Who loves turbulence, airline food and the middle seat? They do

Passengers do not need much of a reminder that the golden age of commercial aviation is well behind them.

Climate change has worsened some types of turbulence, meal service has shrunk to the size of a snack box and airlines have crammed in seats. And do not get United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy started on travellers in pyjamas.

But not everyone hates the things that most people find unlovable about air travel. Some fliers long for turbulence that feels like a Six Flags theme park ride, savour that tiny plastic dish of lasagna or happily soak up every centimetre of the middle seat.

Strange as it may seem, these oddly joyful travellers may have something to teach the rest of people about enduring – and even appreciating – the small indignities of travel, if they shift their perspective.

“We all take our dignity down a level when we board a plane,” said Ms Vicki Denig, 34, who writes about wine and travel from Paris and New York. “And I think that there’s a little bit of humour to be found in that.”

Turbulence: The thrill seekers

A captain warning passengers of a “few bumps ahead” over the announcement system can elicit anxiety for many, and anticipation for a few. I asked an airline pilot what he thought drove those who felt excited.

“Some people are soothed by the ripples of light turbulence,” said Mr Patrick Smith, a commercial pilot who writes about aviation. “It helps them sleep.”

Of course, a pilot would say that. But some fliers genuinely relish the turbulence itself.

“It’s just fun,” said Mr Harshit Baranwal, a technology worker who frequently posts on social media about aviation.

“It’s the roller-coaster feeling that you feel in the belly when the plane goes up and down,” added the 34-year-old, who lives in Mumbai, India, where monsoons can make for choppy take-offs and landings.

Mild-to-moderate bumps, a normal part of flying, are far from the violent – and, in rare cases, deadly – shaking that has become more common in the skies as the planet warms. That kind of turbulence, unsurprisingly, does not have a discernible fan base.

Turbulence is no different from the motion of a boat rocked by waves, said Mr Matthew Cappucci, a Washington-based meteorologist, journalist and storm chaser who has been obsessed with weather since early childhood.

“The atmosphere is a fluid,” Mr Cappucci said in an interview, “just as much of a fluid as a lake or the ocean.”

For him, turbulence is not an uncomfortable experience, but the wonder of physics at work.

He knows his enthusiasm is uncommon. Years ago, he and his mother were on a flight that was experiencing severe turbulence. The plane made several sharp drops, which thrilled him but terrified his mum. He tried to calm her with a cheerful discourse on science.

“My mother told me to shut up,” Mr Cappucci said.

Middle seats: The Zen masters

As you jostle for centimetres on the shared armrests, it is hard to imagine that rare person who becomes excited about Seats B and E.

It turns out that even the middle seat has devoted fans.

“Unpopular fact, but someone needs to say it. The middle seat on an airplane is the best seat,” content creator Joshua Whitt wrote in a TikTok post last summer. “It’s like a midair cuddle that you don’t deserve, but you are privileged to have.”

Others take a more philosophical view. The act of calmly occupying the middle seat, they say, is a Zen-like practice, the ultimate lifehack. Master the middle seat and nothing will master you.

Mr James Cashen, 26, works in advertising and lives in New York City’s Brooklyn borough. But his girlfriend moved to Utah, which means he is on a plane two or three times a month.

He admits to being “cheap”, so he often ends up in the middle seat, but does not mind it.

His secret coping power is to strike up conversations with the passengers who flank him. The person in the middle seat holds sway over the vibe of the entire row, Mr Cashen said. Will the three of you zone out to podcasts, stew in silence or have a lively conversation?

“Embrace the leadership role,” he advised other middle-seaters. “You’re the glue.”

Airline food: The single-serving optimists

Judging by social media images bemoaning pallid cuts of chicken or gravelly oatmeal, passengers do not feel particularly lucky, despite efforts to perk up those meals by people like Mr Anthony Wright, director of design and innovation at LSG Sky Chefs, which says it produces 233 million airline meals a year.

“People’s taste buds change in the air,” Mr Wright said. “They say that the palate is dulled.”

Rather than adding salt and pepper, he said, chefs have turned to spices influenced by the cuisines of countries like India and Malaysia.

But some passengers love airline meals just the way they are.

Ms Linda Christina Karam, 26, a marketing executive who divides her time between Lebanon and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, liked the predictability of airline food. In a society suffering from decision fatigue, she finds the limited menu comforting.

The high-altitude setting also plays a big role for her. “There’s something about airplane food that makes it good. You’re only ever going to eat it on a plane.”

She scoffed at people who bring food from the terminal to eat during the flight. “That removes the whole plane experience,” she said.

Her advice for anyone hesitant about the lasagna, the tiny salad or one of those inexplicably cold dinner rolls works just as well in other parts of life: “You’ve got to just risk it.” NYTIMES