Flying isn’t always fun, but we all try to make the best of it. On a recent flight, though, I ended up next to a newlywed couple who seemed determined to make everyone around them miserable—and I wasn’t about to let it slide.

I first spotted them at the gate, grinning in their matching “Just Married” shirts. Harmless enough. But once we boarded, things took a turn. They took up the entire overhead bin, gave me attitude when I asked for space, then spent most of the flight talking way too loudly about very personal things. Even after the flight attendant asked them to quiet down, they just kept going—like they were the stars of the show.

The final straw? They pulled out a portable speaker and started blasting music. When told to stop, they denied it was even theirs. At that point, it felt less like cluelessness and more like a weird form of revenge on the world.

So I turned to them and calmly said, “I get that you’re excited, but you’re making the flight hard for everyone. Let’s be a little more respectful.” For a second, everything went quiet.

Shockingly, it worked. They turned off the music, kept their voices down, and stayed quiet for the rest of the flight. As we got off the plane, they gave me a quick nod—maybe an apology, maybe just acknowledgment.

It wasn’t the flight I’d hoped for, but it reminded me that sometimes, all it takes is a little honesty and kindness to reset the tone. A bit of courtesy really does go a long way at 30,000 feet.