xolinlevh

Haha I realize that now. On every other flight where I talk to my seatmate, it lasts 5 min at most. Exchange pleasantries and then mind our own business the rest of the flight. Never had it backfire this bad before.

Xeno

Indeed as do all those who do a lot of international travel unless you are protected in a 764 or 777.

amolkold

If I feel like it, I talk to my seat-mate as we are on final approach. Then there's a limit to how much we can talk.

Sabai

Sounds like the typical person who puts their feet on the bulkhead.

Noise-canceling headphones and an i-Pod are your friend; failing that, a really good book that you can put your nose into is also a good defense.

AAce24

Yeah, people who put their feet on the bulk-head have their own class in society.

And it isn't a very high class, I might add....

bradjward

Do me a favor next time this happens, snap a pic and submit it to myseatmate.com.

andymo99

It is funny how everyone espouses such limited interaction with seat opponents. Don't you realize that, both figuratively AND literally, we are sitting next to one another on these planes?

You deprive yourself of some really insightful and enjoyable conversations if you take this approach. I've sat next to some really fascinating people over the years traveling all over the world. Celebrities, people of unfamiliar religions, those with really obscure and interesting professions. A few weeks ago, my wife and I went out for dinner with someone she met on a plane and his significant other. We'll invite them over our home soon. Just this past Tuesday, I met a friendly and interesting lawyer flying to Vegas. Minutes after we landed, I was sending him a suggested iPad app from a lawyer at my company, based on his stated frustration that such an app didn't exist.

I've sat next to my share of bores. And I've had flights where all I want to do is sleep, or I need to get work done. In such cases, it is easy to minimize interaction. But be open to meeting new people. Maybe you'll meet someone who posts here.

Million Mile Secrets

Umm...why not tell him that you prefer not talking instead of being miserable?

kan1011

I took a flight from NRT to LAX (10 hour flight). I had the isle seat and the gentleman sat in the middle told me that he recently got shot twice in the back and he still felt pain for sitting for too long. For 10 hours, he went to the bathroom at least 15 times and he consumed "chewing tobacco" continously.

That was a very bad experience.

mnredfox

I was going to say there's gotta be some form of online embarrassment to shame people from acting like jerks.

exwannabe

The OP should have yanked the jerks chain.

"Why are you in first"

I dated the GA for a while last month.

"Why do you have money"

My father tripped on some stairs at a fancy restaurant and collected $6M in damages. Since he was already on disability, he let me have a good chunk of it.

"Why are you still in school"

I only take 2 hours a quarter, but as long as I am registered I still collect from my parents SS disability.

Another approach is to reply in a foreign language.

dl767captain

My worst was a guy, in F (a rare upgrade on my part) who upon sitting down at the gate pulls out a banana and begins to eat it. Sure I've got an irrational disgust for bananas but really!? could you pick something worse to eat on an airplane.... oh but he did. After a couple glasses of wine he pulls out some tuna salad, now this crosses the line for me. From a bad experience with tuna just the smell of it makes me want to throw up and apparently some of the other F pax weren't to happy about it either. He continues to chug his wine then sloppily gets up to use the bathroom. Standing at the door I watch him sway a little, then a little more, then finally he topples into the aisle.... out cold!

Needless to say it took us all a few seconds longer than it probably should have to help him.

andymo99

Um, you realize that delta SERVES bananas in the F snack basket, right? Pretty hard to complain about a pax eating this particular food.

WidgetKid

Yeah, I feel for you there. I sat next to a "gentleman" who hocked loogies into his empty water bottle the whole three hours from BOS - MCO.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

That is true... but in the OP's case the guy had already started before sitting down with his demands etc.

My response to people like the OP's case and the question 'so, what do you do?' is to lean across and quietly say 'I'm fortunate enough not to have to work'.

I've only used it twice in the last 10 years but geez it a) shuts them up (because it's an entirely unexpected response) and b) gets them quietly enraged and you can just see them bursting to ask why you don't have to work!

It was a trick I learnt from here on FT I believe!

(of course I do work)