I recently flew from Savannah to Cincinnati to New Hampshire and then back the same way.
I sat next to nice people and we all talked part of the flight. Except for the last leg. I was tired and aggraveted and ready to get home. This last flight I did not say one word to the man right next to me (for two hours). I would have thought it would have been uncomfortable but I was just natural after 10 minutes or so.
Ever do anything like that?
I will smile and say hi to someone sitting next to me, but don’t expect to converse with them.
I hardly ever feel the compulsion to talk to fellow travelers. I mind my own business and they mind their’s. If the plane goes down and I end up having to eat them to survive, I don’t want to feel any remorse of sentimentality towards them.
I have rarely had conversations with people on planes. Usually I just acknowledge the person when they sit down and that’s that, although sometimes I will have a short conversation. On a recent 9-hour flight to Paris I never exchanged a word with the guy sitting next to me.
On the third leg we hit some very scary turbulance (It felt like the plane was going to break apart) and the woman behind me started saying the lord’s prayer out loud… That was some feeling.
You had to talk to the people next to you on a flight? I agree, that is an awkward situation. I usually take a book or magazine or something to make sure that never happens.
She’d be the first to be eaten. 
I’m gregarious and quick with a joke, so I tend to engage my seatmates in conversation. I can tell when they don’t want to do that, though,and don’t bug anyone.
I talk to people in elevators, too, so I obviously have no shame.
A few years ago I vacationed in Florida. On the flight down I was about half-way through reading Sole Survivor, by Dean Koontz. Pre-flight and the woman sitting next to me arrived, got settled, and said “Ooooh, what are you reading?”
Me: Sole Survivor, by Dean Koontz.
Her: So what’s it about?
Me: A plane crash. Everyone on the plane dies except this one person - that’s the premise.
Her: Um…
She didn’t speak to me, or even look at me for the rest of the (almost 3 hour) flight. I picked up Airframe, by Michael Crichton for the trip home. I’ll bet you can guess the premise. There’s nothing like a nice, quiet, conversation-free flight, except a nice, quiet, conversation-free flight sitting elbow-to-elbow with someone who thinks you’re completely insane.
I say “hello” always. Often it doesn’t go beyond that. For me, it’s just been that I sit next to the person who sleeps, or the couple retired couple bickering, or the gay man and his hag who were so wasted I don’t think they realized they were on an airplane.
I did enjoy a two hour conversation with a young man on a flight from Detroit to Tampa. We didn’t have anything in common but we just got silly talking about everything to pass the time.
I try to read or sleep but I’m claustrophobic so flying is tough for me. I wish there were more people like Detroit/Tampa boy to take my mind off the fact that I’m trapped in a metal capsule of doom.
A long time ago, my GF and I were on a flight taking off from O’Hare that got aborted as we were picking up speed going down the runway. Sudden emergency stop - the whole thing. I was sitting next to a catholic bishop. GF’s hands were white from grabbing the armrests. The bushop turned to her and daid “Nothing to worry about, I’m sure I’d have heard something…”
Pompous ass.
I like to chat a little, but I definitely won’t if the person is giving the “don’t talk to me” signals. Talking eases my anxiety about flying.
That’s when you turn to her, and tell her that she can quit praying, because all it is is some moron in <pick a seating section> drinking coffee…
Heh. I think that’s kind of funny, in a Hurray, another chance to trot out this old chestnut sort of way. Oh, well.
Awkward situations on an airplane.
Well, there was that one time on final approach when the switch stuck in the down position; so I had 45 degrees of flap when I thought I had 20; but that’s probably not what you’re asking about.
I’ve had some really interesting conversations with people on airplanes. Not always, but if someone next to me wants to talk, I’m usually up for it.
There was one flight, from Salt Lake City to Boston. I was in the middle of three seats. The guy in the window seat was pretty big, and with his shoulder against the fuselage it kinda pushed him over into my space. He tried to start a conversation a couple times, but it just wasn’t working. I had a laptop and was watching a DVD of old cartoons. When a roadrunner cartoon started he looked over and said “heh, I’ll betcha that dog catches him this time.” That, and he was biting his fingernails so loudly I could hear it even with me headphones on. Not a good flight.
I’m a bad, bad, bad flier, and on the off chance I’ll ever need to take a flight I’ll either be too doped-up (practically unconscious) for the whole thing or too scared shiteless to talk. To hyperventilate, maybe, but…
I wouldn’t expect anyone to talk to me if they didn’t want to. I’d probably vent at them or ignore them altogether, but talking to someone nice would help.
There was the time when I was 15 and on my way to Florida from Ohare. The guy next to me was a mid-60’s African American gentleman who talked to me for a while. He seemed okay so we chatted a bit - then he started talking pretty heavily about Jesus and how he was on his way to Florida for a funeral. Of course, by this time, he was sobbing.
I’m sure he was just in a situation that was very tough for him emotionally, but man oh man was that an awkward flight.
Was going overseas one time and the Sargent came up and said I was going to get to fly with 5 other guys. No ship … great news…
As we walked onto the plane, the officer leading us said in a loud voice, “Ladies, we have 6 baby sitters to serve you for the flight.”
I was a plane load of dependant wives with babies and small children.
I spent 14 hours changing diapers and holding screaming babies. … :rolleyes:
And if that doesn’t convince you to always use a condom, I don’t know what would 
The last three times I flew there were little TV screens on the back of the seats and as soon as the flight started everyone put their headphones on and watched their little TVs. No conversation except to order drinks from the flight attendant.
It was lovely.