What infuriates travellers the most

From flyers who recline their seats immediately after take-off to people who cough and sneeze without using a tissue, there are many travel habits that are infuriating. 

Now a new survey, commissioned by travel eSIM company Saily, has revealed the travel habits that are most annoying. 

Coughing or sneezing without covering up and leaving litter on the beach annoy Australians the most (52% of travellers find these annoying).

Then there are loud talkers in public places, and people who fly barefooted. 

Two offences tied for first place: coughing or sneezing without covering up and leaving litter on the beach: both hated by 52% of travellers across the country. Over‑reclined seats took third place (50%).

Noise dominates the rest of the list: loud arguments (47%), talking too loudly on a train, bus or plane (46%), speakerphone calls (43%) and music or videos without headphones (42%). 

Rounding out the top 10 were idle chatter in quiet spaces (42%), smelly snacks (40%) and playing loud music in public spaces (39%).

Classic holiday irritations - like guests reserving pool chairs for hours or showing up late for excursions - didn’t make the top 10. 

But many travellers admit their own sins. 

No fewer than 25% confessed to standing up the moment the plane lands, and one in four (24%) admitted to peeing in the sea, or a lake. 

“We wanted to take an honest look at travel habits,” says Vykintas Maknickas, CEO of Saily, the company that commissioned the survey. 

“The holiday season is one of the busiest times to travel, and with so many people in motion at once, it’s the perfect moment to see what really annoys us on the road – and how often we’re the ones doing it.”

A total of 57% of travellers said they’ve asked someone to stop doing something irritating, suggesting that even though many admit to their own bad habits, they’re still willing to speak up when others cross the line.

Maknickas notes that there are ways that can help smooth out traveling experience. “Nobody wants to start their trip by becoming somebody else’s travel horror story. Being mindful, putting in a little preparation and packing some technology items can help.”

The survey was conducted by the external companies Cint and Norstat on November 17–December 2, 2025. The survey’s target group were residents of the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Spain and Japan aged 18-74. 

For more info see https://saily.com/blog/annoying-tourist-behaviors/

Image: Tiago Gomes, Scop.io

Airbus failure causes global flight chaos

An Airbus software glitch is causing chaos around the globe, with thousands of weekend flights cancelled.

Airbus said it was ordering immediate updates to 6,000 of its widely used A320 range of jets - affecting more than half the global fleet.

The news came during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States and is causing disruption at airports around the world.

Airbus ordered airlines to undertake software modifications on its A320s after it discovered the risk of errors in the plane's flight control systems.

It was among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history. The plane is flown by more than 350 airlines and some 11,300 A320s are in operation.

The fix involves reverting to earlier software and is relatively simple, but reportedly must be carried out before the planes can fly again, a bulletin issued to airlines says.

The world's largest A320 operator, American Airlines, said some 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft would need the fix. It said it mostly expected these to be completed by Saturday with about two hours required for each plane.

Other airlines affected include Lufthansa, United and easyJet.

In Australia, thousands of travellers’ flight plans were thrown into chaos.

Budget airline Jetstar has cancelled or delayed 90 flights while rolling out urgent software updates to 34 of its planes.

Korean Air plans major upshift in operations after big aircraft order

 

Korean Air is planning major increases in its services after announcing ts largest-ever order of new aircraft.

The airline has this week ordered 103 planes from Boeing in a deal that travel news hub Travel Mole reports is worth about $US36 billion.

The order includes narrow and wide bodies with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 777 and 737 jet aircraft.

Boeing’s commercial planes chief, Stephanie Pope, called it a "landmark agreement".

Korean Air will buy 50 Boeing 737-10 jets and 45 787 and 777 long-range jets.

The airline has also ordered eight 777-8 Freighter cargo jets.

Boeing says the order will provide work for about 135,000 people across the US.

Korean Air has placed orders for more than 150 planes with Boeing so far this year.

British Airways ranked bottom of the class

It is the news no airline wants to hear: that it has been named worst in the world. 

I haven't flown British Airways for a very long time. Not since some uniformed haridan shouted "just wait!" at me when I was foolish enough to request a snack. 

And apparently things have not improved. 

British Airways has dropped to the bottom of consumer group Which?’s annual satisfaction survey for the first time, alongside the appalling Air Canada.

Which? asked nearly 8,000 UK travellers across more than 9,000 flights to rank airlines based on punctuality, customer service, seat comfort, food and value for money. 

It then merged those findings with delays and cancellation data from the Civil Aviation Authority to compile its final list.

So British Airways, which once called itself the ‘world’s favourite airline’ is hated by its own customers. 

The airline got an overall customer rating of 62% for long-haul flights. It only mustered up two out of five stars in several categories, including seat comfort, food and drink and value for money. 

But Which? says the problem isn’t necessarily that BA has got worse (it actually improved on its 2018 score of 50%), but that other airlines have got better.

Though BA got an even lower score of 57% in Which?’s short-haul ranking, it didn’t come dead last. It scored higher than Lufthansa, Wizz Air and Ryanair (which earned just one star for seat comfort and food and drink).

Here's the long-haul list, with Australia's Qantas ranking fourth: 

Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Delta Airlines, KLM
United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Tui Airways, Aer Lingus
American Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Air Canada/ British Airways. 

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “British Airways' poor performance in our survey shows how far it has fallen from the days when it was seen as setting the standards others should aspire to.

“There’s a clear disparity between airlines at the top and at the bottom of the rankings. The top performers show it is possible to give passengers good service at a time when delays, cancellations and terrible customer service have become almost the norm.

“Some airlines seem to think they can get away with treating their customers badly, knowing they are unlikely to face consequences in a sector with weak regulations.” 

British Airways said the research was "entirely at odds with comments from the hundreds of thousands of customers" who travel on their airline. Well they would, wouldn't they?

For short-haul airlines in Europe, Jet2 took first place for the fourth consecutive year.

Virgin Australia ushers in new aviation era

Today marks the start of a new era for Virgin Australia, which has taken delivery of its first new, fuel-efficient Boeing 737-8 aircraft in Seattle.

The new MAX family aircraft are fitted out with next generation seats which include device holders and in-seat power, and are 40% quieter and at least 15%more fuel efficient per flight compared to the 737-800 NG fleet, the airline said in a statement.

The acquisition came on the same day as Virgin’s inaugural Cairns-Tokyo (Haneda) service, which will operate using the 737-8 aircraft from the end of July.

VH-8IA is one of 33 MAX family aircraft that will join the Virgin Australia fleet over the next five years.

Virgin Australia Chief Operations Officer Stuart Aggs said the new MAX family aircraft are a critical part of the airline’s transformation.

“These new aircraft will allow us to grow capacity and support more efficient jet services,” he said.

“And, importantly, they will reduce emissions by at least 15% per flight compared to the 737-800 NG fleet, supporting our commitment to targeting net zero emissions by 2050.

“While our approach to decarbonisation is multi-faceted, fleet modernisation is a critical part of progressing our sustainability ambitions and represents a significant opportunity to reduce our emissions intensity in the near term.

“We expect our fleet renewal program, combined with other fuel efficiency initiatives, to support over 80%of our 2030 interim target to reduce Virgin Australia’s carbon emission intensity by 22%.”