tdowl5757

The pain of leaving sunny Hawaii for frigid NY was somewhat compounded by three rather unpleasant flights beginning with 84 on 01/02.

Guess F cabin dress not what it used to be. Sit down in 1E, notice 1B in swim trunks ditches flip flops and plants bare foot on bulkhead with large big toe dangling in aisle, no big deal.

Enter 2E who removes his flip flops and plants bare foot on my armrest grazing my elbow with his toes, withering glance corrects this.

Halfway 2E again uses my armrest as a footrest and I call him on it resulting in a barrage of F bombs and general abuse, when I call the purser over to complain she replies with a look that indicates I’m the idiot for making a scene “duly noted but he was sleeping and just crabby” and not a word to my barefoot buddy.

A second glance elicits another stream of bile, ignored as he seemed eager to escalate and didn’t want to end up zip-tied on the floor.

On 68 in 1B, 2B is rocking out using my chair frame as his kick pedal, endured for a couple hours before politely mentioning that he’s also rocking my world.

Upon ORD arrival 682 is late then blows a breaker, finally land LGA 4 1/2 hours late to massive taxi queue where further abuse suffered at the hands of brutal dispatcher.

Realize this just was not my day but do have one question: Am I out of line asking the purser to support me when I’m being verbally abused by a PAX whose disgusting bare foot twice caressed my elbow?

jjwjjw

Geez, It's tough enough to leave Hawaii on a good flight. That would drive me crazy. You would think they should back you up on that.

HNL2ORD

I believe that it is certainly your right to expect just a bit of decorum in F. The purser should have backed you up but unfortunately they probably realized early on the futility of expecting decorum from those who are completely unacquainted with the concept. Somewhat like trying to dress a pig in the mud. Lots of people will get muddy. Face it, flying is not what it used to be and I too have seen folks getting on the plane in HNL that I was sure still had sand between their toes-and maybe in their bathing suit too. Fortunately the slobs weren't sitting near me!
Sorry you had a bad day. We all have our horror stories! My worst was LGA>LAX many years ago.....

janehoya

Absolutely not! The purser is a coward and should be reported to the airline. I am sick and tired of inconsiderate people. Didn't these people's parents teach them manners? And no, that's not a rhetorical question.

As far as the jerk in 2E you should have told him that if his foot touched your elbow one more time you would report him for assault upon arrival, especially after he verbally attacked to you.

Once the purser got involved did he put his foot down?

ajax

You weren't out of line at all. Regardless of class of service, passengers need to be mindful of each others' space. Bare feet in someone else's space are completely unacceptable.

to the FA for not dealing with this. Thank goodness I fly mostly on BA - they would certainly know how to handle this.

inyourvillages

It's hard to imagine that a reasonable and calm request to the FA would be ignored, or that an FA would side with a passenger who was putting his bare feet all over the furniture and verbally assaulting other passengers.

mikeef

I always carry a feather with me just for these occasions.

Mike

WChou

Common courtesy and good manners are a thing of the past. The bar on air travel is so low, too many people stumble over it and onto a plane. Right now I am in the AA Admirals Club at LAX, I see no shortage of people propping their barefeet up on seats and tables. I try and make eye contact to see if they get the hint. About 5 minutes ago, someone did see me and promptly removed her feet from a coffee table. As someone in my early 30s, I should not have to do this to a person twice my age.

When I was younger, any thought of propping my feet up on furniture would lead to a stern word from my parents to behave like a civil human. Like it or not, this is the reality we now live in.

adelauro

I am so sick of seeing people's feet on airplanes. Why is it necessary to de-shoe upon entering an airplane? Feet are nasty. I don't know why airlines allow this. No other business allows you to enter their premises barefoot. It's disgusting.

Athena53

Couldn't the TSA make a rule against this? Then the FAs would have to enforce it.

Mike, you beat me to it with the feather idea. The edge of an article of clothing or a blanket would work as well- just enough to be irritating.

inyourvillages

I've never exposed my feet on an airplane, and I would object to someone who put their bare feet on my arm rest, but I also don't really see why they're more "disgusting" than an elbow.

thebat

A feather might be misconstrued. They are still letting Bic lighters on board, right?

ajax

inlanikai

Be comforted in the fact that if 2E went to the lav, sans flip flops, he is in all likelihood suffering from a nasty case of athlete's foot or some other equally ugly foot disease.

But to be proactive in this case, I would have put my seat back, fluffed up my pillow as if going to sleep, put your arm on the armrest without touching his foot, wait 3 minutes, let out a snort as if snoring and simultaneously whack his foot off the armrest with your elbow. If he says anything tell him you must have been twitching in your sleep and you usually sleep walk.

MatthewLAX

Next time, when 2E gets up to use the lav, accidentally spill your glass of wine on his seat--or at least on his feet when he returned.

I would have demanded (loudly) to speak to the Captain if the worthless, lazy UA purser refused to address the problem, especially if the dirtbag behind me was dropping f-bombs.