zdcatc12

Just got off of 2686 from PHL-DTW, 717, sitting in the exit row 17A. Person in 17B was already in seat when I boarded, I'm Silver. Taxied out, the whole time he was working on his laptop, opened up, on his lap.
As we turn onto the runway, he is still working away on his laptop. I said, "we are on the runway now, could you please put that away?" He said, "They didn't make an announcement to put it away." I said it's the rules and it's common sense. Then he closed it and left it on his lap. I asked him to put it away, he said he'll leave it on his lap. I said I don't want it go flying if anything happens. He left it on his lap and I gave up.
Did I go overboard on this? We ended up 45 minutes late, if he had a connection, I hope he missed it.

SecurityTheaterFanClubPresident

I'm young so I don't really know, but did people dwell on the minutiae of life and seek validation that they are right in every minor confrontation before the Internet came along?

KDCAflyer

You didn't go far enough. I don't want to get killed by a flying laptop if there's an aborted takeoff or turbulence during takeoff/landing.

Troppy

cre95

cre95

sydneyracquelle

rickg523

Laptop. Lap baby.
Not even sure why running a laptop offline should be verboten. It's the rule so it is what it is, but still.

Wimsta

There was the guy named Socrates, he was totally famous for it, but he lived along time ago so you probably haven't heard of him. He even lived before telephones.

Lomapaseo

but don't drink the tea like he did

satman40

HMPS

+1

I have called the FA via button when I see a reclined seat at take off & landing. And yes I would do the same for a laptop in lap.
Ever seen FAs asking ladies to place their purses under the seat ?

Qwkynuf

I am pretty sure that in theory, anything that might become a projectile during an accident is supposed to be secured. I would imagine that in the event of a late aborted takeoff and runway overrun, most folks' instinct would be to try to protect themselves, and not to reflexively clutch a 5 pound laptop. And should the plane hit something solid at 40mph, for example, it is likely that the majority of the passengers would get away with minor injuries. Except the guy who gets hit in the back of the head with that laptop, which is going to exert 267.5 foot pounds of force on the next thing it comes in contact with.

That said, I suspect that in practice, this amounts to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic - but there is also the concept of "control what you can control", so that you have fewer variables to deal with when the poop hits the fan.

stealthpilot

FlyBitcoin

+1 on the call button suggestion, but you need to pull it as soon as you are towed from the gate. If you are already rolling on a taxiway, it might not get answered by then.

And they do make an announcement on every DL flight that laptops must be stored in your carry-on luggage, not in the seatback pocket, nor on the floor. So if the seatback pocket is not good enough, then your grubby little hands are not good enough either. It is not exaggerating that if one does have an emergency during takeoff and landing, said passenger will probably drop that item in order to do something else like assume bracing position, or grab an oxygen mask (perhaps for a high altitude airport operation). And at that moment, the item could cause injury to someone else.