Etiquette expert William Hanson reveals how passengers SHOULD behave on a plane A survey by kayak.co.uk found passengers are ill-mannered on flights 16% admit to ditching pleasantries and ignoring neighbours on a flight 55% see red when the person in front reclines their chair without asking Etiquette expert William Hanson give his ultimate guide in good manners What is it about airplanes that makes good manners fly out of the window? Whether it's stealing an armrest, pulling up your knees and resting them against the chair in front or refusing to acknowledge your neighbour for ten hours - we behave uncharacteristically un-British when air born. Research by travel search engine kayak.co.uk proves what we've long suspected. Forgotten art: Research says we behave badly on flights so here's a manners expert's lesson in Jet-iquette The OnePoll survey questioned more than 1,000 UK travellers and found 16 per cent of us admit to dispensing with pleasantries and ignoring their neighbour during a flight, with eight per cent pretending to be asleep to avoid any kind of exchange at all. The research says that 10 per cent of us snub our time-honoured love of queuing to overtake when boarding to get a better seat on the plane and 55 per cent of us see red when the person in front reclines their chair without asking. Fly nice: The survey found that we dispense with pleasantries and ignore neighbours during flights Other top irritants, according to the poll, are overly chatty passengers, rudeness to cabin crew, eating smelly food, snoring and misbehaving children. To realign our sense of propriety, etiquette expert and author William Hanson gives us his jet-iquette guide to being the perfect plane passenger, and how to deal with ill-mannered neighbours: The Armrest Hogger Ah, the age-old armrest dispute. Think of it as a seat divider, rather than an armrest and problems will ease. Inch your way in by placing just your elbow on it, which will leave plenty of space for your greedy neighbour to use it for their elbow - then everyone's a winner. Armrest hogger: There's always room for two. Inch your way in by placing just your elbow on it The Chatterbox If your neighbour strikes up conversation, engage for a short while - it won't hurt you; they are only being friendly. We Brits find it difficult to be honest and direct but don't be afraid to say, 'I'm so sorry to be so anti-social but I'm just going to shut my eyes for a while' or words to that effect. Chatterbox: William Hanson says 'it won't hurt' to engage them for a while then tell them are going to sleep Snuggler: The best etiquette to deal with a sleeping personal space invader is by coughing to wake them up The Snuggler It's really quite flattering that the stranger next to you thinks of you as snuggle-material when they fall asleep. But one must respect personal space boundaries, especially in confined spaces. Cough repeatedly to jolt them out their slumber, they won't cuddle up to you again if they think you're harbouring germs. The Chair Recliner Sadly, the only way to deal with a Chair Recliner is to be one yourself - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Just make sure you recline your seat once the meal service has been completed. Also, a glance behind to check that they aren't using the tray table for a laptop or children's colouring book is also sensible and gives a subtle yet polite warning to the person behind. Chair recliner: Flight fire with fire on this one and recline your seat but check behind first with a quick glance Snorer: Invest in a good pair of earplugs to drown them out rather than impolitely elbowing them in the ribs The Snorer The ultimate solution to deal with the noisy sleeper would be to invest in a good pair of earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones. Many of us dream of employing a more unorthodox method: a sharp elbow to the ribs, but in reality the only way to combat the snorer is to block out the sound. The Aisle Seat Snoozer You find yourself needing the toilet during the flight but are faced with an awkward human obstacle. In the event of this happening, you are left with one option only: gently tap the sleeping offender on the shoulder and ask them to move. Under no circumstances must you attempt to clamber over the person, as it's likely you will disturb them anyway and be caught in an uncompromising straddle position. Aisle Seat Snoozer: Under no circumstances attempt to clamber over the person which will look uncouth The Merry Flyer Should you have a tipsy passenger near you, heed this warning: avoid any eye contact at all costs. Any direct exchanges with the intoxicated individual and you may land up with an enemy on your hands at 30,000 feet - or even worse, a new best friend. It's much wiser to alert the staff rather than try to intervene yourself. The Surly Cabin Crew Member Nobody likes a brisk flight attendant, but confrontation in front of others will only make matters much worse. If you have an issue, quietly ask to speak to the cabin manager or, better still, write a firm letter once home. Merry flyer: Avoid eye contact with tipsy passengers. Alert staff rather than intervening yourself Feral children: Statistically you are bound to come across feral children on pretty much any flight The Feral Child Statistically you are bound to come across feral children on pretty much any flight. If there's space, ask the cabin crew if you can move seats to get away from the little rug rats. If not, those earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones are proving to be a sound investment indeed. 10.The Seat Kicker Should the darling youngster behind be incessantly kicking your seat, simply turn around with a nice smile, and very politely ask if they would mind stopping. Resist temptation to show your distress - children act up more if they if they sense vexation in adults.