What do you do when you end up seated next to someone who is obviously sick?

When I got to my seat last week, the lady who was sitting beside me had taken both our blankets and pillows and was "cocooned" in them. She was sniffling quite loudly so I didn't want the blanket and pillow back. Throughout the whole flight she was wheezing, coughing, sneezing and hacking. Of course, she ordered alcoholic drinks throughout the flight as if this would help her cold/flu. I just tried to stay out of her coughing/sneezing range for the whole flight. What else could I have done?

According to information provided in Dr. Abby, you may request another seat; and the flight attendants are supposed to honor that request, even if the flight is full.

I always try a two-pronged attack:

1. I call the most senior steward(ess) over and say that the passenger next to me is clearly not well, and I think it would be better for THEM if they had some extra space to stretch out in.

If that doesn't get me moved, I say:

2. That I am extremely under the weather myself, and worried that I may catch something, is it possible for me to have some paracetamol (or any other kind of medicine you know they stock on the plane) IF they are unable to move me.

That virtually always does the trick, I assure you. The trouble to the steward(ess) in getting you some medicine and filling out all the forms and getting a colleague to so-sign the forms and getting your address etc etc. is alot more than moving you (even if it means an upgrade!).

[I use the same argument for my other pet hate in the sky - being sat next to 'unaccompanied minors'!! "I can see the sky..." "very nice." "What does this button do?" "I don't know" light-on.... light-off... light-on... light-off... seat-reclined... seat-vertical... seat-reclined... seat-vertical... "Have we taken off yet?" "NO!".
Don't even get me talking about why they give children chocolate bars on planes. You know the little darlings will drop the bar in your lap at some point during the flight]
MF

This is not very nice of me... but when I
talk to a live person when making air reservations I ask that I not be seated next
to young children. Especially on business
trips. It's tough to do work on the plane
with some children (NOT ALL) jumping around
or screaming or crying.

I include that request as part of my airline
profile. Assume it's being honored because
only once recently I was seated next to a
little girl who spent the whole flight reading Charlotte's Web and looking out the
window. CATMAN

I actually find teenagers more annoying to sit near than smaller children - ten-year-olds can be intimidated into good behaviour...

One of the most annoying flights I've been on was a transatlantic trip where the ~16 year old girl behind me kept kicking the back of my seat despite repeated requests not to.

Still - being of the 'spare the rod and spoil the child' school, there are definitely some children who belong in the cargo hold. Parents who don't keep their kids under control make me see red, as do families where both parents are travelling with several small children and the husband ignores everything they do, leaving his wife trying to deal with it all - not fair when you have a hungry crying baby and a couple of toddlers running riot in the aisles.

UMs can be told off without fear of reprisals from their parents!

If you are sick you should:
1) Not fly. In the winter (cold and flu) season, there are more germs being recycled through an aircraft than you'll ever find in your typical pediatric sick ward. Besides, the pressure changes wreak havoc on your sinuses.
2) Take enough decongestant/Nyquil that you are not annoying to those around you.

As for the kids, I actually enjoy sitting next to UMs on flights! Their enthusiasm and excitement (and even nervousness)reminds me of a time when air travel used to be something special for me, too.

Speaking of children...I think it comes under a broader subject...people with NO manners. I have yet to figure out how the airline can make people have good manners. If you are flying on a buddy pass, the airline gives you a detailed list of acceptable attire and manners...maybe they should do the same for everyone??? *s*

Bad manners...my pet peeves:

The parent that lets there young child climb all over the seats or does nothing when their child constantly yells and kicks.

A person trying to hold a baby when all seats are full...I feel a little sorry for them - they can't even put their tray down. There really is not enough room in coach for two people to occupy one seat.

The people that cough and sneeze without covering their nose/mouth.

Drunks!

People who make lots of noise...talking really loud, snoring(guess it's not their fault), hand held video games, ..and any flight into Las Vegas is bound to have a few who shuffle their cards the entire flight - snuffle that shuffle!

People who wear absolutely inappropriate clothing...one guy I was sitting near was in a very loose tank top...the kind people use in wrestling matches and leaves your entire chest almost completely exposed...he sure did have hairy underarms ..yuck :/

People who, while either bordering or deplaning, hold up the whole line why they place/retrieve items in the overhead bin.

People that put their feet up on the wall, put there shoes on the seats, or smack and blow bubbles with their gum..didn't these people learn not to do this -- when they were in the 1st grade?

People who smell...the worst offenders are usually women who put way to much perfume on; or men who where too much cologne in hopes nobody will realize that they take only 2 showers a year whether they need it or not.

One thing that would be a nice perk for elite member flyers...if the flight is 80 or 90% full in coach, make sure the elites get the empty seat next to them. Don't no how many 10-hour flights I have been on that had at least 30 or more empty seats...but none next to me. I know it is luck, but it would be a nice perk..and it wouldn't cost anything! A long flight, or even short one is so much nicer when there is an empty seat next to you. The 767 is great because if you have a side seat with an empty one next to it, that means lots of room + an isle and window. On a 747, I had a row of 3 seats all to myself....I slept so good. On an empty night flight, I would actually rather be in coach than first class.

Overall, drunks are probably the worst because they can become very out of control. I don't think the flight crew should be forced to put up with this. One guy next to me decided that his tray was a good place to upchuck all the alcohol his stomach couldn't hold...yuck yuck!! I know airlines are in a predicament because they don't want to anger future customers, yet they have to keep people in line. How about replacing one of the flight attendants with a FAA officer?...kind of like a police officer in the sky...I think people would respect a uniform officer much more than a airline employee. I think flights need this.

For myself, besides not doing any of itmes I mentioned above, I also make sure my feet never stick out in the isle so that the flight attendants don't have to ask me to move when they pass with a cart. Also, I wear a hat/cap so that the person behind me doesn't have to stare at the back of my head from 6 inches away.

Some things I wonder about:

Did the person before me have head lice...better not put my head back.
On the flight before me, did someone else snuggle up with this blanket & pillow?
Did someone rub their tongue all over the window, or just sneeze and not do a good job cleaning it up?
Do the airlines use sandblasters to make the windows extra scratchy?
Are the flaps back for takeoff? well...they forgot on one flight and didn't get very far...but they did fly long enough to obliterate themselves when they smacked into the ground.

Boy...feels good to get this out...been walking around for years with all of this on my mind. Someone else take it. *s*

Hay were on a roll now...

Justin: I agree with you 100%, have a look at Rudi's latest entry under 'British Airways'.

And congrats on the longest entry I have seen for a long time - isn't it great to get it off your chest?!

Keep going I feel sure you are only saying what the majority of us feel.

Of course if it were up to me, I would have a plane to myself, but for some reason BA have never been keen on that idea.
MF

You'll have to change your name to 'Prince Charles', Merry. Or, better yet - 'Robert Mugabe', 'Laurent Kabila', or any of a dozen others. Perhaps you could buy a small country & set yourself up as president.

There are endless problems in small 'democratic' countries when self-important politicians commandeer the national airlines' planes (without any notice at all) to take them where they want to go. Lots of angry stranded tourists...

The other good thing about commandeering a plane is that you and your retinue generally skip customs entirely, so you can carry as much contraband as you wish - none of that Spice's problem when she failed to declare the ring for her footballer (remember that?) And if you decide that you want to stop off somewhere en route - no problem: your wish is the pilot's command.

When you land they'd roll the red (or blue for you, Merry) carpet right out to the plane for you. And minions would carry you so that your feet wouldn't even have to touch the ground. And there would be dancing, ululating women wearing clothing made of material with your face all over it. Everyone else at the airport would be delayed for at least six hours while a massive motorcade with inept motorcycle cops carries you away, sirens wailing as everyone else in the vicinity has to stop & look respectful.

Sounds better & better. Hmm, where did I put my 'tinpot banana republics for sale' brochure?

More pent-up thoughts to unload about unruly passengers.

Everything I have read in news articles indicates that abusive and violent behavior on commercial flights is on the rise. I have two theories:

#1. I think that full flights is probably the biggest cause. With flights so full, stress is increased...no empty seats, lines at the lavatories, stressed-out flight attendants, can't change seats...small problems seem to multiply when the flight is completely full.

I am lucky...only 5'9", so I can fit in a coach seat, but I feel really bad for those who are too big for the seat...nothing like being cramped to help fuel someone's temper.

So if you like to...

Have your face in the back of someone's head....sit in the row in front of the emergency row.

Not stretch your legs at all...sit in the bulkhead(depends on the plane)...Delta's MD11 I was on...really really cramped!!!

Live a day in the life of a Sardine...sit in the center seat between two people you don't know.

Get to know everyone on board...sit directly across from the lavatories.

#2. When the prices of flights were heavily regulated, it was very expensive to fly; this probably kept the "rift-raft(sp?)" like me *s* from flying very often.


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A pilot commented how people don't wear as nice of clothes...

See #2 above.

Business in the U.S. has generally started accepting more casual attire. I know that Delta will go to a business casual attire for employees and people on buddy passes; before on domestic flights, men had to have a coat and tie.

---------------------------------------------
Maybe a good recession will empty out the flights? ahh, but then I won't have any money to travel

Maybe airlines will make the whole cabin 1st class....and not raise ticket prices... maybe pigs will fly?

ok...I got off the subject. Better go before this makes me sick!

Justin... please do not get sick. It is not
worth it. Focus on your family and your
cat and things that give you pleasure in life when the flying gets you down. (Yes, this probably doesn't work... but I try it
when I'm on those unbearable flights!)

This is a Terrific topic... and I have encountered many of the things Justin and
others have gone through.

If I'm sick I just won't go on a plane. It's
the most considerate thing I can do. (I'm
rarely sick, but when I do I'm the most
difficult patient!)

Which brings me to my last flight to Maui,
when I walked ahead of the line to board first. (I was in first and wanted to get my
bag loaded and myself seated.) Some man
snapped loud enough "They are letting anyone in first class these days!" (He probably didn't get his upgrade.)

I was in Hawaiian shirt and shorts, wanted to
wear something "fun" for Maui. Maybe that
was inappropriate attire. But some of the
wild clothes and barely there clothes I have
seen lately in First and business class would
make my cats blush.

There's a book or a movie on this topic waiting to be produced. CATMAN

Hee-hee-hee...

I'm liking your ideas, tin-pot republic huhhh (does that include the UK - how I miss the empire)? That one could be tricky, altough there are a couple of Scottish isles up for grabs at the moment.

But how about - buying a title? 'Lord Merry of Heathrow the first baron of Gatwick' might be quite good?

Now they advertise those in the back of the BA magazine...

Oh, it says you have to be of "impecable character", well that is me out then.


Indulge me now, at this point I think it is opportune to mention one of my other per hates on aircraft - GAWPERS - those people who just have to look what is in the section that is curtained-off.

They drive me mad. What do they expect to see? people with three-heads? lap-dancers? No they see people just like them except thay are not having to play elbow-hockey. So what are they looking at?

And why do they have to try and sneek in the toilets that are clearly for the people who are in the three-head section? Do they think they are carpeted or what?


Ok, I'd done now. Other than to say check out BA's new adverts - cool!
MF

I am ALWAYS sick when I fly (mileage addicted sickness).

Whoa, I didn't know I would start such an avalanche of emotions.

Thanks for the advice on what to do next time I'm sitting next to a sick person. I was in a full first class cabin and coach was full too so there was no where to move. I think that airlines should come up with a shield that I can raise to be protected from "undesireable" seatmates. hehe.

On my flight from LAX to HNL there was a drunk man on the plane and security had to come and remove him. Then the ground crew had to find his luggage and get that off too. I'm just glad they caught him before we took off even if it delayed us for an hour.

Catman,

Overall, I like flying. I was just giving some of my observations and thoughts.