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A week or two ago, View from the Wing did a piece about passengers who tap the plane as they enter it. He described it as:

… it’s a ritual that anthropomorphizes the aircraft. You’re greeting the plane. Or you’re treating it as a pet, “stroking a horse before riding.” You’re also personalizing the journey, mixing yourself with the aircraft and thinking of yourself as one. Or you’re just connecting to the wonder – you’re about to sit in a chair in the sky and move at 500 miles per hour, how can you not want to touch such an amazing machine?

I don’t know how many people think of tapping the plane in quite those ways, but regardless, it is indeed a ritual that many people take part in.

So yeah…rituals

Psychology Today suggests that:

• Rituals are a fixed sequence of behaviors that have no instrumental purpose but are imbued with meaning.
• Performing a ritual before a stressful task lowers heart rate and anxiety.

Both would make sense, especially just before you’re about to fly through the air in a tin can, with no control over that flight whatsoever. Anything that helps to decrease a passenger’s anxiety is a good thing.

But it got me wondering what other rituals are out there – as either habit, superstition, or a conscious attempt to calm down – that passengers participate in before their flight starts. Here’s what I found in terms of the rituals many adults do on planes, and why they do them:

Common Travel Rituals and Superstitions

Bringing a stuffed animal

Some adults bring a stuffed animal, typically a childhood favorite, as a source of comfort during their travels.

Cleaning everything you touch

This ritual might not be “plane safety” as much as “germ safety.” Even before COVID, people have always used Purell, Clorox Wipes, etc., to wipe down the seat arms, seat belt, tray table, IFE screen, etc.

Counting for Calm

Doing anything that’s familiar and repetitive is a way to make a person feel calmer (that’s why some people clean the house or put decorations on their Christmas tree on election night). It’s probably why some people count (either things, such as number of people seated in front of them, or just counting in their head) while their plane is taking off.

(Full disclosure – I tend to be a counter. Not so much on planes, but during the holiday season, if we’re in the car and I’m not driving, I’ll count the number of houses that are decorated. I started doing it when I was a little kid; back then I used to do it out loud and it drove my father crazy!)

Carrying a Good Luck Charm

A good luck charm can run the gamut from a rabbit’s foot to a “lucky” piece of clothing (think along the lines of lucky socks, a lucky shirt, etc.). Some people will play their “lucky” song, over and over, during takeoff (with noise-canceling headphones on, of course).

Holding hands

Parents hold a child’s hand for safety. But even as an adult, holding hands can still make a person feel protected and therefore calmer.

Avoiding Certain Rows

Some, but not all airlines skip certain rows. Some passengers don’t care what row they do or don’t sit in, but for others it’s a very important thing, to the point where they won’t sit in a seat in certain rows, because it’s “bad luck.”

Saying a prayer or mantra

Going back to doing things that are familiar and repetitive, some people pray, recite Bible verses, say a mantra or bless themselves before a flight – there’s the familiar/repetitive factor, along with the hope that one’s deity of choice will be listening.

Self-Medicating Before the Flight

Some people ritually order a drink or two before the flight (and then maybe another one or two while they’re in the sky). Alcohol is a mild sedative so it’s a more socially accepted way for people to calm down before a flight.

Sitting on your suitcase

This one seems to be limited to Russian passengers. But they’re known to sit on their luggage and have a moment of reflection about their upcoming journey as a way to hopefully have good luck.

Do You Have Any Flying Rituals?

How about you? Do you have any rituals or superstitions around flying?

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary