Would the OP mind clarifying the context of these statements as to the original rant? Is this rant a vague shot at some sort of Asian ethnic group?:dubious:
Keep in mind there are millions upon millions of people on this planet who have never flown before, and who aren’t only NOT versed or experienced in the vast code of conduct some of us more experienced frequent fliers impose on others, but may simply be completely overwhelmed by their first experience on a plane and are utterly clueless as procedures for boarding and flying on aircraft.
That said, I am pleased to report no Doper in the history of aviation has ever tried to stuff check-in size luggage into an overhead compartment, invaded a plane with multiple family members, asked other passengers if they would be willing to trade seats so they could sit next to their wives or children, or forget to stow their tables, sit their seat upright, and buckle themselves during take off and landing.
I will however print and copy this OP and carry with me on my next plane flight, so that I also might be reminded to live up to velomonts highest standards of proper airline conduct.
For the record, I am not Eastern Asian, so I am off to a good start.
Recently I took the first flight ever where I had to remove shoes and belt - yeah I was confused…sorry about that.
But more specifically -
I think the airlines you guys are talking about are doing things all wrong. The ones I fly with enforce a cabin baggage size - I forget exactly how big, but there are size checkers at the security check point, at the gate etc etc -
There is also a weight limit, (7kg) but unless you are having trouble, it’s unlikely to be enforced.
And what’s this about stowing overhead away from your seat? That’s the best way to lose your things. I’ve never seen bags stowed more than a row or two from the passenger…
The only one of these gripes I can really relate to is the multiple carry-ons: that really has caused significant delays the last couple of times I’ve flown when they just couldn’t fit everyone’s hand luggage in.
All the stuff about how long people take to stow their stuff and all that…yeah people are dumb, but in the grand scheme of things, compared to all the other not-actually-travelling stuff involved with flying, it’s nothing. If everyone did the optimal behaviour it would save me a couple minutes maybe. So what?
I don’t really get that impatience people have in these situations. For example, the kind of person you see standing up while the plane is still taxiing, shoving around people to get to their luggage first, is often the same person dawdling along looking at their phone as soon as they’re off the plane.
What was the mad rush for? I don’t get it.
Sometimes the mad rush is to make a connection. I wasn’t dawdling looking at my phone once I was off the plane, but last time I flew, I was the one leaping out of my seat to grab my carry-on. I had a tight connection and the first flight had been delayed, which meant I was going to have to run across the entire (huge) airport to have any chance of catching the second one. I made it just as they were closing the gate. An extra minute goofing around on the first plane and I would have missed it.
Also, I cut people some slack because everyone is an airport idiot sometimes. I’ve done a LOT of flying, I know the drill, but a few years ago I was the idiot who left a water bottle in her carry-on and sent it through the conveyor belt. I’d been on at least one flight a day for two weeks and they’d all blurred into one, so I thought I’d already taken out the bottle because I’d done it the day before.
And about the OP - ethnicity is irrelevant, but the huge family group isn’t. Huge family groups, of any ethnicity, are a pain in the ass on airplanes. They absolutely *need *to spend the entire flight getting up and swapping seats and hanging around blocking the aisle and leaning over seats and clambering over you so they can talk to each other and get things out of their carry-ons for each other and shout to each other and pass things to each other and gahhhh.
The mob doesn’t even wait for “now boarding.” As soon as they hear the announcement “we will soon begin boarding”, you are in danger of being trampled to death if you don’t keep your wits about you.
I learned in this thread that they are called “gate lice.”
Yep, people are idiots. I fly a lot. 3 weeks out of the last 4. On one of my last flights, I had someone, not sitting in my row, want to move my bag out of the overhead bin over my seat. He thought he could cram it into another space somewhere else, then cram his bag in over my seat and then go sit somewhere else. I said “no.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have personal things in there, I want to make sure I know where they are, I want to access them during the flight, and I don’t want it moved.” He asked again, I just said “no”.
He got angry, but he stomped off before I called the flight attendant. Later I got up to access my bag, and found out he’d come back while I was in the bathroom, and crammed a bunch of pillows and jackets and crap in on top of my bag. Yes, we are six. I looked back and he was smirking at me. Yeah, you got me big guy. I got out my laptop and watched my movie anyway. ::rolleyes::
Sorry dude. Got on the plane first. Got to my seat. Used the overhead bin for one small laptop bag (Not even a roll on.) Get your own space and grow up.
Won’t even go into the high school kids who were playing poker in the aisle on one international flight, sitting on my armrest (despite being asked to move repeatedly) and ended up breaking my headphones.
If you want PRE all the time - go get an appointment at your local TSA location and get it. I have it for me, my wife and my older son. We don’t rely on the airline and TSA to randomly give it out.
Here is the link to enroll in TSA Pre-Check. If you enroll and follow ALL of the steps, you get a Known Traveler Number, which you can then add to your reservation at the time of booking or before you travel.
When booking online through a third-party, there have been some errors with various systems not recognizing the submission of the Known Traveler Number. You should provide it when you book but also go to the airline website before travel, access your reservation, and double check that the number is appended to your booking.
Yes, I sound like a racist, but I’m not. I am/was, however, extremely pissed off about the behaviour. I apologize for the racist overtones - that was inappropriate.
Like many other posters yes, I’ve flown a lot, numerous times between Canada and Europe. And my outbound version of the 13 hour flight (Toronto to mid-East) was not like the flight in my rant. My rant flight, however, was predominately populated (am I being racist if I don’t identify that group for fear of being labelled a racist or should I identify them?) by large east Indian families flying to Canada.
Yes, I sound like a racist, but I’m not. I am/was, however, extremely pissed off about the behaviour. I apologize for the racist overtones - that was inappropriate.
Like many other posters yes, I’ve flown a lot, numerous times between Canada and Europe. And my outbound version of the 13 hour flight (Toronto to mid-East) was not like the flight in my rant. My rant flight, however, was predominately populated (am I being racist if I don’t identify that group for fear of being labelled a racist or should I identify them?) by large east Indian families flying to Canada.
Why the hurry (as someone asked upthread)? The connecting flight is one thing. We also had a medical situation in which a passenger had to be taken off on a stretcher, which delayed us by about 40 minutes - no problem, obviously, and something like that has to be dealt with. If that had been the only delay I still would have made my connecting flight with lots of time to spare. Added to that 40 minutes, however, was enough to make us arrive as my next flight was taxiing. And that wasted time was completely unnecessary and it imposed a bill on the airline for accommodations and meals (and Etihad was sufficiently generous) for a number of passengers in my situation.
As I said in my original post, the fact that you have seven family members (or whatever, and the economy class was completely occupied by that) does not give you special privileges. And, as I also said in my original post, maybe airlines should restrict the amount of carry-on (much more than currently restricted) and heavily enforce it.
I ran an office where everybody traveled frequently. Sometimes I went with them, more often not. On one trip, the guy I was traveling with got on the plane and promptly sat down. I found my seat and did likewise. I was watching other people boarding and noticed that someone was talking to my colleague and pointing to his ticket. My guy stands up and the other person sits in the seat. My companion walks to another empty seat and sits. Same thing happens again. Then a third time.
After we landed I asked him what was going on. He said “Oh, I never look at the seat assignment.” WTF? People like him make me hate flying.
This. Oh yes this. We got stung thisaway more than once. They split up me, my hubby and my 2 year old. No she can’t sit by herself, I kept saying. The ticket agent bumped us to the gate to fix the problem, but the gate told us to take it up with the onboard flight staff, who then spread her arms wide and said, pick whatever seat you want, just sort it out with the passengers. Fuck that. I told the lady next to my kid, ‘My daughter has no problem sitting next to you if you don’t mind chronic diarrhea and vomiting.’ That fixed it.
Yeah, and yet instead of brewing for a heart attack, you might consider headphones and peaceful music. Why take on others’ tension? It won’t calm or organize them and it doesn’t do anything for you.
Call me crazy, but the only things that annoy me about flying are having to fly overnight to get a decent ticket price, and being shoved in like sardines. I’m claustrophobic, and sometimes it’s honestly hard to get a deep breath, I’m so crammed in. And I’m not fat. I’m about 150 lbs and 5’8".
All the chaos upon boarding and deplaning wil, occasionally get me to mutter angry comments quietly if I’m with someone, but that’s about it.
I love the idea of getting slightly drunk before boarding. I’ve got to try that. It sounds like it would be great for reducing frustration. I just wouldn’t want to go too far and end up like Kristen Wiig’s character in Bridesmaids.
I get annoyed with the assumption that I, as a single traveler, would be overjoyed to move whenever a family needs to sit together. ALL together. I got moved because god forbid dad sit by himself, and mom and the two kids sit together for the first half, then dad take over for mom for the landing half of the flight.
And don’t tell me I don’t understand; I’ve flown with a niece and nephew and just me; we were fine.
I usually fly business class. If I get to my seat and the overhead above my seat is full with no empty bins in the adjoining rows, I’ll ask the person sitting in the seat next to me if the bags belong to them. If not, then I just pull whatever I need out to make room, leaving it in the aisle, and put my bag in its place. The waiter/waitress deals with it and I’ve never had anyone in the section I’m in complain. So, I figure it is usually one of the attendants bags or belongs to someone in the back of the bus who figured there’s lots of room in business, so we don’t mind. I’ve always wondered, for about a second, if they ever get their bags back?