‘Builder’s bum’ top offence for flyers reveals Skyscanner

Last week an American woman revealed how she was asked not to board a flight because her exposed cleavage was deemed inappropriate by Southwest Airlines’ staff.
 

However, new research by Skyscanner has shown that passengers’ biggest pet peeve of their fellow flyers is in fact cleavage of a different sort: ‘builder’s bum’.

The term refers to the exposure of the cleft between a man’s buttocks, normally due to ill-fitting trousers and careless bending over. In the Skyscanner survey of over 2700 people, this topped the list of things that travellers find most offensive about their travelling kin, taking a hefty 28% of the vote. 

Personal hygiene was the second biggest turn-off for flyers, with ‘sweat patches on clothes’ taking 22% of the vote. Despite the Southwest Airlines cleavage incident, the Skyscanner survey showed that ladies with low-cut tops actually caused relatively little offence, taking just 4% of the vote. They were more offended by other areas of flesh on display, with 18% not wanting to see their fellow passengers’ midriff or ‘beer belly’ on show.

For 23% of passengers it’s the choice of clothes rather than lack of them proves most off-putting –  ‘offensive logos on t-shirts’ took 12%, while that favourite fashion faux-pas of wearing white socks with sandals gets under the skin of 9% of travellers.

Sam Poullain, Skyscanner spokesman, commented:

“Whilst we’re sure that Southwest Airlines were just trying to keep their passengers happy, airlines need to stay abreast of what’s really offensive. If luggage fees continue to rise perhaps we’ll see less flesh on display as the trend is for people to wear more clothes on-board to avoid paying check-in baggage charges.”

Most offensive attributes of passengers on planes

1. Men revealing ‘builder’s bum’ (28%)
2. Sweat patches on clothes (22%)
3. Midriff/beer belly on show (18%)
4. Offensive logos on t-shirts (12%)
5. White socks and sandals (9%)
6. Ladies with low cut tops displaying cleavage (4%)
7. Men with hairy chest on show (2%)
8. Noisy jewellery (2%)
9. Football shirts (1%)
10. Flip flops (0.5%)
 Other (1.5%)