What's the most annoying passenger you've encountered?
#31
Moderator: Information Desk, Women Travelers, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 15,609
Well I'm not afraid to put a name on the most irritating passenger I've ever had onboard. His name was (and might still be, if he's still alive) Mamool and he was a thoroughbred Arabian racing stallion, owned by the Godolfin stables (i.e. Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai), jockey'd by Frank Dettorio and one of their most prized horses.
#34
Join Date: May 2014
Location: East Bay, CA
Programs: AA Gold, IHG Elite or something, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 32
The person who closed my window while I went to the bathroom. It was normal daytime, no bright sun hitting anyone in the face. Everyone mysteriously was napping when I got back. It was a conspiracy! I opened the window but only halfway as a compromise
#35
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: QFF Gold, Flying Blue, Enrich
Posts: 5,366
Oh my, a little bit of light on the face. There are surely some tender souls here.
#36
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: ELP
Programs: AAdvantage, Amex MR
Posts: 2,309
JFK-LAX UA flight in econ plus a few months ago. Someone close to me was continually passing gas and refusing the use the restroom to relieve themselves. Every 5 minutes awful smell, after awful smell. I summoned the flight attendants several times and requested an announcement be made to the offending gas passer to use the restroom and spare the entire plane from their smells. FA said they even are smelling it in F/class but still refused to make a basic announcement. It got so bad that I had to hold my nose for most of the flight. Nothing like having to breathe other peoples farts for 6 hours+
I had my own string of annoyances on a flight a few weeks back on a Southwest flight from PHX to SEA I was in 2F, right behind the bulkhead in front. Towards the end of boarding when the FA's started to mention it was a completely full flight, aisles and windows are probably all taken, grab the first empty seat, etc this older, probably 50 something couple spotted the middle seat in my row and the bulkhead. The wife sat next to me, husband got the bulkhead. Everyone is on board and the door closes, the FA's mention to the husband that his bag must go overhead, but there is no more overhead space nearby, however the wife makes a suggestion that maybe she can squeeze his small backpack/purse thingy under the seat in front of her. Since she already had her purse there, and my small duffel bag was already under the seat in front of me in order to make room she had to have her husband's bag spill over into my foot space. I can always put my bag under the seat and still have plenty of feet space by straddling it, but not that time.
To top it off during pushback I smelled this awful smell that lingered for what felt like forever. Someone farted. So bad the lady next to me started fanning her face with her magazine. I just stood still because I felt like if I tried to fiddle with the ac to fan the stench away from me I would get blamed for it when it wasnt me!
Off and on during the flight a baby a few rows back would wail horribly for about 15-20 minutes then stop for a while.
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Formerly HPN, but then DCA and IAD for a while, and now back to HPN!
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Posts: 10,677
The guy feigned not speaking English, that's why the point was made of his accent, in this case Arabic sounding, guessing Lebanese. So what? It could have been an Eastern European accent, a redneck accent, an Indian accent or a New Jersey accent and the behavior would be equally obnoxious.
#40
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 139
I sympathize with you. I truly do, but I question just how practical it is to get up and go to the lav every few minutes to fart. Wouldn't that arouse suspicion? Make people wonder why someone keeps getting up, the FA's would wonder and question the pax as frequent use of the lav could be a security red flag. Make people wonder if something is being assembled in there. Who knows? Much less embarrasing and more discreet to just let it out all flight as awful as it is I know. Even so the constant opening and closing of the door would fan the smell around anyway not to mention the pax crop dusting on the way back. Just not a practical or realistic solution what you suggested, unless you suggested to the FA to make an announcement to the pax to just hold it in.
#41
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: East Anglia UK
Programs: BA-S UA LH-Sen KLM/AF-Plat.
Posts: 1,624
All the idiot had to do was go to the bathroom and poop. This was not a constant gas, get up, sit down, get up again situation. It was quite obvious he ate something that didn't agree with him. He was about to poop his pants and decided just sitting there and passing horrible gas for 6 hours was a better idea than just getting up and going.
#42
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: KSUX
Posts: 905
The pax I'd like to have strangled the most wasn't actually sitting next to me on the plane (Thank $DEITY) but a loudmouth at the gate who couldn't understand how our departure from Phoenix was delayed by weather when it was clear and sunny out. Apparently he couldn't grasp that huge line of thunderstorms between in the inbound aircraft's departure airport and Phoenix may be related to said delay. Hey sparky haven't you noticed the distinct lack of an aircraft at the gate?
#43
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CVG
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K, Bonvoy Ambassador, HH Diamond,
Posts: 172
Not sure this is the most annoying, but turned out to be nearly the most embarrassing. Flying back home from Australia on the Qantas A380 in Premium Economy yesterday. The two lavs are between business and PE and are adjoining in the center of the plane. I'd noticed on the flight over in the one bathroom there was a small handle and it was hinged such that you could essentially open the divider between the two lavs.
Well, I was in the other one pretty early into the flight home when as soon as I unzip and start the flow, the person in the adjoining lav starts to open said divider. I gently pushed it closed as soon as it started opening thinking the person doing it would quickly realize that isn't the door to get out. I was wrong. Repeated attempts, with short breaks in between, while I'm trying to finish peeing without either spilling on the floor or being accused of indecent exposure. I couldn't believe they didn't realize that wasn't the door they wanted. They made one final, forceful attempt (at this point I was rather frustrated) that caused me to utter "STOP" loud enough for them to hear while throwing my shoulder into the divider pretty damn hard to make it clear there was a person on the other side who didn't want to share a space with them.
They relented after that, and by the time I finished, washed my hands, etc, they were gone. I was a little flustered, and it's one of those things that happned so fast, but I'm proud to say no urine was misplaced through this little event and no one got exposed.
Well, I was in the other one pretty early into the flight home when as soon as I unzip and start the flow, the person in the adjoining lav starts to open said divider. I gently pushed it closed as soon as it started opening thinking the person doing it would quickly realize that isn't the door to get out. I was wrong. Repeated attempts, with short breaks in between, while I'm trying to finish peeing without either spilling on the floor or being accused of indecent exposure. I couldn't believe they didn't realize that wasn't the door they wanted. They made one final, forceful attempt (at this point I was rather frustrated) that caused me to utter "STOP" loud enough for them to hear while throwing my shoulder into the divider pretty damn hard to make it clear there was a person on the other side who didn't want to share a space with them.
They relented after that, and by the time I finished, washed my hands, etc, they were gone. I was a little flustered, and it's one of those things that happned so fast, but I'm proud to say no urine was misplaced through this little event and no one got exposed.
#44
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: Enough
Posts: 961
On SVO-JFK, in whY, my poor husband had the pleasure of sitting beside a woman with a lap child, who I swear was the size of a 6 year old. I'm all for public breastfeeding, but she would lay her breast on him with the child kicking at him while he fed.
He was not a happy camper.
He was not a happy camper.
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Sydney Australia
Programs: No programs & No Points!!!
Posts: 14,203
Not necessarily annoying, but I regularly see people getting on the plane walking through First Class looking for their seat. Boarding pass says 34J. They look at the first row, "1". Go to the next row. Stop. Look at the row. "2". One row at a time until they get to the end of First Class. They see the smaller seats, stop and start looking at row numbers in First Class again. Just in case the airline accidentally stuck row 34 between rows 2 and 3.