Add in the jet-lag and nobody is a very happy camper. Then there’s the possibility that your flight was overbooked and you really, really could not take those free air miles to travel at a later date, but seemingly nobody else could either, so you didn’t know until the very last second if you could even get on the plane, and you may be a little anxious. The lady on the flight desk has made all kinds of assumptions about you based on your appearance and has treated you as rudely as possible. And of course, throw in the fear that someone on the plane may be a terrorist, and nobody is willing to be very friendly. On top of all that, your friend whom you’re travelling with got bumped up to business class on his very first flight, while you have been travelling for years and have *never* been upgraded. While he sits in luxury, *you* had to stay behind in coach.

Yup, all of this will combine to make this traveller *very* grumpy.

I’ve been hearing recently that post 9/11 USA airline security measures and attitudes of security staff has been putting off international travellers. I guess the assumption that you, dear non-American traveller, are guilty and are treated as such by security officials (with a rude, unwelcoming, ‘let’s corral the cattle’ fashion) may make you want to go elsewhere on your next holiday. This is apparently hurting tourist destinations like Las Vegas and Florida.