I appreciate the mask suggestion. Frankly, the experience is giving me newfound respect for the tendency of many East Asian travelers to wear them while flying. My only concern would be that others would think I was carrying some awful illness. (Though, then again, it might make someone less likely to recline into me. )

Fortunately, I was on a full-fare ticket, so rebooking wouldn't have been an issue, though flight availability later in the day was tight.

My concern about W&B stemmed from an experience I had several months ago flying PHL-IAH-LAX. We were moderately delayed in Philly due to MX. Just as we were finally ready to push back, a passenger announced that she was going to miss her connection to Vegas, that she had previously been told she could get off if she needed, and that she was therefore going to do so and drive to EWR in hopes of catching a nonstop. The captain made no effort to hide his contempt over the intercom, explaining that, due to one passenger, we were going to have to recalculate W&B and wait for approval. Delay wound up being about 15-20 minutes, if I recall.

I did not want to be that villain.