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How Not To Behave On An Airplane
Interesting survey of inflight behavior. (www.lonelyplanet.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
"My other pet peeve - when a person in the row behind you grabs your seatback in order to help pull themselves up out of their seat. Some people do this habitually, so if you get one of them behind you, they'll do it again and again for the whole flight. Drives me crazy!" I am SOOO with you on this! Since when is the seat back of the passenger in front of you the handhold for access to the seat behind. If you complain, you come off as the "grumpy" one. The only means that I have ever found to explain the problem is on my way aft to the bathroom. It's remarkable how often there's turbulence just as I pass the passenger directly behind my seat. Can't hlp but grab a hold of that seatback to help keep my balance.
Number 14, that one about what to do when you're finished with the food, really puzzles me. What food? Are you talking about USA domestic airlines? In the 90's or later? I remember real food (hot), on real plates, with real silverware (well, OK, stainless flatware), and coffee in real cups, but that was in the 60's and 70's, before deregulation, and there was sufficient space between the rows of seats to accommodate tray-tables larger than a postage stamp (but could still be slid forward and back).
In fact, most of the things that bug people in today's airliners stem from changes made to aircraft and airline procedures after deregulation. I used to fly every week on business, and I was like a kid with a new toy, for a decade or more. Now I dread going anywhere on an airplane. Still, I try not to let my aggravations preclude courteous treatment of passengers or flight attendants. Delays are a fact of life in commercial aviation, but so is safety, and I figure the guys and gals on the flight deck are just as impatient with delays as everyone, but they're charged with (and have a personal interest in) flight safety, so I try to be patient. Allowing one's aggravations to manifest themselves in boorish behavior only makes things worse. A large piece of duct tape applied firmly across pax' mouths upon boarding, might solve many of the behavior problems we see in the cabin.
In fact, most of the things that bug people in today's airliners stem from changes made to aircraft and airline procedures after deregulation. I used to fly every week on business, and I was like a kid with a new toy, for a decade or more. Now I dread going anywhere on an airplane. Still, I try not to let my aggravations preclude courteous treatment of passengers or flight attendants. Delays are a fact of life in commercial aviation, but so is safety, and I figure the guys and gals on the flight deck are just as impatient with delays as everyone, but they're charged with (and have a personal interest in) flight safety, so I try to be patient. Allowing one's aggravations to manifest themselves in boorish behavior only makes things worse. A large piece of duct tape applied firmly across pax' mouths upon boarding, might solve many of the behavior problems we see in the cabin.
Worst offense ever: Sept 1991, I was on my first trip to Russia. Pan Am direct flight KJFK-UUEE was cancelled due to equipment problem, so I was put on a flight to EDDF with connection to Moscow. As we prepared to land, a Russian woman in the row behind me took out a can of hairspray and proceeded to do her hair, filling the cabin with noxious fumes! Never saw that before or since, but these days I'm not shy about asking women to stop putting on nail polish in an airplane. Amazing how clueless some people can be.
I was a Journalist and ended up living in Moscow for 5 years (91-96) and flew all over the former Soviet Union, so I saw all sorts of unusual behavior. From extreme drunkenness to people bringing a whole oily, smoked fish wrapped in newspaper to snack on. Air travel in Russia is quite normal now, but back then it was always an adventure.
My other pet peeve - when a person in the row behind you grabs your seatback in order to help pull themselves up out of their seat. Some people do this habitually, so if you get one of them behind you, they'll do it again and again for the whole flight. Drives me crazy!
I was a Journalist and ended up living in Moscow for 5 years (91-96) and flew all over the former Soviet Union, so I saw all sorts of unusual behavior. From extreme drunkenness to people bringing a whole oily, smoked fish wrapped in newspaper to snack on. Air travel in Russia is quite normal now, but back then it was always an adventure.
My other pet peeve - when a person in the row behind you grabs your seatback in order to help pull themselves up out of their seat. Some people do this habitually, so if you get one of them behind you, they'll do it again and again for the whole flight. Drives me crazy!
Something not mentioned...what about those people that help themselves to "your" assigned seat (one that you may have chosen yourself), just so they can sit next their travel mates. They don't even bother to ask you first if you would switch seats, they just take it and figure you won't mind.
Due to flight cancellations my boss and I flew a 100% full BOAC London to NYC, getting the last two seats. My boss took the aisle seat (naturally) and I took the center of 5. I was cramped but he ended up sitting by a tyke who tossed cookies in his lap (and not in a good way). The "joys" of business travel.
Reminds me of Bill Cosby's piece about flying on an airplane and an ill-behaved child.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs0cYJUqJys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs0cYJUqJys