If You're Young, Male, And Smoke... Take The Bus?

A study conducted by Britain's Civil Air Authority purports to have identified the "typical" plane passenger who is susceptible to the phenomenon known as "air rage." And the result? If you're a flight attendant... you'd best be advised to watch out for males in their 30s, who are upset after being told they can't smoke on the airliner.

If that male passenger is alone, that's another sign of potential trouble, said the CAA -- as the majority of air rage incidents involved passengers travelling solo.

"The study turns the conventional image of air rage somewhat on its head," said an unidentified British Airways employee to Scotland on Sunday. "The idea that they are all groups of drunks is quite wrong; smoking is actually just as significant as a cause of air rage incidents."

Not surprisingly, though, alcohol abuse does also rate as a potential warning sign, with two-fifths of the over 3,600 air rage incidents studied since 2001 involving alcohol... and a third of those resulting from passengers who carried their own drinks onboard the plane.

And alas, if you're stuck in coach, you're even more likely to go postal onboard a plane, according to the study. Only one percent of such incidents occurred in business, or first class seats.

As bad as these figures reflect on travellers, however, a spokesman for the British Air Transport Association reminded everyone to keep the study's findings in proper context.

"Air rage is an issue which the whole industry takes seriously, [but] they only affect a tiny minority of the flights in and out of the UK every year."

FMI: www.caa.co.uk/