taupo

Simpleflyer, I agree with the comment about needing to touch the seat for balance. What I don't like, is the full fledged grab of my hadrest by someone too fat or unfit to get themselves out of their seat, they should be able to push themselves up using their armrests as leverage.

Pismocrab

Here's one I couldn't believe. I go to take my seat in Row 2 in F, and the person in front of me in the bulkhead row had put her bag under her seat/where my feet go!

Had it not been a 45 minute flight, and had I not been satisfied with the opportunity to use the nice natural leather surface as a footrest, I would have demanded it be moved. Nonetheless, talk about inconsiderate.

HigherFlyer

This is actually the policy of most airlines unless I am very much mistaken. Whoever has the bulkhead seat uses the space under their own seat, & the persons behind just have to use the overhead bins or whatever room they can find. Since most people use the under-seat space only for their feet, it usually works out.

ermdjdsj

I believe you are mistaken, Higherflyer. FAs repeatedly tell bulkhead pax to put their stuff in the overhead bin for takeoff/landing and NOT under their seats.

hnechets

Yes--I, too, have often heard the FAs announce that those in bulkhead seats must use the overheads. To my knowledge, I have never been on an airline that required you to use the space under your own seat, it has always been "the seat in front of you."

I just wish that they'd make these announcements every time. I have had folk try many times to put their stuff in the space occupied by my feet and it does get annoying.

FTraveler

Here's another vote for "seat in front of you." IIRC, it goes something like, "All carry-on items must be stowed properly in the overhead bins above your seat or under the seat in front of you."

744

A few years ago Courtney Love was hauled off to court in Melbourne, australia for not taking her feet off the bulkhead on a 737. The F/A repeatedly asked her to remove them and she got pretty nasty about it. The bulkheads on Qantas 7372 have the little sticker with the red dash thru the feet.

Blumie

Here's my personal list of dos and don'ts (most of which already have been mentioned):

1. When you board the plane, quickly store your bag (as close to your seat as possible) and move out of the aisle. If you need to take time to rummage through your bags before you store them, step out of the aisle to do so. As to the person who stores bags in front and then moves to the back, I actually think that's ok IF IT APPEARS THAT THE BACK ALREADY IS FULL. The overheads clearly are first-come-first-served, and there is no rule that you can only use the bin above your seat.

2. When you use the overheads, make sure you are maximizing available space. Most rollerboards will now fit wheels-first in most overheads. Fold your coat and put it on top of your briefcase instead of using more lateral space. I am amazed to watch people maximize the amount of space they use, rather than maximizing available space.

3. If, because of infirmity or otherwise, you need to use seats as a crutch to walk down the aisle or to get up, fine; but otherwise, please don't.

4. When you board the plane with bags, please make every effort as you walk down the aisle not to smack your bag into the shoulder of all of the passengers sitting in aisle seats. I can guarantee you that if your bag smacks into me, I will forcefully push it out of my way. (I understand that many of us try to take a lot of stuff onto planes to avoid having to check bags. When I walk onto a plane with bags on both shoulders -- I usually have a lap top on one and an overnight bag on the other -- I will always take the bags off my shoulder and carry them in my hands as I walk down the aisle precisely to avoid banging into others.)

5. When it's close to departure time, sit in your seat, buckle your seatbelt, and stay there until after takeoff. Don't be the one person who keeps everyone else waiting because the gate agent won't close the door until you are in your seat.

6. I'll admit it; I put my feet on the wall, sometimes with my shoes, sometimes without. But I try to be considerate of my seatmate by keeping my feet as far away as possible. And if I had any inkling of an odor issue, I absolutely would not do it.

7. Try to go out of your way to be courteous to others and to the airline staff (gate agents, FAs, etc.). Many of us are grouchy about having had to wake up at 330am to catch the 600am flight to Dubuque, but it's the right thing to do, and it will make the experience for everyone less painful. Don't get me wrong: I'm not suggesting that you have to be cheerful (in some cases, I am bothered more by the cheerful people than the nasty ones), but please try to be courteous and respectful.

8. I believe that everyone who is sitting in an airline seat that reclines has the right to recline to the fullest extent possible. However, that does not mean that you MUST recline to the fullest extent possible. If you can be comfortable without doing so, it's a nice thing to do. Also, when you do recline, do so slowly so the person behind has time to react.

9. When deplaning after landing, gather your belongings and move out of the way as quickly as possible. If you need extra time to gather your stuff, let those behind you go first so as not to hold everyone up.

[I'll edit this to add more as I think of them.]

[This message has been edited by Blumie (edited Feb 02, 2004).]

ermdjdsj

Building on Blumie's nice post:

10) if you have children you MUST bring on your trip, do your best to try and control them (see other heated threads for ideas on how to do this )

11) if you use the lav, please keep it as clean as possible AND limit the time you spend in there if people are waiting, e.g., hold off on primping hair, complicated make-up applications, elective clothing changes, etc. Clean up if your kids make a mess in there.

12) Do not bring on carry-ons that will hog most of an overhead compartment or take too long to load up (e.g., the guy I saw a couple months ago in MIA with an unwrapped precious oil painting he slowly tried to get in/out of an overhead compartment in F without having anyone else's luggage come in contact with it)

13) please shower before traveling if at all possible, minimize perfume usage, and do not get on the plane drunk or with an obvious cold/strep throat in its contagious stages

14) if you have a loud voice or obnoxious laugh (you know who you are), make efforts to keep it down while conversing with others on the plane -- especially at night or early AM when others are trying to sleep or rest

15) if you are one who needs to use the lav a lot, please request an aisle seat (if you have any control over your seating), to minimize having your seatmates get up all the time to let you out, and limit your alcohol/coffee intake onboard if stuck at the window

16) don't complain too much if they're out of your first choice menu selection -- the FAs are doing their best, it just creates a bad mood in the cabin. If you must eat a certain way and a certain way only (e.g., vegetarian), BYO instead of whining that they're always out of whatever it is you like.

Blumie

Those of us who have children tend to be more patient with other parents who are traveling with kids, but it still is the responsibility of parents traveling with children to plan ahead to try to make the experience better for everyone. Bring lots of snacks; bring lots of distractions -- toys, books, etc. -- and always leave some in reserve. One parent I know has a policy of bringing one new toy for every hour of flying time, but only breaks them out one at a time: just as the kid is getting bored with one toy, out comes another. My wife and I like to limit the amount of TV, movies and computer games our four-year-old daughter watches/plays each day, but we'll allow her to watch DVDs and play computer games on my laptop (which we always bring with us) for the entire flight if that's what we need to do to keep her from disturbing others. (Fortunately, she a good enough traveler that we don't need to use it all that much. But we do have a great picture of her as a two-year-old sitting in a first class seat, wearing headphones and "working" on the laptop.)

chrisny2

Actually, many (not all) planes (at least on NW) do have handrails: the bar that runs along the length of the plane directly under the overhead bin on each side of the aisle.

Example: see the bar that the seat numbers are attached to in this photo:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/164742/M/

[This message has been edited by chrisny2 (edited Feb 02, 2004).]

WHBM

Unfortunately the pax that go down the plane using heads as handrails are usually the same ones that have their laptop swinging over their shoulder, so if they have to reach up to the rail we will all get it from the laptop instead.

ralfkrippner

On yesterdays flight BOS-FRA (in eco) just after dinner a businessman took out his rather large laptop to use it the whole night with lights turned on above his seat. Not only was it impossible to sleep for his seat neighbors, he took an absolute amazing step: He plugged two small wedges in between the lowered table and the seatback. Effect: His neighbor in front tried to recline his seat for the night and the seat got stuck. In believe of a technical problem he gave up and the businessman had enough working space...!

Xyzzy

Ahh yes -- the Knee Defender. I think the use of such a device is an outrage. There's an article on this here.

Sooner

Knee Defender is not legal on all carriers, ask before you use it.