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If you’re at an airport, more often than not, you have one of two goals. You either want to get on that plane and get to where you’re going, or you want to get off that plane, gather your belongings, and get to where you’re going (OK, there are aviation geeks who would be happy to just watch the planes all day, but they’re their own echelon of plane people. No offense intended).

Not surprisingly, people in the aviation industry have their own goals, and of course, many are about, essentially, getting you to do what they want you to do.

Here are some of them:

Airlines

Different ways to charge you more

Airlines, not surprisingly, want to make as much money off you as possible. That’s why, for example, they don’t allow name changes on tickets (well, most don’t. These airlines do). It’s also why they now charge for checked bags and choosing seats, fight tooth and nail against expanding passenger’s rights for reimbursement, etc.

Or how they can save money

And when airlines aren’t trying to charge you more, they’re looking at ways to save money. Some of the little ways they’ve done that are fascinating. And some are just annoying (I’m looking at you, United!).

How airline employees communicate with you

Did you ever wonder why the Captain always makes the “welcome speech” on the PA? There’s a reason for that. If there’s ever an emergency, the Captain, who is always in charge and makes the final decision for everything aboard the aircraft, wants to ensure that all passengers become aware of his/her voice so that if there’s an emergency situation, they’ll pay more attention and hopefully be more willing to follow their directions.

What they say and how they say it is also taken into consideration. For example, situations that might be more of an emergency will mean the Captain will sound more serious. He or she will also reiterate how important it is to follow the directions of the flight attendants (read: the Captain will delegate authority to the flight attendants as needed).

However airlines also want you to stay calm while you’re packed together in a tin can, so they use specific design choices. Flight attendants will also purposely show a calm demeanor, will offer smiles and eye contact, and speak to passengers in a respectful manner, to reflect a level of calmness. They’re also trained in how to de-escalate a situation if they have a passenger who appears stressed, anxious or threatening.

Airports

But as airlines have figured out ways to nickel and dime you for everything and then charge you even more, airports have their own ways of manipulating you.

Tacky tourist shops

Nearly all airports have shops that sell, well, crap. T-shirts. Knick knacks. Really bad neck pillows. They do this because they know that people see cute stuff that has to do with their vacation, and they often can’t resist. Case in point? The movie Sleepless in Seattle was released in 1993. That was over 30 years ago, but T-shirts that say “Sleepless in Seattle” on them are still a #1 seller in Sea-Tac.

Carpeted floors

I bet you thought airports put carpet on their floors just so they look nice, right? That’s not why; this is.

Airport design

The design of an airport is, by no means, something that “just happened” – they’re planned specifically so you’ll potentially buy more.

Don’t believe me? Ask him!

Mentour_Pilot (a.k.a. “Peter”) describes himself as a Youtuber, father, husband, pilot and Swede (in that order). He has social media accounts up the ying yang, including TikTok, Discord, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, but as far I’m concerned, his best page is his YouTube account, where he shares industry secrets and, shall we say, “not so secrets but still fun to hear about.”

Anyway, MentourPilot was the one who originally posted “5 ways you are manipulated by airports.” Here’s what he has to say about it:

I already know some of what he said (as you could tell from the date stamp on some of the links I included to some older posts). But I still learned a thing or two.

How about you?

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary