't stand the parents that refuse to discipline their kids and let them scream or hit/kick people."

3. No Meals in Coach

Carissa: "If I'm paying an arm and a leg, can't I at least get a decent snack?"

4. Airline Fees

Sherry: "We have to pay for everything, even blankets."

5. Airport Security

Sue: "I now ground-travel every chance I get due to the ridiculous TSA!!!!!!!!!"

Fees and security were hands down the biggest annoyances for our flyers, but one of our Facebook friends would actually volunteer to pay for improved security (and believe it or not, he's in the majority of flyers):

Isaac: "I would be glad to pay the fee in order to move faster, and [undergo] less of an inspection."

Airline Dress Code

Finally, some passengers say air travel would be a much better experience if their seatmates just had a better sense of, well, style. At least that's what can be deduced from Sandra's pet peeve.

Sandra: "Passengers who don't know how to dress for a flight."

But the question is, who's to say what's the right way to dress for a flight? Airline dress codes, when they exist at all, are extremely vague.

Quiz: Which Passenger Got Booted from the Plane?

Here's an airline dress code question for you. It involves two passengers ticketed for US Airways flights. Which one was not allowed to fly, A or B?

A) This passenger dressed in a fashion favored by many young men: saggy pants that allegedly revealed some of his underwear.

B) This passenger wore bikini panties, thigh-high stocking with heels; he also wore a midriff-baring top. Yes, he.

Answer: Passenger A was not allowed to fly.

So what do you like to wear on a plane? Me, I'm sticking with khakis or Levis.