Wouldn't it be great to compile a list of one-liner responses that we could have at the ready when these situations occur? I like Flyerwife's for example. I would have given my seat up too, and been really unhappy about it, like NLP did, just because someone caught me offguard and I couldn't think of a way out of it quickly enough. But if we have these one-liners ready, it will really help. Does anyone have others? Or, you could try memorizing a few phrases in different languages. For a flight to Frankfurt, maybe you could say in Spanish, with a confused look on your face, "Lo siento pero no hablo ingles" or if going to Mexico, (though I have seen many Germans going there) you could say the same thing in German. I actually tried this once but I was busted when the other party said, "(*&^ I know you speak English I just heard you before!" Maybe pull out a Japanese/English traveler's phrasebook, hand to them and motion for them to point to the phrase?

[This message has been edited by CozumelJen (edited 02-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by CozumelJen (edited 02-26-2001).]