Plane Rant

[LucyDontLockIt]

Why do "special diet" people get all their food about an hour earlier than everyone ekse??

Why don't people think to put their chairs back upright at meal times??

Why do people wait until the passengers finally get moving off the plane before they start getting their shit together in the fucking aisle so nobody can get passed??

Does flying bring out the megabitch in anyone else? I spend hours boiling over with fury on a flight, surely I can't be the only one

They are seats.

I had a nice little space next to me behind the extra seat in front.
Except...a very irritating woman in the row in front kept coming and standing in my little extra space

This is why I no longer bother paying for exit row seats. Since it's not my aircraft I try to chill about it, but you think you've got all that extra space only to find it full of exercisers, baby-soothers, clothes-changers, those who can't quite decide if they'll need the loo to vomit in and more

And as I've said before, I wish we had a cabin crew member on the AMA threads!!

I think someone was referring to airport chairs, Rose.

Someone mentioned meals on a 1 am flight from Singapore. The thing is, it is a major transfer airport - there will be people boarding that flight who've flow 4 or 10 hour flights, hung around in the airport 2 to 4 hours (or more), and then might be another 10 or 12 hour leg. So actually those people may really need that meal! You don't easily get meals in an airport that you are just transiting through.

Airlines have taken to serving just two meals even on the very long (14 hour + ) legs, and offering snacks in between. It allows more flexibility for people to sleep I guess, but can get problematic if the available snacks don't cater for your diet.

In my experience leg room is least on long haul flights, and with code sharing there are rarely more than a handful of free seats either (we mainly do UK-Australia). One thing though with reclining - a number of airlines have seats where the recline is partly achieved by the seat sliding forward; this gives you more personal control over where the legroom goes!

Re reclining seats - the irony is that to make it feel like the seats 'recline' the upright position is unnaturally upright so is MORE uncomfortable than it would be in a non-reclining seat (ala Jet 2's short haul non reclining seats).

I'm 5'9 and don't get the rage about reclining seats, it doesn't impact my leg space to a negative degree.

Generally for meal service the cabin crew will ask people to sit upright.

Airlines have taken to serving just two meals even on the very long (14 hour + ) legs, and offering snacks in between. It allows more flexibility for people to sleep I guess, but can get problematic if the available snacks don't cater for your diet.

I ALWAYS get hungry on long haul flights, and v thirsty so take on a large bottle of water and some extra food.

I always travel with a small pouch (an eagle creek pack it cube) which has my kindle, SB cable, phone, pen, tissues and other things I need on the flight. Then when I am queuing to get on the plane I pull out my pouch and keep that with me, and stow my luggage quickly rather than fucking about in the aisle.

a number of airlines have seats where the recline is partly achieved by the seat sliding forward; this gives you more personal control over where the legroom goes

Yes the newer planes seem to do this. I much prefer it.

When my flight landed on Saturday, there was a family of 4 faffing about in the aisle, deciding who was carrying what, if they had all the bags, unpacking one bag into another, pushing back to get stuff they'd left in bins further back...
Effectively preventing anyone in the back 3/4 of the plane from getting off and forcing anyone already standing further back.
The crew started shouting at them to move as there was too much weight at the back of the plane.
Looked it up later, out of curiosity and, yes, it can apparently tip the plane. So there's a good reason for getting your act together, it seems!

Oh, and people who can't get up out of their seat without levering their whole weight on your headrest then pinging it back. Use the muscles in your body and your armrests to get yourself up!

I've also had the person in front flinging their arms back over their seat into my face as they have a good stretch or adopt a starfish sleeping position. No, you're not in bed at home. Keep your body contained in your allotted space!

The people complaining about 'queue jumpers' at disembarkation - the people in the rows in front of you are already in the queue, the rows of seats are the queue not the entitled instant leapers out of seats behind them taking their marks and getting ready set to fucking go and barge their way through, blocking everyone else from getting out into the aisle. Pick your seats earlier or pay more to get rows closer to the front if you wanna be first off but don't whine about people taking their legitimate turn or about those polite enough to wait and allow people sitting in front of them out of their rows.

Then the was the seat sharer - heavy man in the middle seat (I was window) pinching both armrests!

@Blobby10 etiquette is that the middle seat gets both arm rests to make up for being hemmed in by people on either side

Oh, and people who can't get up out of their seat without levering their whole weight on your headrest then pinging it back. Use the muscles in your body and your armrests to get yourself up!

Ugh yes especially when you are sleeping! Use your own seat (arm rests and head rest) to push p if you don't have enough core stability to move your own body weight.

In the last 6 months DP and I have taken over 20 flights. We have seen it all.

People with enormous bags who then kick off when they won’t fit in the overhead compartment. People who try to take full size toiletries through security and kick off when told they’re not allowed. People who move into the premium/extra legroom seats without asking, and kick off when they’re asked to move back to their original seat because they haven’t paid extra.

We always book extra legroom seats at a minimum, because DP is 6’5 and flying is utterly miserable for him as it is. Our favourite was when a family plonked their —loud and badly behaved— young kids in the empty exit row in front of us, then happily skipped off back to their seats about 8 rows in front. They weren’t too pleased when the cabin crew told them that as they hadn’t paid for the seats, their kids weren’t allowed to sit there.

On one flight in Asia we actually witnessed somebody get out of their seat 10 seconds before we landed to retrieve their huge case from the overhead compartment.

We have quite literally seen it all, to the point where nothing surprises me now when flying. People seem to leave basic manners, consideration and common sense at the door when they enter an airport. Me and DP try to laugh, otherwise we would cry.

Gosh – so much anger and unpleasantness in the world today. It’s all me me me isn’t it?

If you are sooo entitled, just pay silly money for rows 1 to 8 or whatever. Problem solved!

Gersemi
Why do people sit chatting until the queue starts moving, then jump up and stop it?
Because they've had the sense to realise that there is literally no point in getting up and standing in a queue until the doors are actually open?

This ^^ is a perfect summary of why you shouldn’t get irate about the situation. There is no point.

It’s blindingly obvious that for Western Europe on a six across, narrow aisle plane, it is completely impossible for everyone to be “ready”, when the impatient people are jam-packed in the aisle.

We just relax and listen to all the moaning. When movement eventually happens, it takes me less than 4 seconds to get my bag (that I couldn’t get at earlier) and move down the aisle…

I remember once I had a teenage girl with very long hair in front of me. She flicked the whole lot back over the seat and into my coffee. Urgh.

@serbska thank you! I didn't realise that! don't fly very often thankfully

heavy man in the middle seat (I was window) pinching both armrests!

But at least he used the armrests rather than trying to get rid of them. Before learning to refuse, I suffered one too many long flights seated next to a morbidly obese passenger who insisted on raising the armrest because they "couldn't fit" ... and then squashed me all through the flight

LucyDontLockIt

Does flying bring out the megabitch in anyone else? I spend hours boiling over with fury on a flight, surely I can't be the only one

No, I try to remain calm and in control when travelling. It's people like you, who lose their shit over trivial nonsense, that make using public transport unpleasant (people getting their meals before you, get over yourself ).

I enjoy flying and am grateful that I can afford to do so. Next time you are lucky enough to fly, before you 'boil over with fury' bear in mind plenty of people would love to be flying off on their holidays, it's a privilege to travel.

It must be exhausting being this angry for the sale of a few minutes. Relax, and read another chapter, get up when things start to clear. Ryanair can turn a plane round in 20mins, whether you're first or last off isn't going to make any difference to your day.

Stressing over the queue to get through security really isn't going to get you anywhere quicker. The only thing all this stress is going to do is shorten your own life, now that does cost you time.

I won't fly more than 4 hours. I can't afford to fly business class and I'm 5'10 so it would so uncomfortable to sit bolt upright for any longer than that. People seem to think it is acceptable to take babies on a plane (what the fuck is that about unless you are moving abroad) and this boils my piss. Also all of the comments on here are spot on about people that can't follow simple instructions - stay seated until the plane comes to a standstill etc. Numpties.

When we flew to Majorca last month, on landing the instructions were to not switch on mobiles until the seatbelt sign went off. I was in a row with a load of teenage lads. As soon as the wheels touched the ground their phones were out and they were messaging all and sundry. Why do they think the rules don't apply to them?

LoniceraJaponica and Aragon, people do not need to eat a meal at 1am in the morning. They do however need to sleep! I accept there might have been one or two people on that flight who might have needed a meal because of multiple flights etc, but I bet that 99% were just eating it because it was handed out. If anyone was unreasonable it's the airline for serving an unnecessary meal at that time, when most people would be far better off sleeping.

Ex and I are both tall - 6ft 1 and 6ft 5 - we will pay for the exit room seats no issues and usually pay PE to avoid the issue. but sometimes needs most and we have to travel knackered knee class!

It is highly annoying when some short arsed midget has got them and then they try to recline their seats aswell and get arsey when they can not because you are in the next row!

Refuse to get stressed about anything flying - except fat spreaders, uncontrolled children and rude cabin staff!!

I now sit down set my legs and smile benignly as they rage - am seriously not sure where they think my legs are going to go!

Once had someone who insisted on continuing their mobile phone conversation when the plane was ready for take off despite being asked twice by cabin crew (politely) and by other passengers (not so politely) to switch it off. They finally switched it off when asked for the third time by cabin crew. The conversation was not even about anything remotely important either. Some people just think they are more important than everyone else/ totally lack self awareness.

I have to recline or I can't fly. Or, more accurately, more than an hour in an upright plane seat and I will not be able to walk to get off the flight. They are designed as instruments of torture to the sciatic nerve. I'll upright for meals, because I have to, but will be in significant pain by the time I can recline again. Reclining makes sufficient difference that my limp will be considerable worse, and my walking aid taking more of my weight than normal, but doable.

So if you set your legs to jam your knees at me, I'll be quoting the disability discrimination act at you.

Recently I was loudly bawled at for apparently not being fast enough taking my tray off the conveyer belt at security. I was just looking round to see where to take it to. It had me in tears.

Why can’t we be a bit kinder? I could easily allow myself to get cross over certain aspects commented upon in this thread. I note for example, how the more recent preference or need to travel with hand luggage only has resulted in the increasing size of said bags, and is causing untold chaos over space in the overhead cabins. But I agree with PPs who have said, take a deep breath and stay calm, smile etc.
If I am stressed for what ever reason (tight connecting flight, or other reason) it’s important to remember that this is not anyone else’s fault.
I’m across the Atlantic at the moment and flying home today. It may be a while before I fly again. When did it stop being a fun part of the holiday?

This thread makes me sad.

So if you set your legs to jam your knees at me, I'll be quoting the disability discrimination act at you ??? I find it really uncomfortable flying so I don't travel long distances. Do you have to fly? Is it with work?