Isn't that what Flyertalk is for, provided the perceived transgressions happened on an airplane?

http://xkcd.com/386/

What the #$%& has happened to people? Have they all forgotten their manners? Had I asked someone to cover their mouth when coughing I'd expect an "..I beg your pardon" in response. Not a nasty retort. Things sure have changed...

We can't control every part of our daily lives when we venture into the public arena. We have to let things pass sometimes and stop stressing so much.
If you are not going to help a situation, leave it and move on.
Maybe we have to thank people like him for toughening up our immune systems.
Maybe he has bigger problems to deal with in his life right now.

I am no doctor, but my understanding is that covering your mouth when you cough simply provides psychological protection (just like those paper toilet seat covers). Even if you assume that the cough was due to a contagious disease, the odds of a "germ" exiting his mouth and landing on some surface and then making its way into your body are very small.

With that said, it is still rude and I think it is perfectly acceptable to (politely) ask him to cover his mouth, or offer a handkerchief if you have one.

Ugh. Even if there is no possibility of catching something, coughing all over someone is just plain disgusting.

Exactly. personal boundries please!

Agree that it is not acceptable, however, we cannot really expect to control others as we think they should act.
Time better spent making sure what I do is good as far as possible.

Concentrate on things that matter in life.

Yeah like hanging out with his two backpacker friends who took all the overhead space with their junk backpacks until I had to show (all of) them how to arrange them so other people could stow their carry-ons (me being the first recipient).

This guy just didn't give a *&%#$.

It doesn't matter what this guy has going on, there are still societal norms that people should live by so we can all get along. One of those norms is not to cough up sputum spray over others.

And for me, my health is #1 priority. So with regard to your other post, yeah it matters to me when someone does that in my immediate direction.

I could not DISAGREE more.

There's no excuse for such poor behavior as coughing directly on anyone.

According to the OP, this guy didn't even excuse himself.

It is bad behaviour IMO, no getting away from it. And the offenders probably don't care/are rude etc. Probably.

I care about my health, but I for one am not going to risk a possible physical attack by asking someone to cover their mouth. What happens when the next rude person comes in your path, and the next one? Too much stressing for me.

Once he has coughed, the damage, if any, has been done. You won't change his habits if he is that rude anyway.

On my last time flying home from Paris, I was stuck in a window seat next to a couple who only got up once the entire eight hours (usually, on an eight-hour flight, I'll want an aisle seat so I can get up six times), and the woman behind me coughed, uhh, productively the entire flight. It didn't sound like she was covering her mouth. I did indeed get really sick a week later. I'm not sure if her native language was English, and it sounded like her companions were taking her to Boston to see a doctor, but no one apologized for her coughing. I was grossed out.

There was no physical attack, just a glare.

I think there are ways of making such a request that are polite and direct but not confrontational. While the OP had every cause to be supremely offended, his initial response (assuming the verbatim account of it was accurate) may have contributed somewhat to the cougher's response. That is to say that addressing anyone other than a teenager with "Dude" might tend to raise a few hackles. I also wouldn't have said "you need to" but rather would have rephrased this as a request. "Please" would have been employed at some point.

Politely addressing such behavior - especially when you're going to have to sit next to this person for 2-3 hours or longer - is worthwhile. While you might not change the cougher's behavior over the long term, you might change it at least for the short term. The risk is minimal while the reward is significant.

Alternatively, if the simple act of politely asking is deemed too confrontational or stressful for you, you could ask to be reseated.

A week later would not be a cold or flu, if it were related at all.

Maybe he was just pissed because the OP insisted on calling Alaska Airlines Alaskan.