Steadying yourself along the overhead like the FAs also helps in case of unforeseen bumps to keep from being tossed headfirst into the ceiling since you get to use the whole body to brace, rather than just try to grip. But I don’t mind people steadying themselves lightly on the seatback, just that sometimes it does feel they’re attempting to do a pull-up of their whole weight. When getting up I first steady myself on the armrest then twist around and brace against my own seatback.
Oh, and the seatback tv? You do not have to punch those buttons or touchscreen like you’re hammering roofing nails.
In July, I took an international flight on a brand spanking new giant plane from Lufthansa. Oh, it was majestic-- the touch screens were like melted butter iPads. Oh god, so good. Even the most gentle caress from your finger would help you switch between menus.
Last month, I took an international flight on what seemed to be a somewhat older Air France plane. I’m not complaining because the flight was over all really lovely. . . but man, those touch screens were shitty. Looking around, you’d see people start gently, then escalate to roofing nail hammering, as that’s all that worked on those awful old screens. You heard lots of multi-lingual apologies being uttered around that flight.
Key tip for everybody: Don’t go into it determined to be pissed off by every less than optimal experience, whether it is the service of the airline or the behavior of people around you.
Let at least some of the rain roll off your back and you’ll be much happier.
I didn’t see these, but then my attention span didn’t allow me to read every single post.
People with backpacks, large purses, carryalls, ski boots and guitars slung over your shoulders: take the motherfucker off of your back/shoulder when you enter the goddamn plane. When you swing around to tell your BFF that this is just the awesomest trip evah and clock somebody in an aisle seat with your backpack full of books, it fucking hurts. Be forewarned that I am always prepared for this, and I PUSH BACK.
I don’t need new friends, however briefly. When the person next to you is giving one-word answers to your prying questions, or continues to keep his nose buried in his book despite your efforts to engage him, that means that he is not interested in talking to you. Learn to read body language and to STFU, or be prepared to eventually be treated rudely.
Your child is not cute, regardless of how many times Nana and Gampy have told you so. He/she is a bacteria-ridden snot machine, and I have no interest in being a surrogate grandfather to the obnoxious little shit or contracting whatever lovely virus he is presently carrying. I don’t like small children, I don’t interact well with them, and I have no patience with parents who don’t exercise control over their little darlings. If the kid throws a toy over the seat at me, it will be the last time he ever sees it, if I can get away with it (yes, this has happened; and yes, it was deliberate).
The problem with you assuming that people who don’t do as you would don’t have empathy is that it may never have occurred to those other people that touching the back of your seat was at all irritating. Until I saw this thread, I had no idea that so many people have a problem with it (hair pulling aside - I don’t do that).
Oh, I don’t do that. I say “excuse me, I need to go use the bathroom” and then it’s up to them what they want to do.
On many planes there doesn’t seem to be anything to grip there.
When I was a kid flying was just about the most amazing and fun thing ever. Stressful? Never.
OTOH I can see how it’s different today. Today a kid never sees the inside of the terminal until the first time he or she flies somewhere. The whole thing is new and strange to a first-timer. By contrast, until maybe 20 years ago, first time air travelers likely had already had some experience with the airport and the terminals, since friends and family with departing or arriving passengers could go right up to the gate, and usually did so.
If you’ve read the cite - as I’m sure you have - you will know that parental perception of expected hyperactivity due to sugar intake is an empirically proven phenomenon. Actual hyperactivity in children due to sugar intake is an empirically disproven phenomenon.
Of course, you may be someone who will unswervingly believe in your own subjective experience over scientific evidence. In which case there’s probably nothing that anyone can say that will help you.
In spite of that my firsthand experience with children is they do as well on flights as a lot of adults. Flying really isn’t a very stressful experience for a kid. It’s boring, but we have never been so abundantly blessed with ways of keeping children not bored. Most planes have in-flight entertainment systems, and you have iPods, iPads, Nintendo handhelds… my daughter had so many entertainment options there wasn’t enough time to use them all. 25 years ago it wouldn’t have been as easy.
I’ve said it before and will again, but the reputation for kids flipping out on planes is stupidly exaggerated. I’m a very frequent air traveler, hundreds and hundreds of flights, the kind of traveler who gets upgrades and perks and whatnot and knows the terminals with a grim familiarity, and I can’t think of five occasions in my life a child has been disruptive on a plane. I think I’ve had a kid kick my seat twice, and both times their parents stopped them. I can think of more occasions where an adult was disruptive. Sometimes BABIES cry and that sucks and you really can’t do much about it, but kids are not an air travel problem worth worrying about.
overseas flight the bitch in the seat in front of me kept her seat reclined the entire flight even during meals, would not budge at my request. So I flicked nail trimmings and crumbs at her the rest of the flight…yes that was rude but it relieved my stress
It is civil and considerate to expect that everyone will deplane according to the seating rows they are occupying. If you’ve been sitting behind me, crowding into the aisle in my row before the plane has even reached the gate will not earn you a quicker exit from the plane, just the well-deserved resentment of the passengers you’re trying to shove in front of. It might even earn you sore toes if you ignore requests to make room, and the people moving into the aisle in the proper order should happen to step on them.
There is absolutely no chance that a commercial airliner can fly close enough to the Sun for its wings to melt off. So you don’t have to worry about that.
Babies don’t raise my ire much. Yeah, it sucks when they’re loud, but there’s not much to be done about it.
However, the lady watching some sports game who had to clap loudly whenever something exciting happened while the rest of the plane was asleep? The plane needs an eject button.
I don’t care if people recline in front of me. The forward position is temporary for landing and takeoff. “Reclined” is the standard position. Once the plane takes off, my 6’8" coworker takes his bag out from under the seat and sticks his feet under there, thus keeping his knees nowhere near the seat in front of him. I do need a smaller laptop though, as I can’t open mine in coach.
I was on a coast-to-cost flight a month or two back where the lady with the window seat insisted on getting up every 45 minutes. Would she like to switch to the aisle seat? No, she “likes the window”.
And gate lice. Seriously. Sit your ass down until it’s your turn to board. You ARE in the way. Yes, you.
I was the guilty party here recently. My excuse is I don’t fly very often. I took a bag that used to work as a carry on, many years ago, but no longer fits the measurements for the airline I was on. It was a little tight but fit fine in the over head flying out. On the return trip, an attendant suggested that the bag might be too big for a carry on. I insisted otherwise. Other attendants were called in until we had a small group eyeballing my bag and scratching our heads. Someone suggested we try it in the measuring device but nobody there knew where it was. Finally I was allowed on with my bag.
Of course, all the overheads near my seat were full, as always, so the attendants ended up putting it up front. The same thing that would have happened if I’d taken a tiny bag.
You are being very silly. Every single (except you) person who rides a plane is well-versed in the simple -hop up and let your seat mate out- maneuver. It’s not some major inconvenience to the people in the other seats it is a COMMON PRACTICE to everyone but you apparently. And yes, it’s very jarring when you’re finally settled in and someone grabs your seat back and yanks it back. And with the exception of you, who can apparently suss out the finest flyaway hair strewn over the back of a seat (no matter how much I ponytail it in and smooth it down to try and prevent yanking), if someone grabs the back of my seat, they manage to yank hair.
On YOUR end it might feel as if you’re barely touching it for balance, but this is not how it feels to the person in the seat. Haven’t you ever noticed or paid attention to what the vast majority of other passengers do? Hint. they do NOT climb over your lap to get out of the row. I have no idea what kind of planes you’re used to riding in, but for most coach seats even average height peoples’ knees extend to pretty close to the seat in front of them so the person in the window seat IS climbing over their laps to get out. As to the “the guy in the aisle merely turns sideways and extends his legs out into the aisle”? Most aisle seats have fixed arms on the aisle side, so that’s fine if you’re a scrawny man with no hips, but rather a painful convoluted maneuver if you have hips and are the least bit chubby (as most of we Americans are these days).
