Air travel can bring out the worst in people. And if you’ve been a longtime reader of ours, you’ve likely come across the multitude of stories we’ve had involving passengers making fools of themselves.
This list is no different. Here, we have several stories from people sharing the entitled behavior they’ve witnessed on airplanes. These firsthand accounts may either infuriate you or prompt you to question the actions of your fellow humans and their apparent disregard for others.
All the negativity aside, let these anecdotes serve as a harsh reminder of how to behave as a traveler.
#1
On a very crowded flight from San Francisco to Hawaii I noticed a family with two kids under 3. They don’t let you sit with kids that age for some sort of safety rule. So Dad was sitting in one row with a baby and Mom was in a different row with an 18 month old kid who was raising hell and didn’t want to sit or be quiet.
This was the second leg of their trip. They had already been on a plane from NY to San Francisco. Mom got up with 18 month old and was walking back to the bathroom with him stiffening up like a board so he was hard to hold. I was sitting reading in my isle seat with my 15 year old son next to me. She looked at my son and said “I’ll pay you $20 if you will hold him for 10 minutes!”. My son reached out and took him and she went off to the bathroom.
When she came back my son said not to worry and the kid could just stay with him. The 18 month old seemed perfectly happy with my son and he kept him for an hour until we had to prepare for landing. She tried to pay him but he said don’t worry about it. When we got off the plane that family was waiting for us. Families with babies get to get off first. They had a huge white lei for my son! He was happy. They were happy. Everybody was happy!
Image credits: Nancy Belton
#2
Don’t we all love it when Karma kicks in.
I love flying and always try for a window seat to watch the view outside while taking off and landing.
One day I walked to my aisle to see two ladies dressed impeccably in my seat and the middle seat leaving only the aisle seat vacant. I politely advised that they were in the wrong seats and was told “I meant to ask for a window seat”! Clearly with no intention to move.
A flight attendant asked was everything OK, to be told by the window lady that she wanted the window and was not moving. To ease the situation I told the Flight Attendant that I will simply take the aisle seat. She was very grateful.
I sat down, their scent was wonderful but across the aisle drifted the scent of a very dirty and smelly young man in his 20’s. He smelt like he had not had a shower for a week. I thought what a trip this will be !!!!
Then the young man leaned out and waved to his mate about 6 ailses forward. I still remember his name and it is at least 10 years ago..”HEY JACKO”…was the call to is mate.”
I had a rare brainwave, I asked the same flight attendant if I could swap with this gentlemans friend so they could fly together be it across an aisle. She had clearly smelt them both and said to me with a smile “That will not be a problem”. As I swapped seats with Jacko, I noticed he was at least as smelly. as I left my seat I turned to the ladies and simply said “enjoy your flight”!!!
I told the lady next to the seat where I moved about it and and I seriously thought she was going to wet herself because she laughed so hard having already experienced Jacko for just a few minutes.
Image credits: Alan Dowling
#3
I was on a flight from San Francisco to New York, in a window seat, and a man in a business suit sat down in the aisle seat and then put his 3 year old son in the middle seat. As soon as we took off and we’re allowed to put our tray tables down, the man took out his laptop and told the little boy to keep quiet and not bother him or me. I said it was okay if he talked to me. The poor child had no games or toys to distract him not even any snack. It was before smart phones and before we could select individual movies. What was he supposed to do on a 4 hour flight? I played games with him, talking very softly to avoid annoying mean Dad. The man didn’t tell me to stop, so I had fun with the little guy until we deplaned. I shared a snack I’d brought with him, and I drew pictures for him on my legal pad (I was on a business trip). His father never said another word to his son. Nor did he thank me, but the sweet little boy did and gave me a hug. Some people don’t deserve children!
#4
I was settled into my aisle seat in First, and a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I would swap seats with her, so she could sit beside her husband who was in the window seat beside me.
I asked what seat she was in.
“22E”. Yeah.. middle seat in the back of the plane. In exchange for my first class seat.
I immediately burst out laughing, and when I composed myself I suggested that perhaps the person beside her in 22F or D would be happy to swap with her husband and come up to first class, then they could sit with each other in row 22.
“But I want to sit in first!”. Yeah honey, so do I. But unlike you, I actually have a ticket for it.
Image credits: Sarah Winston
#5
It was a very large person who bought a ticket in economy and took up half of my seat, expecting me to accept that I paid for a whole seat and had to squish into half a seat.
It was a short flight, so I just dealt and kept my mouth shut. But I decided that in the future I will talk with the flight attendant and insist that I get the entire seat I paid for. I do not wish to be cruel to the larger person, but the larger person’s decision to buy one seat or not to buy a 1st class ticket and take 1.5 seats was her choice to begin with. This has nothing to do with fat-shaming. It has to do with my being comfortable in a very expensive seat that I paid to enjoy.
Image credits: SingSongTX
#6
On an Emirates flight from Dubai, I was next to a couple and as the meal service started the guy asked me if I would “take the vegetarian option please”. A little put out, I asked why and was told that “it offends my wife and I if we watch someone else eat meat or fish”. “What about those across the aisle and on the row in front?” I asked, “We are only asking you as it is very much in our face”…… I had the beef, took my time and they went for a walk.
Image credits: Mark Bonsall
#7
A woman got on a plane in New York headed to Los Angeles. The plane was continuing on to Seattle, but she was only going to Los Angeles. After the plane got to 35,000 feet and the pilot turned off the seat belt sign, she got up, gathered up her things and moved up to 1st class. One of the flight attendants approached her and pointed out that she had an Economy ticket and needed to move back to her assigned seat.
She replied: “I’m blonde. I’m Beautiful. I deserve 1st class.” No amount of explanation could convince her to move She went back to the galley and told the lead flight attendant, who went to speak with the woman. She got the same response: “I’m blonde, and I’m beautiful. I deserve 1st class.”
The 1st officer happened to be passing the galley and heard the flight attendants discussing this woman. He said, “I’ll take care of it”.
He went to the woman and whispered something in her ear. She looked at him and asked, “Really”? and he replied, “Yes, Ma’am”.
She got up, gathered things and returned to her seat in economy.
The flight attendants asked the 1st officer, “ What did you say to her?”
He replied,” I told her that 1st class did not stop in LA.”
Image credits: David Andersen
#8
Not initially my reaction - but what the person did …
So I was on a plane and the guy seated next to me was in a very nice suit- right away ai am suspicious (even the CEO of my company - always in a nice suit- wears “travel clothes”).
So when the flight attendant was serving drinks, he requested more hot water in his tea- as she is pouring, he moves the cup and his hand- he got literally at most 2 tablespoons of water on his hand before she reacted and stopped pouring..
Immediately he screams out “You poured hot water on my hand and I am in pain!”
Not rehearsed, right???
My immediate thought “Oh, a scammer trying to get money from the airline.”
She immediately apologized and offered him medical attention.
“No - none of you are qualified!”
She assured him that every flight attendant must be fully trained in emergency medical care, first aid, etc.
“No! I will only accept the care of a medical doctor! No one else is allowed to touch me! And I demand you have one here taking care of my hand the moment we land!!”
The hand - the one with no blisters or even a red spot - that hand.
So she goes to arrange all of this - he looks at me and says “Give me your name - I want you as a witness.”
I said ,”Well - ok - But you know that I will testify truthfully that you refused all medical care offered.”
He immediately lost all interest in talking with me….
Image credits: Kevin Peterlinz
#9
I was waiting to board a domestic flight when a woman began playing music loudly on her phone. She was not asked to turn it off, turn it down, or plug in her earbuds, at least not by an airport employee. If anyone complained, she ignored it. It was music I often enjoy, but not at that volume in these circumstances. I was tired, hungry, and barely there on time having rushed from a previous flight.
She did not reduce the volume after boarding the flight. I put on my ear plugs, but they barely made a difference. I’m not sure full-on noise cancelling headphones would have been enough. Then other people started playing music and podcasts and other noisemakers for everyone to hear. She destroyed the civility of the entire flight. The din was outrageous.
I got off the flight with a migraine and a level of internal fury that I have rarely, if ever, otherwise experienced in this life.
Image credits: Lori Jones
#10
On a flight within Asia (where one often gets better customer service than in the West) a woman asked the flight attendant to care for her toddler because he was fussy and she needed to get some sleep. The flight attendant was, not surprisingly, temporarily at a loss for words then responded “I’m responsible for the safety and wellbeing of everyone on board, not a babysitter.” The passenger pouted and whined “What can I do then?” A fellow passenger replied that she needed to step up as a parent or travel with a nanny. The flight attendant smiled her thanks.
Image credits: M.E. Ram
#11
Last year, I was on a flight from New York to Europe, somewhere about half way over the Atlantic, a passenger came from Economy Class and sat down behind me. I was falling asleep, and I had my seat reclined. He taps me on the shoulder and then I see his head pop up, he tells me “Don’t say anything.”
There were lots of empty seats behind me, I really just wanted to sleep. So I did not answer him and just shut my eyes. I think an hour passed, and I heard commotion behind me. This man had asked for a blanket, and had several drinks. Apparently, he still was not noticed, it was only after he began complaining about bad service that they figured out he did not even belong in the seat.
He was trying to pull a fast one now, and stated his seat had been taken by me. Well, the cabin crew never even asked me, as they knew he was out of place. He refused to leave and fastened his seat belt. Backup came and they gave him two options either he comply of they would remove him by force and might get him arrested when we landed. The idea of being arrested did not change much for him.
He started yelling, and at this point we all had enough of it. Two other passengers began telling him to go back to economy as he would just end up with all kinds of issues if he did not. He now asked for another drink to “Think about it.” A burly, staff member came and then another. They gave him one last chance to get up and go back. He still did not move an inch. He began telling them, there were so many seats empty, and that he should be given one.
It seems the airline did not want to appear to be brutal in front of all of us. They gave in, and gave the man a drink and backed down. This really seemed to make a lot of people angry in the cabin. As Breakfast was served, an older man would comment to a Flight Attendant that he would do the same thing and never pay extra for Cabin Upgrades if the Airline just allowed people to sit down and make a claim.
The Flight Attendant laughed, and said “No you would not do any such thing, just wait for an hour and see.” Well, I realized that seat grabber’s bravado, was going to get him into a situation on arrival. He was laughing the whole time, and enjoying his larger seat, and was ordering drink after drink. It seems they knew quite well, that his problems were only getting worse. As now he was a drunken passenger as well. When we landed, he was the first person to disembark with escorts, It seems he had a welcoming committee waiting for him. For a couple of hours of getting his way, he lost far more than he gained.
Image credits: Baba Vickram Aditya Bedi
#12
I had a passenger offer me a drink from his flask. I was the pilot on a charter flight - just he and I. Come on - no one will know - just a sip - he kept at it, so after a while, I asked him if he could do me a favor. I wasn’t sure about the oil pressure in the number two engine (he sat right behind the engine gauges,) so if he noticed it dipping, could he give me a heads up? It worked like a charm - not a peep out of him the rest of the flight - a little cruel having him stare at a perfectly good engine gauge for the whole flight, but it left me alone to fly the airplane without having to focus on new ways to say no - and yes - technically I should have removed the flask from him - but with only he and I onboard the aircraft, I thought that would lead to more distraction.
Image credits: John Smith
#13
I had a flight from Delhi to Frankfurt, and there was a lady with a kid. The kid must be a year old and as the flight took off the kid started to cry probably because of air pressure. She did nothing to make her baby stop crying , just kept sitting !!
We were just waiting for her to pick the baby up so that he stops crying, after 20 mins of him crying, she picked the baby up and figured out that he is crying because he had peed. She took off his clothes and his underwear which had become wet, instead of keeping it inside, she put the wet underwear near the vent on top of her head which was half on my side !!
And I was sitting just behind her , The wet underwear right under the vent above my head drying !!! I was like , what is she even upto ??? I got up from my seat and asked her to stop doing what she is doing and she said, just one more min , let it dry so she can make the baby wear it again.
Image credits: Rutvika Gupta
#14
I was on a flight from Melbourne to Bangkok and sitting next to a 50 something, married couple in the middle seats. The wife and I passed a few pleasantries, while her husband proceeded to get wasted on the free alcohol. About 2 hours into the flight, the husband starts yelling at his wife, decides to give her a backhander and because he was wearing a ring, her cuts her face and blood starts trickling down her chin and onto her clothes. All the time this is happening, he is still screaming at her.
One of the flight crew and several fellow passengers ask him to quieten down but that has little effect. Then all of a sudden she clutches her chest and says she can't breathe. The husband says, matter of factly, that she probably having a heart attack and yells “die you f---ing b**ch, die".
She manages to tell me that she has some tablets in one of the bags at her feet, at which point I ask the husband where they would be, but he's still busy yelling insults at her and refuses to help. By this time her lips have turned blue and I'm frantically rummaging through her handbag for the tablets. Finally, I find the right one, put it under her tongue and slowly her breathing returns to normal. Unbelievably, her husband is still abusing her in between trying to find one of the flight crew to order another drink.
Then two male attendants show up, handcuff him and escort him up to first class and things quieten down. After thanking me profusely, the wife falls asleep and the rest of the flight passes uneventfully. When the plane finally lands, two security guards board the plane and he is escorted into a room in customs. I suggested to the wife that she would be welcome to come with me and we could share a room, at a nearby hotel, while she sorted out what she wanted to do. She politely declined my offer and one of the saddest things I've seen, is her with a overflowing luggage trolley, patiently waiting for her husband to be released by security and allowed into Thailand.
The only upside being that one of the flight attendants gave me 2 bottles of red wine, when I was disembarking, as a thankyou for my efforts! I've often thought about her and wondered if she ever developed the courage to leave him.
Image credits: Nicola Heap
#15
True story.
I was flying from London to Minnesota. It was a long flight and I was stuck in a middle seat. I was on my ipad, working on some math problem I can’t even remember. Also, I couldn't sleep. Two hours in the air, this girl sitting next to me on my left, strikes a Conversation. After a quick chit chat, she leaned in for a kiss and I leaned backwards. "I have a girlfriend," I sighed. After an awkward pause, she went back to pretending to watch a movie without saying a word. Two minutes later, she asked me to switch seats with her and I did. Fast forward another hour and that same girl was kissing the passenger on the window seat. By the way, this passenger in the window seat was also a woman.
What? Yes.
After a brief ”You’ve gotta be kidding me” moment, I went back to doing the math problem I can't even remember.
Image credits: Siddharth Nigam
#16
I was comfortably settled in my window seat, book in hand, anticipating the rest and relaxation my well-deserved vacation would bring. As my seat mate approached, I was struck by the six-inch rhinestone cross that hung from her neck. She began piling books atop the tray table, one of which was entitled, How to Convert Atheists.
Within a matter of minutes, the dreaded question was propounded. “Have you heard the good news?” I enthusiastically answered, “I have! The Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all fifty states. The Catholic Church is losing members faster than you can say pedophile priests and televangelists are being exposed for their fraudulent practices and extramarital affairs.” Before she could respond, I pointed to her book, looked her directly in the eye, and stated unambiguously, “Don’t even think about it.”
I returned to my book and suddenly heard, “I will pray for you.” To which I responded, “Knock yourself out, dear, just do it silently.”
Image credits: Ms. Wright
#17
About ten years ago I boarded a full flight at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey heading back to the U.S. When I approached my assigned seat, I found a muslim woman seated in the window seat with a baby in an infant carrier placed in the aisle seat which was assigned to me. I explained to the woman that I was assigned to the seat occupied by her infant. In poor english, she explained that the infant was mistakenly assigned a seat several rows away and begged that I switch seats.
Of course I accommodated her request and all was well until another traveler approached and informed me that I was occupying their seat. I vacated the seat and again approached the muslim woman. This time she tried to explain that I must have gone to the wrong seat and pointed me towards another seat. At this point I asked to see the seat assignment ticket. She acted like she wasn’t understanding the language when a flight attendant approached to find out why I was blocking the aisle during boarding. I explained the situation to the attendant. The attendant confronted the woman and informed her that she had not purchased a seat for the infant and needed to hold the child on her lap during the flight.
The woman went into a rage loudly demanding that the airline provide a seat for her infant. She yelled about being denied a seat in first class where there were likely empty seats. She complained loudly about being discriminated against because she was muslim which made no sense because we were flying Turkish Airlines.
The flight attendant left and returned quickly with another airline attendant (probably a supervisor). The supervisor informed the woman that she either removed the child from my seat or they would both be removed from the flight.
The woman rose from her seat, brought the baby to a male traveler seated several rows away (likely her husband), dumped the child in his lap, argued with the man for a minute, stored the infant carrier in an overhead bin, and returned to her seat.
Needless to say, we didn’t talk much during the long flight.
Image credits: JimG49
#18
The woman sitting next to me had a peanut allergy. She demanded that the entire flight be declared peanut free. The flight attendants informed her that 6 rows in front of her and 6 rows behind her would be peanut free. That wasn't satisfactory to her. She didn't merely make a scene… her tantrum was an epic! She was informed that they were not even offering peanuts for a snack. She wanted all passengers searched for contraband peanuts.
They continually quoted their airline's policy, but she insisted that other airlines catered to her needs. Now, i was on a tight schedule once we touched ground in Boston, and we've now been sitting at the terminal for over an hour because of her tantrum. I excused myself out of my seat. Opend the overhead bin .grabbed my bag and begged them to let me off of the plane. I arrived in Boston 45 minutes before my original flight. Hard to imagine that one person can s***w up so many people's day because of their personal needs. What a Nut job! 😉
Image credits: Karen Jacobs
#19
We were flying Seattle to Heathrow on British Airways. We boarded the plane, and the seats assigned to us were wet. The flight attendant called the ground crew and quickly changed the seat covers~unfortunately the backs of the seats were wet as well, but that was fine with us.
At this time the third person assigned to the row boarded, an older woman wearing a sweatshirt with a Christmas tree on it. (This was in May). She loudly announced she was not going to sit in a row with wet seats (hers was dry) and demanded an upgrade. The flights manager got on the phone and found there were no business seats available. There was a discussion with flight ops that procedure must be followed and they could not place a passenger into First Class, only Business Class, that this was not the protocol.
To our surprise instead of moving the complaining older lady the flights manager took us into the First Class cabin leaving the complaining passenger in the economy class in her dry seat next to the two wet ones. Not only did we have a marvellous flight and great conversation with the flight attendants, one took a duty free bag and gave us a bottle of champagne to take off the plane, hoping that our London trip would go well after such a rocky start. We were very grateful not to have to sit next to the lady on the flight, and so surprised at such great service.
#20
This was on an Icelandair flight that was headed from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Kennedy Airport in New York City.
This 46-year-old man in the picture had so much to drink to the point where he had alcohol poisoning.
A while after having a couple of drinks, he started spitting on the other passengers.
He also grabbed women, choked other passengers, screamed that the plane was going to crash.
He became aggressive and started to hurt other passengers.
One of the passengers on board had some duct tape in his carry-on bag — so they taped his mouth shut, and taped his body to the airplane seat for everyone’s safety.
After the plane landed, he was taken by police in an ambulance to get treated for his alcohol poisoning.
The federal authorities decided not to prosecute the drunk man.
Image credits: Ahmed Lawati
#21
I am African-American, and was flying from Dallas, TX to Los Angeles, with my daughter who was 11 months old at the time back in 1968, to spend Christmas with my parents. My daughter was a beautiful baby with very long eyelashes; (she is still a beautiful grown lady with long eyelashes).
During the flight as she was sleeping in my arms, one of the white female flight attendants complimented and commented on how pretty she was and how long her lashes were. I smiled at her and said thank you. She then asked me if my baby's eyelashes were real! I looked at her in disbelief and shock...while proclaiming that they were indeed natural...and what mother in her right mind would glue false eyelashes on her baby! To my utmost surprise, she then proceeded to reach down, grabbing my baby's eyelashes to see if they would come off!
Before I could stop myself... I felt this rage and anger...and I cold-cocked her with a right hook as hard as I could, knocking her across the aisle way! Of course that woke my baby up who started crying...probably because I was very verbal in my protest!
If that had happened today...I probably would've been arrested for a*****t! I am so glad my husband was flying to LA later that week and not on that flight with us!
The white man sitting next to me who saw the whole thing, immediately called out for an attendant while pushing the overhead button for assistance! He was very indignant as well. As it turned out, the supervising (male) attendant was very, very, very apologetic...and suspended her services for the rest of the flight, by having her sit in the back where the attendants secure themselves during take -offs and landings. I was seated toward the front of the passenger section, and couldn't and didn't want to see her, so I don't know what happened to her after that. The flight landed...and I was glad to get off!
The airlines did give me a voucher to reimburse me for the money we spent on my ticket to LA; and they comped our return tickets back home to Dallas. The white man sitting next to me was very nice and soooooo embarrassed and apologetic as well. He helped me carry my bags/diaper bag, etc. to curb side.
Image credits: Narvelan Coleman
#22
I was on a flight to Las Vegas from the UK, I think it was flying from Gatwick at the time, travelling alone. Got on the plane, sat down, said hi to the other people in the row. I was in the centre set, aisle seat. I have broad shoulders, so tend to go for aisle or window so I don’t give everyone an uncomfortable flight.
I digress. Anyway, a group of Northern Irish ‘ladies’ got on the flight, found their seats - which were not together - and almost immediately one of them seated in the row just behind me got up and started asking everyone around her if they were travelling alone. I had pre-booked my seat, and ordered a vegetarian meal option. When she got to me, my row-mates, complete strangers, saw the expression of murder on my face at this woman’s approach, and told her that we were all flying together so couldn’t move. Basically, her entire hen party had booked a flight… then not sorted their seating out and were all over the cabin. No big deal, and frankly I couldn’t care any less about it.
But she went on, and on, and on. Eventually her party were all together around her (she wasn’t even the damn bride), and this woman then sealed her status as a genuine arse-breather. You know the type of person - they must be breathing with their arse because they somehow talk without pause. For hours.
She even told a story about how she herself had refused to move to accommodate a woman that wanted to sit next to her own young child on a flight, because it wasn’t her fault the woman hadn’t checked them in on adjacent seats… She recounted this with zero sense of irony. Her sense of entitlement was absolutely staggering.
At some point another passenger complained about the racket, and a stewardess had a word - this only made her worse as she then started asking everyone around her if they had a problem with her.
She even started claiming she spoke so loud because she was hard of hearing. Absolute bullshit.
Bear in mind I have quite a deep voice, it’s not the easiest thing to hear on a plane. She got round to asking me, “Excuse me, I was just wondering if you think I’ve been noisy on this flight, I think someone complained about me.”
I replied, in my usual voice - and believe me, she heard every word - “I’ve been watching a movie with the sound turned up, and I’m wearing noise-cancelling headphones, and I have heard every word you have said during this entire flight.”
Amazingly, she then piped down for the last few hours of the flight and looked suitably embarrassed. Yay me.
#23
On a business flight to Indianapolis, our plane was moving down the tarmac towards the runway. We were probably five minutes from taking off when this young woman (probably 20 or so) starting screaming that she forgot her medication at home and we had to turn around. The flight attendant tried to talk to her to see if someone could mail the meds to her or if she could just go to a pharmacy once we landed, and she insisted she needed it now and was screaming and crying hysterically. We ended up turning around and letting her off the plane. Of course the entire plane had to be emptied and cleared by security before we could leave again, so we ended up about two hours late. I hope she got her meds but if it was that important, she probably should have been a little more careful.
Image credits: Tony C
#24
A woman sat next to me on a 5 hour flight to Mexico City. She sneezed at least 50, maybe 100 times. I never got sick. I had a bad feeling because she looked like she belonged in a hospital bed. I was 36 hours into a 7 day trip when I became ill. I’m walking around in 80 degree weather freezing while getting weaker with every step. The next day I could barely walk. I couldn’t breathe, and my temperature was 104.5 degrees. I was never that sick in my life. I had a doctor come and give me medication. If I wasn’t better by my departure I was going to be hospitalized. I arrived home weakened and 15 pounds lighter than when I went. That was hell. It was the only time I wished I had someone to look after me.
Image credits: Thomas
#25
Coming back from a trip to Thailand, my wife and I went to our assigned seats only to see a young couple sitting there. We showed them our tickets and told them they must have made a mistake. They wouldn’t leave, telling us “The Lady” said they could sit there. I didn’t even bother with getting angry, just called a flight attendant over and showed her our tickets, explaining the situation. The flight attendant told the young couple they had to move, that they couldn’t just sit in seats that someone else paid for. They just kept repeating “The Lady” told them they could sit there. Flight attendant asks them what lady and to please show her their tickets so she could show them to their actual seats. The young couple couldn’t supply either. Amused, I just started putting our carry-ons into the upper bin. The young woman had the nerve to look at me incredulously like, “How could he just start putting his bags away over our seats?” I don’t know what happened to them after that. I just shook my head as they were being led away.
Image credits: VinzoPlex
#26
This happened years ago, before I had kids. I was on a flight, sitting in the window seat, minding my own business as people boarded. A young woman with a child sat in the middle seat next to me. I figured the child had the aisle seat, but no, someone else had that seat. Now the rules then were that a child could be a free lap-rider up until the age of 2 years, then were required to purchase a seat. This was the biggest 2 year old I have ever seen or the mother was pulling one over on the airline. Now they require a birth certificate if there is any doubt the age of the child.
Everything was fine until the plane took off. At that point the child decided they needed to see out the window and walked onto my lap to see the view. Mother didn’t even flinch. Just kept encouraging the child to see the view. She then slipped on headphones and buried her nose in a magazine.
Over the next two hours the child stomped all over me, demanded my attention, and prevented me from eating or drinking anything. The flight attendants repeatedly asked the mother to keep her child on her lap, and she would for as long as it took for the FA to walk away. The flight attendants kept mouthing ‘sorry’ to me the whole flight.
I decided to suck it up for the child and since it was a short flight to just deal with it. As I stood to disembark the plane, after the mother and child had already left, all of the flight attendants hugged me, shoved extra snacks into my hands and thanked me over and over. I ended up leaving with a big smile on my face. People like that mother are the reason the rest of us have to deal with so many rules and regulations.
Image credits: Wendy Jarman
#27
Was on an Emirates flight from Jeddah to Dubai, and had checked in online, nice and early, to get an aisle seat near the front of the economy section. When I boarded, I got to my seat to find a gentleman in the window seat, a lady next to him, and then my seat.
Within ten seconds of my bum touching my seat, the flight attendant asked if I would swap with a guy who had a middle seat of the central seating section, some rows behind. I said no on the basis I don’t like middle seats and had made the effort to check in early to secure a good seat. The gentleman concerned was now standing nearby and pointing at me whilst speaking Arabic to the flight attendant. She explained he couldn't have my seat. After some louder proclamations, it was told to me that the gentleman was the middle passengers father, and didn’t want her next to me, an unknown man (window guy was her husband).
I again refused to move, and at this stage others around had become aware of the situation and were giving nods and winks of support.
Now the “You’ve gotta be kidding me” moment. The older guy suddenly lunged over me and sat half on me, and half on his daughter, and then started to try and push me off my seat. Needless to say, he didn’t succeed.
EDIT: Lots of comments and questions regarding the husband. It just wasn’t an issue for him - he refused to give up the window seat. The person with the issue was the father.
As far as I saw it, he simply hadn’t bothered checking in online, and there was no way I was giving up a decent seat to satisfy his outdated moral code.
Image credits: Chris Bates
#28
Back in the ‘90s my (now ex-) wife and I were flying out of Amsterdam with our 3 year old daughter on the New York leg of what would eventually be 16 hours in the air. The flight was crowded, and before we’d even left the ground, the woman behind my wife put her nasty, dirty bare foot on my wife’s arm rest. The woman appeared to be some flavor of middle eastern (judging by the way she was dressed) and didn’t respond to our requests to move it.
Then her son (I assume, aged about 8) started kicking the back of my seat. I grabbed his legs and turned around and gave him a nasty look. He thought it was a great game and kept it up. The stewardess got her to take her feet off the armrest long enough to take off, but as soon as we were in the air, back they went. Our polite request to the stewardess to change seats if possible was unnecessarily rudely rebuffed, so were were stuck with the situation. Eventually the stewardess came back and told us there was one empty seat at the back of the plane, so for the balance of the flight we switched off getting a few moments of peace before having to go back to the nightmare. Longest flight ever.
Image credits: Brian Hanley-Hart
#29
Flight from Canada to the UK, guy sat down next to me and I gagged.
So what? I hear you cry. Well I’m a plumber’s son. I’ve worked farming and domestic spillages and ruptured pipes, I have literally worked knee deep in human poop to get a job done and the smell of this guy made me gag.
So I went and asked the harried looking attendant if I could switch seats and she just spat out “full flight” “no seats” and shooed me away.
So I went back to my seat but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit next to this guy who smelled like a homeless guy who had shat himself to death in the Florida sun three days ago.
So I went to try the attendants again and, again, I got the brush off.
Back I went to my seat and I had a little think. And I started pushing my call bell. A LOT.
Grumpy attendant came to see me to shut me up.
Grumpy attendant leaned in close to tell me off.
Grumpy attendant took a big deep breath in so she could give me a proper scolding.
Grumpy attendant nearly puked in my lap.
Shortly there after my happy arse was a looooong way away from where I had been and now-apologetic attendant fed me business class food and wine to say sorry.
In all of my long decades on this silly little flying marble we call home that man was, by far, the worst thing I’ve ever smelled.
Image credits: Beaumains
#30
I didn’t initially feel that way when she sat down, but by mid-flight I was certainly thinking that way.
I was working in Kansas City in the early 1990’s and commuting pretty frequently back and forth to Chicago, where I had lived and where my company was based. The flights from ORD to K.C. are short- about an hour in total. On this particular day I had a window seat in the first row of coach, right on the bulkhead. Sitting next to me in the middle “E” seat was this non-descript white woman who I guess was probably in her mid 40’s or so.
She seemed agitated and fidgeted from the moment she sat down. I did my best to ignore her and either looked out the window, read, or tried to sleep while she’s shifting back and forth in her seat.
Midway through the flight the drink cart comes down and she orders TWO doubles - that is four of those little bottles of booze. I don’t think you can order that many on a short flight these days, but that’s what she did. She throws down both drinks in less than a minute, while I’m sitting there holding my diet Coke with my mouth agape, watching this.
After she downs her drinks and commences to fidget, she jumps up out of her seat and heads to the front of the aircraft to use the lavatory. Again, that is not something they let you get away with anymore on planes, using the first-class lavatory, but back then it was acceptable. Seven minutes later she comes back and sits down and she is REEKING of cigarette smoke! The passenger in the aisle seat and I both turn and stare at her, but she just looks at her lap and says nothing. Not a minute later, the PILOT comes out of the cockpit and walks over and leans across the seat towards her and he said: “Ma’am, were you smoking in the lavatory??” She mumbles a stuttering ‘N-no’, and the captain glares are her for another moment or two and then he turns back to the cockpit.
Now we’re just minutes from landing and the FA are on the intercom with their usual ‘we’re beginning our initial descent into Kansas City’ nonsense, and while this is going on the crazed woman has an unlit cigarette in her hand. She’s twirling it around, lifting it to her lips, taking it out of her mouth, twirling it again - it was unbelievable. So now we’re less than a minute from the airport, the plane is just few dozen feet from the runway, and then just as the tires hit the runway and makes that noise that they make when they hit “Errrt!’ or whatever, the woman unbuckles her seat belt and races to stand in front of the door to get out! The front tire hasn’t even touched down yet, the plane is racing at 180 mph, and this woman is standing with her face six inches from the exit door. At this same time, both FA’s who are buckled up in their jump seats are SCREAMING to her: “Ma’am, get back to your seat, GET BACK TO YOUR SEAT!!” in unison. Reluctantly the woman returns, but as soon as we get to the gate she leapfrogs over the woman in the aisle seat and sprints to gain her spot as the first person to get off of the plane.
I have known a lot of heavy smokers, but never knew of anyone who couldn’t even ride in a plane for an hour without smoking. Had this event happened today, the airport police would be the first ones to greet her when she exited the plane.
Image credits: Mike Parenti
#31
When my daughter was around 5 or 6 we booked a flight to Orlando, this would be about 10 years ago. When we arrived at our seats, we realised we had made a mistake and had one seat in central aisle and two seats on one side, with a lady sat in the remaining window seat.
Obviously wanting to be together I asked the lady politely if she would be prepared to swap seats, no pressure, just a friendly request. She refused point blank, which was fair enough, so I agreed with my wife that we would take it in turns to sit with our daughter throughout the flight.
The plane departed, all was fine, then when seatbelt sign was switched off the lady leaned across to me and said “I will swap seats now”. I was very grateful of course and told my wife, who started to get ready to move. As the women worked her way past me she said “I thought I could smoke by the window!”
Image credits: Gareth Hodge
#32
I was flying from NYC to California. This man sitting in front of me, put his hands behind his head,and over my food tray and TV screen. I covered my drink with a napkin, and tapped his hands with my boarding passes. I asked him to please move his hands, they are over my food and tv screen. He turned around, and gave me an angry put upon look. I gave him a look right back.
Later on in the flight after meal service, his hands were back in that same spot over my food tray, and near my TV screen. At that point I started kicking his seat every 60 seconds. He got the point, and moved his hands for good.
#33
Back in 1986, I was returning from NYC to Chicago by plane. On the way through Grand Central Station, I saw the headline that the Bowers vs Hardwick decision had been rendered by SCOTUS, effectively declaring gay men to be not worthy of civil and human rights. I was rightfully angry.
On the plane, I was seated next to a woman probably in her late 50s or 60s, I was 33. I always say hello and check in with those I sit with on a plane. She was pleasant enough, though somehow the disgusting SCOTUS decision - now reversed and declared illegal - came up. She said something about “those people” and I thought, wow, she just dissed me. She told me she was returning from a pilgrimage to some Catholic site in Europe. I told her I was one of “those people” and, though was not rude to her, did confront her. She got all flustered and accused me of upsetting her “peace” she ostensibly got from the Catholic shrine visit.
I told her that her peace must’ve not been real, since she got so upset so easily and left her to stew for the rest of the flight.
Image credits: James Lovette-Black
#34
The passenger had to be sedated before the plane could take off, which caused a slight delay as we waited for that particular passenger to “be knocked out cold.”
Before anyone comments, let me clarify: The pilot himself announced over the intercom that the passenger was being flown out and that we would stop at [xxx] airport, where an ambulance would be waiting. It turned out this passenger had just received a donor match for a kidney and liver transplant!
This passenger had boarded the flight before we did, so we didn’t see the medical equipment. There was a nurse seated near him, which blocked the view. The seats to the left and behind him were intentionally left empty.
All passengers were refunded $50 for the “inconvenience” of having to land at an airport and then take off again to our destination. The pilot accepted the “emergency request,” and he reminded everyone that, “That gentleman there could be you.”
Interestingly, three passengers requested to be removed from the flight (why, I have no idea) and bumped onto another flight. One didn’t want to be around someone who might die on the plane, and the other two were frankly disgusted by the situation. The pilot had already informed us that we would only be about 10 minutes late to our destination.
Since we were on a small Boeing 727 (an older plane), we were bumped up on the runway for emergency protocol. As a result, everyone else had to wait (there were about 27 or 28 planes on the taxiway).
Once we landed, a couple of passengers wanted to wish the man luck, but he was still sedated and unconscious. The medics quickly boarded the plane, placed him on a gurney, and within two minutes, he was gone—they were in a rush!
Afterward, we were given the privilege of being bumped ahead of everyone else at the airport. For the life of me, I still can't figure out how we arrived 15 minutes earlier than expected, even though we were told we would be 10 minutes delayed!
It was the 3 passengers that departed after the announcement that left me with “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
#35
I normally flew business class when I had to go to the states for work. Sometimes if I had to go at short notice this wasn’t always possible so I had a choice, the company would pay the business class cost and I could pay the difference to upgrade to 1st or I could claim back the difference between business and premium economy… which being a tightwad I normally did. I’d also pay the extra for the emergency exit aisle to ensure legroom or space.
So, on one such flight I boarded to find someone in my seat. A man who wanted to “sit beside his wife” and surely I’d be happy to swap seats with him. Depending on where his seat was, I’d consider it… his seat was slap bang in the middle of a middle 4 seat section in Economy, and I mean RIGHT in the middle. I refused to swap but made a counter offer. For cash or an immediate BACS transfer of a substantial sum of money, equivalent to the difference between economy and premium plus the cost of the emergency exit seat, I would swap. Nope, refused. Then he started with the emotional blackmail… doesn’t work on me. Now the cabin crew come to see what’s causing a commotion and holdup in boarding. I explained the situation and he was told to move to his assigned seat. Cue more whinging and pleading, only to be told he had 2 options… take his assigned seat or be removed from the flight. His wife then hissed at him “I told you this wouldn’t work but as always you’re too cheap to pay and too stubborn to listen”. He slunk off and I sat down to prepare for departure.
After takeoff and as soon as the seatbelt was off, he was back whinging about how if I was a decent person I’d swap seats with him… “Unlucky mate, off you go”. 3 times he tried in 15 minutes. The 3rd time I just called the flight attendant to complain.
He was told that if he didn’t return to his seat and stop causing a disturbance then the flight would be turned around and he would be arrested on his return to Heathrow.
Peace and quiet after that.
#36
Many years back, I was flying from LHR to JFK on TWA. At that time TWA has the front of the plane designated “smoking” and the rear for non-smokers. My seat was right in the tail a window seat with no window, could just see out of the one in the row ahead, and only 2 seats wide as opposed to the seats forward of that row which all had 3. Luckily, or so I thought the seat next to me was still open when they closed the boarding doors. I then saw a short and wide lady carrying large bags coming up the aisle. She of course took the seat next to me after insisting that the arm rest was raised between the seats so she could fit into her side, well almost, my seat was significantly encroached upon. The hostess, correct term back then, helped stow her bags but she took out an enormous Bible from one before it was stowed and sat with it in her lap. We taxied to the runway and she then opened the bible over my legs and proceeded to read from it studiously, as we revved up for takeoff.
My thought was “You gotta be kidding me”
I looked out of the window through which I could see the wing and undercarriage, just before take off a tire burst, luckily the captain disregarded the issue until we were coming in to land and the fire crews were waiting for us
#37
The one that comes immediately to mind was probably 15 years ago when I was traveling with my family to some smaller destination in the U.S. During our early decent to land, a middle aged women traveling alone appeared to suffer from a coronary of some kind. The flight attendants were scrambling, asked about a doctor on board (wasn’t one) and helped the women move to the back of the plane (think she lost consciousness a bit later) so she could lay down while they gave her oxygen.
As we landed, the pilot came on and told the passengers there was a medical emergency and to remain seated until they got the passenger deplaned. Smaller airport and the medical crew apparently hadn’t arrived as we pulled up to the gate. We were sitting in the back of the plane and the lead flight attendant looked at me and asked if I would help to carry the women forward to try and save time for her. I didn’t expect it but was happy to do it as I assume anyone would be.
As soon as the seat belt sign came off, I jumped up and held the patient under her arms and started forward with a flight attendant holding her legs and another the oxygen … right into 1/3 of the passengers who were up getting their bags and just ignoring anything and anyone else. It was honestly beyond belief. The lead flight attendant looked at me (I was taking the lead but turned backward so I could carry this poor woman) and just said “go” and here we went pushing people out of they way while the pilot and other attendants were still asking people to be seated. And I kid you not, at least 3–4 in the aisle actually started yelling at me for pushing them while I was holding this poor women while other passengers were yelling at them to get out of the way. Unreal. You experience something like that and it just makes you wonder sometimes where we’re all heading as a species. Hope the woman was OK.
#38
Flying in the front bulkhead seat the “gentleman” in the aisle seat across from me put his bare feat up on the bulkhead - about head high. OK, I know the problem with being tall (I’m 6′4″) but seriously NO ONE wants to see your stinky feet.
And, I regularly pay for the front bulkhead seat and regularly get hit in the face by people boarding wearing backpacks. COME ON PEOPLE take the backpack off prior to boarding and carry it to your seat. Be respectful of others…
Image credits: Steve Gokorsch
#39
I was on a 3.5 hour flight back from Las Vegas to New York. I was seated in economy in the window seat of a three seat aisle.
An enormous overweight woman sat down in the middle seat adjacent to me.
Let me be clear. I’ve been very overweight at various points in my life as well and in no way am I making fun of or demeaning her specifically.
I was absolutely crushed for almost fours hours. Not uncomfortable. Not put off. Crushed. Barely able to breathe. I didn’t have enough space to rotate my spork to eat my cold fish head. The way it’s eye was staring up at me, I swear it felt more sorry for me than it did for itself.
No other spare seat to move me to. At least, none were offered by the attendants who were well aware of my predicament. I even asked them if I could sit in the pull down seat back in the galley they sit in during take off, landings and during turbulence. The answer was no.
I just don’t know how the airline can expect anyone to travel like that.
#40
I had just boarded an international flight. Soon after I got settled in my aisle seat a young man came up to my row and indicated that he had the seat beside me. I stood up to let him in and was looking toward the front of the plane as he got seated. When I turned around I found him sitting in my seat. I said, “You’re in my seat.” He said, No, this is my seat.” I am normally not a very assertive person, but I was determined to sit in that aisle seat for that long international flight. I said, “It’s MY SEAT. NOW MOVE!!!” He moved and very quickly. I surprised myself with my assertiveness, but I had my treasured aisle seat back to enjoy for the entire flight. The woman seated behind me and my coworker seated across the aisle were enjoying the entire exchange and laughing.
#41
In 2016 I found someone in my seat on 3 different flights in a row. Twice! To my destination and back home.
Seats that I had paid for online 2 months prior. A few of the seats were $30 to reserve.
Every time I had to ask them to move and they would not. I had to go bother staff to tell them to move.
I have a disability that requires me to sit in a certain seat. That is why I reserve and pay when I buy my ticket.
I have never got on a plane and just demanded a certain seat. I have always reserved and paid for it.
I pay for having a disability and as if that is not bad enough people think they can just take a seat for free. None of them offered to pay me back or even seemed to care when I told them I paid and had a disability.
People need to stop doing this and airlines need to step up and do something.
Let people who have purchased seats board first or have the seats that are free be lit up or something.
Surely there is a way to stop these selfish people and save the staff the time dealing with them.
#42
Coming back to America from a trip to Southeast Asia, I had the good fortune to get seated next to a woman who was incensed. What was she so upset about? She’d accompanied a friend who was visiting her family there. She couldn’t BELIEVE how often her friend and her friend’s family spoke their language right in front of her. After all, she didn’t speak Thai. She couldn’t believe how rude some people were to leave her, the apparent new queen of Asia, out of the conversation. Didn’t they know that was impolite? On and on she went. Complaint after complaint. Didn’t like the country’s food, too hard to find a western style meal. My goodness it was hot! I finally got it out of her that nobody in her friend’s family spoke English but she apparently thought they, knowing their daughter was bringing an English speaking guest, should’ve at least learned some basics. I asked her if she, knowing she was visiting a foreign country, had considered learning some basics of their language. She looked like I’d both presented her with an outrageously new idea and slapped her at the same time. She says of course she hadn’t and seemed to wonder why I would even ask. My gosh, lady. You visited a foreign country where English is not the standard language and was shocked when you realized the culture, dialect and climate were different from America? And you want me to sympathize?
Headphones on. Thank goodness for the invention. I kept them on just to avoid having to hear any more of her whining.
#43
I was flying on business from Portland to Minneapolis and my seat partner, I was at the window and this woman in the middle. She was a little older than me, very attractive, and friendly. I’m ok with talking on a plane so it was going fine. The woman in the aisle seat conked out soon after takeoff.
Partway through the flight, she started talking about being a kayaker and that she couldn’t find a comfortable personal floatation device, a PFD. She was very busty and otherwise slim so I guessed what her problem was. I told her about a shop that I knew of in Portland that had a huge array of PFDs.
“So you think it will work over these?”, pointing to her chest.
“Well, I’m not sure, but they do carry a ton of PFDs.”
She started unbuttoning her blouse. I said, “That’s OK. I can see the problem.”
“No, just look. These things are a blessing and a curse!”, as she continued to unbutton.
Fortunately, the blouse had many buttons and I was able to get her to stop. I don’t know what she had in mind exactly but it was a “Got to be kidding me.” moment.
#44
I was on a flight back from the Dominican Republic. The plane was completely full and I was sitting in the first row and had an aisle seat. The seat configuration is 3-seats-aisle-3-seats. I was sitting next to an older couple, probably late 60’s, and the husband was in the middle seat. He was fat. Spill over the armrest fat. Not exactly my ideal seatmate situation, but it was only a 3 hour flight and I figured I would just sit down and deal with it.
I am fairly thin, and I fit in a regular plane seat easily (although leg room in front of me is always an issue). I go to take my seat and he’s got his legs spread out and the arm rest is up and he is taking up literally half of the space of my seat. I politely let him know that I’m in this seat and need him to move back to his space and the armrest to be put back down. (And before I hear anything from anyone, it was completely possible for him to not take up any of my seat space because he was able to move over and put the armrest down.)
So I’m sitting and my arms are inside the space of the armrests, not on top of them, I’ve basically got my forearms on my lap. He’s still trying to get into my space and is getting pissed off at me because I occupy physical space. He starts trying to start s**t with me and I tell him that I cannot take up any less space. Eventually things get… a little unpleasant and I tell him if he’s unhappy with how much room he has he should lose weight. I’m not proud of that, but he had this attitude of entitlement with no self-awareness that I tend to not respond well to.
The flight attendants saw what was happening and saw that he kept putting himself in my space and had to tell him to stop it more than once.
What really pissed him off was when the customs declaration forms were handed out. I’m left handed and was on my left, so I need to move my left arm to fill out the form, which ends up nudging him, keep in mind - I’m still within the space between the armrests. He decides to try and start s**t again.
It was the worst 3 hours I’ve ever had on a plane.
#45
It was a night flight from Montego Bay to London Gatwick.. the aisle seat was free and I was planning to slide into it once the cabin doors shut and we started to push back. At the last second my plans were dashed when a group of very loud, very large and very colourful ladies boarded and proceeded to scurry around the cabin looking for seats.
All conversation between them was carried out at maximum volume.
The loudest, largest and most colourful one poured herself into the aisle seat and we set off.
A half hour into the flight it started:
“Yeah Lawd! Into Thy Hands I commend Mah self !”
From the other seats: “ Yes lawd! Praise de lawd! Hallelujah!”
This carried on well into the night and we had crossed the USA, Newfoundland Greenland and Iceland before they finished with a hymn
Meanwhile I was squashed into the two thirds of my seat she hadn't spread into.
Did I mention she stank of sweat too?
#46
OK so the one doing what seemed outrageous to me was my first wife.
We were flying from Sanya, China, to Chengdu, China.
She had been approached by some woman that she apparently knew and was asked if we could take a package to the woman’s son in Chengdu and my wife said sure no problem.
The woman met up with us 1/2 way to the airport and handed us a large bag ,,, so far so good right?
We get to the airport and I look into the bag.
It is full of fish, like fresh caught fish, about 6 or 7 pounds maybe more, and the bag is just a plain paper bag like an old-time brown paper grocery bag from a supermarket, no plastic liner or anything else, just the paper bag.
My wife didn’t even blink and as we were getting onto the plane she put it in the overhead ,,, in 1st class.
When we deplaned in Chengdu there was a lake of fish goo in the overhead about 1/2″ deep.
#47
I was on an assigned seating flight and reserved an isle seat. On boarding, I was toward the end of the line. When I reached my row, the window person was seated and some young man was in my isle seat. When I approached I motioned to him that I wanted to sit. He stood up to expected me to take the middle seat. It was a long day for me and his chutzpah wasn’t appreciated, I told him, respectfully, “Yeah right, move over!”
#48
It was behind me rather than next to me. It was a Turkish Airlines flight from Houston to Istanbul. I always pick one of the seats in the last rows because they're rarely chosen and there is a 50/50 chance I get all three seats to myself.
We boarded the plane and as we were waiting on the staff to close the doors, people started looking around to check for vacant rows. I was in the last row by myself and had a good view of the chaotic scramble for the empty seats.
So this gentleman walks towards me, notices the two vacant rows in front of me, and as he is literally running back to his seat, he's calling out to his wife and pointing towards the vacant rows. She grabs her purse and sprints to the back to take up one of the rows as he dumps his belongings on the second one. They seemed to be satisfied with their efforts and were conversing in their language.
I assumed the scramble was over and I reached over for my book to begin my travel ritual of reading till I fall asleep, hopefully till we land at destination. I looked up and the gentleman was standing right by my seat with a huge fake smile on his face. I smiled back and said Hello, to which he replied “I need you to swap seats with my mother; she's in that middle seat up front but I want her to have a whole row because she's old and needs her rest.” I'm usually quick with my replies, but not that day! I might have even left my mouth open for a duration that is reserved exclusively for happy dogs! I looked at him, then at his wife, then at the confused mother left in the middle seat, before I looked back at him and asked “Why not give her your spot?”…His response to my logical and obvious solution to his dilemma was ”Oh no,it's a long flight; I need my rest too.”
#49
I once flew home on Eastern Airlines and had purchased a first class seat. Right before take off they brought in a passenger from coach and seated them next to me. Which wouldn’t have been bad but they had an obvious respiratory illness. They coughed and hacked on us the entire flight. 3 days later I was hospitalized with an upper respiratory infection. At the time it happened, I was thinking “You got to be kidding me!” putting a sick person in the first class cabin. I opted to never use that airline again. I will rent a car and drive first.
#50
About a month ago, I took a flight on a budget airline. Almost immediately after we hit 10,000 feet, I heard cries of “Emergency!” from a few rows behind me. It turns out an elderly gentleman had collapsed. The flight staff called out for any medical personnel on board to help; there were no doctors, but a couple of nurses came back to do what they could.
I don’t think a diagnosis was ever reached, but after about 45 minutes (quite long, in my opinion) of checking over the gentleman and asking his family about his health, the nurses told the flight attendant that they recommended landing the plane ASAP and getting the man to a hospital. By this point, we were about half-way through the flight, so it didn’t make sense to turn the plane around to our departure airport. I was expecting that we would make an emergency landing at an airport en route. But no. After conferring with the pilots, the flight attendant informed the nurses and family that the airplane would continue to the destination, and that arrangements would be made for an ambulance to meet the plane at the gate.
Furthermore, the family, in answering some medical questions, said the gentleman had passed out earlier the same morning (before the flight), and also mentioned a mini-stroke.
The gentleman did not regain consciousness during the flight. I hope he recovered with medical attention, but of course I never found out what happened to him after he was wheeled off the plane to the ambulance. But there were two big “You’ve got to be kidding me” aspects: 1. That the airplane did not even attempt to make an emergency landing to get the man faster medical attention. Sure, it costs a lot of money to do emergency landings, but isn’t the life and health of the passengers more important? And 2. That the family even embarked on the trip in the first place, when he had collapsed (possibly a mini-stroke?) earlier the same day. Why did they not seek medical attention for him earlier, much less let him get on an airplane?
#51
A few months ago I was flying to India for my wedding. I was excited and nervous. I hoped I would have a good seat-mate for the first leg of the journey from Chicago to Dubai.
I got a really nosy missionary.
I didn't know it at first so I was super open about everything. Then slowly it went downhill.
So you're marrying a Hindu? Try to convert him or he and your children will go to hell. This is a great opportunity to ‘save' his family and bring them to Christ.
Bro. If I dont go to church, I'm sure as heck not going to put anyone else through it lol.
He wanted me to pray with him. He wanted my phone number (old guy, not flirting). He wanted my email address. He gave me his card and wanted me to keep him updated on the progress of the ‘battle for their souls' (lol) and let him know if I needed any help.
I dont have anything against Christians. I was devout for the first 18 years of my life. But I hate conversions. Your parents told you a story growing up, their parents told them a story growing up. What makes you feel so superior that your story is better than theirs?
If someone asks or is looking for direction, sure. But jumping on people like a salesman on cocaine is not the way. Chill.
It's fun to mess with missionaries though. Ask them if tribal people with no access to knowledge on Jesus will go to hell (the main point of the sales pitch - only way to heaven is through Jesus), ask about past life regression therapy and how little kids spontaneously pick up languages they have no access to (reincarnation), ask if they wear mixed fabrics or cut their hair (Leviticus rules).
I have close friends of all the major religions and suggest everyone do the same. We should accept each other, learn from each other, and focus on being good people for the betterment of humanity and the earth.. not to get a front row seat to a pearly gate.
And can we talk one second about how unrealistic a gate made out of pearls is. Just think about the logistics of that.
#52
Large woman came up to my aisle in first class and told I had to switch seats with her- she said she was stuck in a middle seat in coach. Before I had a chance to say anything, an FA escorted her back to her seat. Quick thinking; I can be a real jerk if I’m not careful.
#53
Well before 9/11 I was on a domestic flight in the US when a bearded man in a robe got on the plane carrying a long stick, at least five feet long, looking like a shepherd's crook. He wanted to keep it with him at his seat. But of course it would not fit under the seat. The flight attendants tried to get him to part with it. He finally very reluctantly agreed to let them try to put it into the overhead compartment, but it would not fit there either. They then offered to place it in the cockpit with the pilot, where it would be returned at the end of the flight. He refused, and finally got off the plane rather than check his crook.
#54
I was leaving Peru to Miami and had got stuck with the aisle seat in the last row of the plane. Two men sitting in middle and window seats. The guy in the middle kept wanting to get up while the seat belt icon was on. Did that as we were taxing to fly out too. Did it again when the plane was climbing. Then we hit turbulence and he wanted to get up again I made him sit back down. The seat belt icon finally turned off. I let him out. He proceeded to panhandle his way to the front of the plane. FA brought him back and told him to stay In his seat.
#55
I was on a morning flight from Dublin to Amsterdam on the middle seat, my friend by the window and some random guy on aisle. Other than being on the very last row (by the toilets) nothing else was out of the ordinary. After safety briefing the guy asked the FA if he could move to an empty row further up, and she agreed. Then just as we are taxying to the runway a woman comes running down the plane to use the toilet.
Cabin crew told her to return to her seat, but she said she had to go…..badly. once again she was told to sit down or we had to go back to the gate and she would be de-planed. So she sat down right beside me crossing her legs and trying not to pee herself.
Plane took off, and once the seatbelt sign went off she tore into the toilets, hitting me in the face with her hand as she unbuckled the belt.
No apologies, or anything.
#56
My seat was the isle seat my baby was in the center my wife was the window seat. Some lounge lizard tried to say that my baby's seat was his
I had the boarding pass for my baby with my official government passport that's brown not blue. Did you pay for this seat ? Yes I did does the seat have the faa approval decal yes. I wasn't holding a baby for a 12 hour flight .the only thing that scared this dirt bag was a senior master seargent saying hello and calling me chief .I was a flying crew chief so chief was like saying hey you.then I introduced my wife and son to a smsgt flight engineer. Then a flight attendant asked what the problem was “some lowlife was sexualy harassing my wife. The flight attendant said you mean the guy in 39 c about 22 rows back.
My row had the bulkhead so there was more legroom ,I am 6foot 5 that's why we picked that row when we got the tickets from the sato/tmo office . I was on military orders flying commercial in civilian clothes.
