Flight Etiquette Advice on Tipping, Heckling, and Working

May 20, 2010 — -- Q: I was recently flying to NYC for a business meeting and found myself seated next to someone who works at my company's closest competitor. (He was wearing a polo shirt with their logo.) I didn't introduce myself, thinking it'd be best not to speak with him.

However, I was planning to do some work on the flight—I was going to my meeting straight from the airport and needed to update a presentation. The presentation was not something I felt comfortable opening within view of a competitor, however. So I went to the meeting without making the changes. My boss was there too, and she was not happy with me. I think I made the right choice, though. Right?

A: You actually made one right choice and a bunch of wrong ones. Let me break this down.

First of all, let's talk about confidential information. Something's either confidential or it's not. If it is confidential, you have no business working on it on a plane, period. Always operate under the assumption that the person sitting next to you works for your competitor, whether or not they're wearing a polo shirt with that company's logo. So, yes, you made the right call not to open the file, but you shouldn't have been planning to work on it on the plane to begin with. Airplane seats are simply too close together for that.

Second, why on earth didn't you introduce yourself? If you see someone wearing your competitor's logo, the first words out of your mouth should be "Hello, do you work for Company ABC? I'm with Company XYZ." I think that's just a professional courtesy, and it wouldn't kill you to network.

So okay, you couldn't make the changes on the plane. I think you should've called your boss as soon as you deplaned, though, and explained why. Then she could decide whether to have you finish your work in the airport (somewhere private, please), even if it would make you late to the meeting, or if she'd rather stay on schedule and live without the edits.