Sitting next to a snorer
#32

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Cold Wet England
Programs: BAEC - Blue - How the once mighty have fallen
Posts: 363
Typically the roar of the aircraft engines during cruise is loud enough to drown out all but the very loudest of noises - crying babies excepted

In a 747 and probably the A380, the cabin is a long distance away from the engines, hence the snorers will come into their own.
I can't really blame snorers, not much they can do about it. I always travel with Bose headphones and a decent amp

Tongue in cheek... are you 100% certain you're not a snorer yourself? If you were are you certain your SO would tell you?
#33
Moderator: The British Airways Club


Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Battleaxe Alliance
Posts: 22,183
I would just put up with it. However, I would, at the same time, be wishing that the snorer had the courtesy to do something to reduce his snoring. Most snorers would know that they snore.
If I were a snorer (which I'm not, thankfully), I would stay awake as much as I can so as not to disturb others, because I actually have a serious dislike of disturbing other people's peace.
On a practical level, if possible, if I am seated next to a loud snorer, I would ask to be moved to a different seat, away from the snorer. I'd also put in my newly minted custom-fitted in-ear earphones and try to block out the noise.
If it is my husband who is snoring (which he does), I'd wake him up enough to stop him from snoring, because I know how to stop him from snoring without fully waking him up. That will result in everyone's benefit, including mine and his.
However, I think there may even be a merit in gently rousing a snorer enough for the snorer to stop snoring in any case. I don't think snoring loudly is good for the snorer himself (I stand to be corrected, but that's what I read somewhere)?
If I were a snorer (which I'm not, thankfully), I would stay awake as much as I can so as not to disturb others, because I actually have a serious dislike of disturbing other people's peace.
On a practical level, if possible, if I am seated next to a loud snorer, I would ask to be moved to a different seat, away from the snorer. I'd also put in my newly minted custom-fitted in-ear earphones and try to block out the noise.
If it is my husband who is snoring (which he does), I'd wake him up enough to stop him from snoring, because I know how to stop him from snoring without fully waking him up. That will result in everyone's benefit, including mine and his.
However, I think there may even be a merit in gently rousing a snorer enough for the snorer to stop snoring in any case. I don't think snoring loudly is good for the snorer himself (I stand to be corrected, but that's what I read somewhere)?
#36


Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: K+K
Programs: *G
Posts: 5,083
why is it that the most provocative persons are also the most passive-aggressive. if you want to be confrontational why not be upfront about it?
#37
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CH
Programs: EBG, M&M Silver, BA Gold
Posts: 153
I know it's annoying but people snore, it's a fact of life and they have no control over it at all.
Unfortunately I am a snorer especially if I have had an alcoholic drink, or I've got a cold, or hayfever, or my asthma is particularly savage that day, or if the air is very dry as on a plane.
I don't like doing it, I wish there was a magic cure but there is nothing I can do apart from staying awake, and on an overnight flight when I've spent the whole of the day working it wouldn't be possible for me to stop myself sleeping. I think it's ridiculous for people to suggest that people who snore should stay awake on long flights.
I also hate listening to the other snorers (in actual fact I find it very difficult to sleep on planes even in international business class) but I just pop in some earplugs, or my headphones and accept that I'm on public transport.
Unfortunately I am a snorer especially if I have had an alcoholic drink, or I've got a cold, or hayfever, or my asthma is particularly savage that day, or if the air is very dry as on a plane.
I don't like doing it, I wish there was a magic cure but there is nothing I can do apart from staying awake, and on an overnight flight when I've spent the whole of the day working it wouldn't be possible for me to stop myself sleeping. I think it's ridiculous for people to suggest that people who snore should stay awake on long flights.
I also hate listening to the other snorers (in actual fact I find it very difficult to sleep on planes even in international business class) but I just pop in some earplugs, or my headphones and accept that I'm on public transport.
#39
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,558
Get a free anti-snoring sample here:
http://www.breatheright.com/Default.aspx
Then offer it to them.
Or...accidentally bump into or elbow them - this can at times calm the snoring, at least for a short period of time.
Better yet, bump into them really hard (or spill a drink on them), again accidentally, so that they become quite awakened. In the awakened state they will not snore.
http://www.breatheright.com/Default.aspx
Then offer it to them.
Or...accidentally bump into or elbow them - this can at times calm the snoring, at least for a short period of time.
Better yet, bump into them really hard (or spill a drink on them), again accidentally, so that they become quite awakened. In the awakened state they will not snore.
#40
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: BOS
Posts: 267
It can hardly come as a surprise to any frequent traveler that airplanes can be noisy for various reasons. If you don't want to invest in noise canceling headphones, at least get some earplugs. Sometimes you can get them from the FA if you ask nicely. Personally I combine both.
However, if I'm really bothered, I don't see the harm in a slight nudge without waking the person.
#41
Original Poster




Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 229
Were you travelling in F in a 747? If not that must have been one really loud snorer!
Typically the roar of the aircraft engines during cruise is loud enough to drown out all but the very loudest of noises - crying babies excepted
In a 747 and probably the A380, the cabin is a long distance away from the engines, hence the snorers will come into their own.
I can't really blame snorers, not much they can do about it. I always travel with Bose headphones and a decent amp
Tongue in cheek... are you 100% certain you're not a snorer yourself? If you were are you certain your SO would tell you?
Typically the roar of the aircraft engines during cruise is loud enough to drown out all but the very loudest of noises - crying babies excepted

In a 747 and probably the A380, the cabin is a long distance away from the engines, hence the snorers will come into their own.
I can't really blame snorers, not much they can do about it. I always travel with Bose headphones and a decent amp

Tongue in cheek... are you 100% certain you're not a snorer yourself? If you were are you certain your SO would tell you?
I never said I wasn't a snorer.
My SO tells me I snore when I have a cold or am in a deep sleep...but then he thinks it's cute.
#43
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SEA
Posts: 2,556
#45
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: UA, Bonvoy, Amex Plat
Posts: 1,581
Etiquette Re: Snoring on the Plane
My apologies if this isn't the appropriate venue for this, but I believe that it warrants some discussion.
Embarrassing though it may be to admit, I am a snorer. I do everything I possibly can--sinus sprays, Breathe-Right Strips, snore-reducing sleeping positions, etc.--to minimize or prevent this from occurring on planes, and 90% of the time, I believe I am successful. However, I will very occasionally slip into a moderate-to-loud snore should I drift off to sleep while in the air.
Not once has anybody ever gently woken me and said something like, "excuse me, but your snoring is preventing me from sleeping/reading/concentrating." Instead, I have been elbowed, poked, and slapped, but never spoken to like a human being. This has only happend a handful of times, but when it does, the seatmate who does the elbowing usually quickly pretends to be doing something else--fiddling with the a/c vent, looking the other direction, etc.--so as not to have to interact with me directly (this happened to me just yesterday on a VX flight).
I find this both rude and unnecessary, and incidentally, when it happens, it always happens short-haul flights. I know that I snore, and while I take precautions, I know that they do not always work. Am I wrong in expecting a little bit of civility, or are the seatmates right to physically engage me without the courtesy of an explanation?
Anybody else have experience with this or strong opinions one way or the other? If I'm doing something wrong or failing to do something I should in order to prevent this type of non-interaction (beside simply staying awake or holding my breath), I'd like to know.
Embarrassing though it may be to admit, I am a snorer. I do everything I possibly can--sinus sprays, Breathe-Right Strips, snore-reducing sleeping positions, etc.--to minimize or prevent this from occurring on planes, and 90% of the time, I believe I am successful. However, I will very occasionally slip into a moderate-to-loud snore should I drift off to sleep while in the air.
Not once has anybody ever gently woken me and said something like, "excuse me, but your snoring is preventing me from sleeping/reading/concentrating." Instead, I have been elbowed, poked, and slapped, but never spoken to like a human being. This has only happend a handful of times, but when it does, the seatmate who does the elbowing usually quickly pretends to be doing something else--fiddling with the a/c vent, looking the other direction, etc.--so as not to have to interact with me directly (this happened to me just yesterday on a VX flight).
I find this both rude and unnecessary, and incidentally, when it happens, it always happens short-haul flights. I know that I snore, and while I take precautions, I know that they do not always work. Am I wrong in expecting a little bit of civility, or are the seatmates right to physically engage me without the courtesy of an explanation?
Anybody else have experience with this or strong opinions one way or the other? If I'm doing something wrong or failing to do something I should in order to prevent this type of non-interaction (beside simply staying awake or holding my breath), I'd like to know.

