Onboard Snoring-the etiquette
 

We've just returned from KUL with MH in J. Aircraft was an A380. We were in the middle seats with an occupant of the adjacent window and aisle seat to himself. He set the window seat up as a bed and used the aisle as his seat. He went to sleep after a couple of hours. He was, without doubt, one of the noisiest snorers it was possible to come across. We could hear it through the headphones whilst watching films and also through earplugs plus a pair of headphones when we tried to sleep. My wife eventually tried 3 times to wake him up to no avail. I eventually shook him and woke him and stated the issue to which he acknowledged the problem and he, fortunately, stayed awake for the last 3 hours of the flight. The CC just apologised but refused to take any action. It prevented either of us getting any meaningful sleep on the 13hour flight.

What would you have done? Was I out of order?

Yes.

In fact, by doing this, it is possible that you could face battery charge if the person you woke up intended to press charge.

Yes.

It's a bit of a difficult one.

If I were snoring or otherwise disturbing other passengers I would like to be woken up and told about it. As I see it, I have no desire (or right) to cause undue disturbance or inconvenience to others, whether it is done consciously not not, and I would prefer to be woken up and told than to continue to be a nuisance and I would thank whoever wakes me to tell me. If it turns out that I snore loudly though, I would stop sleeping on board. That is my personal position.

However, I wouldn't wake someone up on the basis that they are causing nuisance unless it is someone I know very well (in which case I certainly would intervene), or they are somehow doing themselves serious harm.

Way way way out of order. If someone laid hands on me and shook me during a flight. A stranger no less. I would have very possibly lashed out.
"The CC refused to do anything". Well of course they did. Some people snore. Clue: They can't help it. What is wrong with earbuds/noise cancelling headphone, or, indeed both. Wear both and you wont hear a thing. Then you wont have to go assaulting other PAX.

Well it was more a tap on the shoulder rather than a shake as I originally stated but point taken

We had tried earbuds and the airline headphones to no avail. I'm not sure I, or any of the other passengers should have their ability to sleep or just watch a movie affected by one individuals' snoring habits.

You are on public transport.... what do you expect?

Way out of order.
I snore, and I'm happy for my wife to wake me up. But snoring isn't intentional and when you're sleeping you yourself are unaware. But I don't want to cause others annoyance. But that doesn't give carte blanche for anyone of a plane to wake me up. My preference would be for the complainant to speak to the cabin crew and ask them to wake me. If they haven't had training in how to deal with what must be a fairly common occurrence, or aren't prepared to wake the snorer then there's little that can be done. Touching another individual without good cause is a dangerous place to go.

While I don't agree with waking the snorer, I think your advice is a little simplistic. OP says they tried noise-cancelling headphones and earplugs and they were still disturbed.

I'm not surprised by that. Noise cancellation technology doesn't work on irregular sounds like snoring (or children screaming) but is perfect for consistent droning noise, like engines or air conditioners etc.

As for possibly lashing out, well that seems astonishing. I pity cabin crew who must have to wake sleepers all the time. It can't be nice for them to have to look out for unpleasant physical responses.

I have lived with someone with a terrible snoring habit and dreaded flying with them. I don't know what the answer is. The person can't help it and isn't doing it deliberately. I don't see that anyone on a plane has a right to sleep at the expense of another, which is what it comes down to with either side of the argument.

if their snoring is that loud, then chances are that they are, even if they don't have obstructive sleep apnoea. (increased risks of arrhythmias, etc)

Actually if i was snoring so bad that it was disturbing others , i would of thanked the person who woke me up. I personally would find it highly embarrassing if my own actions where disturbing people while i was a sleep , such as snoring and then opt to stay awake during the whole flight then. My father has terrible sleep apnoea and thus really loud snoring so i have pity on those who have to endure it.

Not entirely clear what relevance this is to the BA forum but I doubt anyone deliberately snores loudly to upset other passengers. However it is public transport and the type of thing that occasionally happens when you have numbers of people in an enclosed space.

By all means speak to the CC but their hands are really tied I fear, unless they catch the person in a waking moment.

If another passenger laid hands on me and shook me, tapped me, persistently (three times) tried to wake me etc I would be seriously irritated..Done in the wrong situation and it would be more than lost sleep that the tapper/shaker would need to worry about, things like that can be deemed assault and on a bad day you might have an accompanied departure from the aircraft. A very foolish strategy indeed I would suggest.

Completely.

You're on public transport

I wouldn't go after a traveller who woke me if I were snoring, I'd thank him or her and apologize. I certainly wouldn't pursue a charge of assault, nor would I seek to get someone put off a flight. There are basic standards of courtesy which don't assume personal rights reign supreme over everything else.

After two or three hours of having to try and shut out snorting and snoring without any way of getting away from it, many - most - peoples' patience will start to wear thin.

I can't imagine anyone who loudly snores does it deliberately. Many may not even realize! ( and as someone said, unless they've already done so should be checked by a sleep specialist for sleep apnea --BUT it is not the job of a fellow passenger to tell them that) I know when I fly overseas night flights I get on praying that there are no snorers. BUT if there are I just do my best. I am more annoyed by someone who takes off their shoes and dirty feet smell raises up all around ( since they CAN control that) than a snorer.

As said, you are on public transportation and need to deal with other public!