PerrySSoCal

lisamcgu Exactly.

Scooterino Revision noted. The Shot Glass is a nifty trick. He claims to be retiring from it. We wouldn't let him. One of my co-workers (a Mormon) got him to do it. I think I may have to practice & take it over for next year.



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joyfully subversive

onedog

I was on a flight MIA-LAX in C a couple of weeks ago and the gentleman in front of me was reading the latest issue of PENTHOUSE (I just happened to notice that it was the Pet Of The Year issue ).

He was trying to be discreet about the magazine, tucking it between the pages of a newspaper, except that the newspaper was upside down. When the FAs would walk by for beverage/snack/dinner service, he would fold up the magazine and put it away, but I am sure that the FAs knew what he was reading.

For me, a passenger should be able to read whatever he wants, as long as it doesn't bother someone else. My son (who is only 1 and was sitting directly behind him) didn't show much interest in the magazine, but later on when when my son starts showing a bit of interest in the "birds and the bees", I would probably discreetly and politely ask the guy if he could put the magazine away until my son fell asleep.

CFM3RD

MiAAmiStew,

There is a flt 69 from MIA - DFW -- Is that a fav of the MHC?

Adman

I would be surprised if AA had actually "changed their rules" about what you can/cannot read. It sounds to me like the flight attendant got a request from another passenger to make you put the magazine away, and s/he made up the "rules" thing to avoid having to point fingers.

It's a little silly -- if someone had a problem (because of a young child/whatever), s/he should have just approached you directly. I involve the flight attendants only when things involve safety/policy ("excuse me, are you aware that the moron there still has his cell phone on?), not my own preferences -- a good rule of thumb in my mind.

FewMiles

Some people prefer not to be confrontational and might be uncomfortable asking another pax to "please put that away" and hence would ask the FA to intervene on their behalf.

FewMiles..

MiAAmistew

CFM3rd,
I caught that, and no...you will usually see the attempted gymnastics on flights going to the islands, you know, vacation and all, "first time out of the country going to Hedonism II, gotta bring back a good story and get warmed up for that hot tub built for 70..." I'll save you the trouble of asking, yes I've been there...twice, yes it's fun, and no it's not exactly what you think it is.

Adman,
You're probably right. Somebody saw that magazine and the FA didn't want to get caught in the middle and had to think of something quick. We are put in the difficult position of playing "referee" between passengers, and as I've said, we don't like it. So we try to handle it as discreetly as possible, but everyone always thinks it's our job to change other people's personal habits and sometimes you just can't. If the request to tell another passenger to do something is ridiculous enough, like, "Oh Miss? (that's my name!) Would you tell that man to close his mouth when he chews?", I have been known to say, "Sorry, if you would like to tell him, be my guest, but I can't tell him something like that. If you would like to, please, go ahead." Then I get "the glare" and they are mad at me for the rest of the flight,but they never approach the guy who's bothering him.
MiAAmistew

pitflyer

My wife was on a flight in the exit row in the aisle. The guy near the window was apparently reading Playboy -- he tried to disguise it by placing it inside the inflight magazine, but it was pretty obvious. After he was done, he just left the Playboy in the seat pocket. That's a little disturbing if someone's young kid boarded into that seat next...

I've never attempted to read or look at anything like that on a plane, but I remember I was coming on the Gatwick Express from downtown London to LGW. I picked up a copy of Loaded, which is like Maxim, etc, here, but like most things in Europe, it has some nudity I sat across the aisle from a family with two kids, probably about 12-14. I made sure to skip over any pictorials, etc, just in case the parents would be upset.

This is an interesting question and in more mundane times (ie before 9-11) it would be interesting to see the lawyers argue over it

MIAFlyer

Again, I am amazed at the amount of interest this has attracted.

No one else could see the magazine, it was on the center portion between the two center seats of the Flagship suite. My friend was sitting on the other side (2D&G I think). The magazine was between a Motor Trend and Money, so only the title was visible, not even the whole front cover.

The only other thing I can think of is perhaps the flight crew was a little on edge because Burt Reynolds was on the flight.

Regards,
Scott

greggwiggins

This would be the Burt Reynolds who once posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine?

Somehow I don't think he was the one to have a problem with someone reading Playboy.

PlatAAagain

So, what would you (and your colleagues, if you know) prefer to be called? (at the risk of igniting a flamefest...)

I usually use "Miss", unless the person is male, or appears to be nearing retirement..

FWIW, I use the call button RARELY. I have been told that some FA's don't like it much. I leave its use for times when something is urgent, and I cannot leave my seat for some reason.

- Plat

tehg

I wonder where the gender lines divide here. Not next to kids seems to be a given. How about if you were sitting next to a woman?

wesleymouch

The standard should not be "Don't do anything you wouldn't do in front of your boss," but rather "Don't do anything you wouldn't do in front of the neighbors' kids." The airplane cabin is NOT a workplace populated only by adults (as some people too often fail to recognize).

It's a pretty immature adult who cannot suspend his/her need for R- or X-rated entertainment for the short period of an airline flight.

This applies not just to sexual material, but also to other things. I wouldn't watch violent DVDs on my computer player for same reason -- because it would be unfair of me to accidentally expose some parent's 6-year-old to that material. Taking a kid on a plane should not be an opportunity for putting them at risk for this kind of stuff.

lalala

I had a TWA flight last year where the gentlemen sitting next to me boarded with both Newsweek and Playboy. I was sort of miffed, but he was amazingly discreet. Read every article in both magazines and didn't gaze at the pictures too long. He even turned the magazine towards him if he felt it was too risque. He was continuing from stl to miami. Is this a prerequisite for flights to and from miami?


The thing that sort of ticked me off was that he was sharing with a bunch of his friends. They passed the magazine back and forth, just like jr. high school.

I read all sorts of things on planes and believe that one of our greatest joys in living in the US is our freedom of speech. He was discreet and I was not bothered.

I don't know about the MHC, but I was stuck on a small plane once from anc-dut when the gentlemen (perhaps not) on seat in front of me decided to relieve the pressure of flying by (ehem, you can guess) for 45 minutes. It was rather disgusting and being a small plane with no flight attendants and no easy way to call attention to his actions, the woman sitting across from him and I were happy to land and report the incident to the airline and the Dutch Harbor police department. Hope those RAA employees did a good job of cleaning the cabin.

lala

MIAFlyer

I personally wouldn't read the magazine if there were children or women sitting next to me, or even sitting around me (and I think most other people would say the same). As I stated in the original post, I usally fly with friends, up front, in a window seat, so the risk of accidental "exposure" is quite small.

The actual number of pages with nude pictures on them is actually quite small compared to the total amount of reading material available.

I wonder if I was that guy from STL-MIA....

Thx,

Doppy

So long as you're discreet, you should read whatever you want. In the middle or aisle seat of any cabin, this might not work. In the window seat, you can pull it off with no problem.

But, to be told you can't read a magazine even before you've opened it up - that's stupid.

d