I love that story.

I probably would drape a blanket over my head, put on my noise-canceling headphones, turn up the volume and try to tune him out.

One time on an Air France 747 in economy, I had an aisle seat, and the middle seat next to me was empty. The person in the middle seat in the row BEHIND me pushed the middle seat next to me all the way forward, and put his smelly feet on the back of the seat, just inches from my nose. I just threw the seat back, yelled at him in French something like, "vous est un cretin... un imbecil... va te faire futre..." It did work.