Carpets are meant to be walked on :D
 

If there is carpet on the wall, I don't find it rude at all to put ones feet against it as long as you have shoes and/or socks on. Since airlines are aware that folks do put their feet up I wonder why they don't install some sort of rubber bumper on the wall to protect it from wear. A nice footrest type ledge would work as well :D

While I agree that the lavatory is nasty and I'd never walk there without shoes, I want to point out that urine, unlike feces is mostly sterile. Wilderness survival guides even suggest that you can clean wounds with urine if you don't have clean water around. This link I found on rotten.com throough a quick search on google, though, says that germs can be picked up in the urethra, and Hepitatis B viruses might also be able to hitch a ride in urine. In most cases, though, urine is generally safe.

If you want to gross yourself out and think about how the lavatory spills are dragged around the cabin, you can gross yourself out even more thinking about everything that goes on in the plane. How many people have touched that armrest? I bet it's hardly ever cleaned properly. Think about how often the germs get recirculated in the air. I'm somewhat of a clean freak (I wash my hands when I go to the bathroom, and use the paper towels to open the door, for example), but on the plane, I try not to think about such things.

If I'm on a 14 hour flight in Y, then I'll do whatever it takes to a) let me sleep and b) get comfortable and reduce my risk of DVT. Sorry, you can whinge about me reclining my chair, and I'll understand up to a point but putting feet on bulkheads does not affect you, except for offending your aesthetics. My one no-no would be putting bare feet on them.

And yes, I do put my feet on my walls at home - sometimes I like to lie on the floor to read with my feet on the walls....

I avoid the situation. I don't like the tray tables in the arms, so I avoid bulkhead seats all together. End of problem :)

And ewwww i would NEVER walk to the bathroom barefoot, or even in socks. I don't like my clothing touching the ground in there, either, which can get difficult since the space is so tiny...

I try to keep my shoes on during the flight (I wear comfy shoes) out of respect for my fellow passengers. Bad foot odor isn't something pleasant to subject others to. Not saying mine is bad, but you can never smell your own odor until it is strong enough to knock others out!

Wondered how long that would take for someone to put it in print... :cool: (That is me hiding behind my glasses).

As hard as I try, I just don't see anyhting rude about it, provided one is wearing shoes. I seek-out bulkhead seats for the purpose of having a place to elevate my feet.

It is an airplane, not a home.

I think there is a tendancy on FT to label things that we do not like as rude. Just because you don't like something, doesn't mean its rude. Case in point. I am on the record here stating my complete and utter hatred of coffee. If my seatmate orders coffee, I find that most unpleasant, but it is not rude.

Is it rude? Maybe. Have I done it? Yup. Here's how I see it. If my actions don't impede on anyone else, I probably will continue to do it. There are so many OTHER things about flying which really grate passengers and rate much higher on the rudeness and callous scale than putting one's feet on the bulkhead wall, IMHO.

I think putting your feet on the bulkheads lacks class, I'm sorry.

I find it rather interesting that many people here think they're entitled to put their feet up on the wall. :rolleyes: But I guess that's a commentary on American society these days.

If I were sitting in the bulkhead row next to you, I'd politely ask you to put your feet down.

And I'd politely tell you to stuff it.

Just like the coffee drinking seatmate doesn't reasonably affect me, the feet on the wall doesn't reasonably affect you.

DITTO that! I find it rude and arrogant of others thinking they can force their opinions/ways on someone else.

For me, I won't put my feet on the bulkhead above approximately seat-level (and it's always shoes-off; I wear shoes as little as possible, although ALWAYS when going into a public restroom of any kind). I don't view this as rude (I also hook my toes on the back of the armrest of the seat in front of me when not in bulkhead - this doesn't affect the person in front of me in any way: for shorter people, the seat heights make setting feet on the floor uncomfortable - even if your toes rest, the whole bottom of your foot does not; sometimes I will rest them on a carry-on item, but I personally find it intolerable to not shift positions on even a one-hour flight!)

This brings up an interesting dilemma: is it rude for a tall (or any) person to stretch their feet out so far that they touch the bottom of the bulkhead (but their feet are still resting on the floor)? Does shoes-off / shoes-on matter here? Doesn't this wear out the carpeting on the bulkhead? I think most would agree this isn't rude, although the carpeting at the bottom is going to get the highest degree of wear & tear.

Is it rude for someone to rest their feet on the bulkhead 5" above floor level? 10"? 20"? 30"? (For those who object on the grounds of causing wear & tear to the carpeting, by raising your feet, you're actually distributing the wear & tear - it's not all on the very bottom! Isn't this a good thing?)

The carpeting on the bulkhead is easily and cheaply replaced; I don't think wear and tear is really an issue here!

I've seen people put their feet even higher than seat level - I have no problem with this as long as their feet don't smell.

And for the person who'd "politely ask you to put your feet down", surely there are more important things in the world to worry about? I'd like to be able to "request that people on airplanes not wear perfume of any kind" - most of them give me migraines, and many people have sensitivity to fragrances - this to me seems a far bigger issue than feet on the bulkhead.

I don't put my feet on the walls at home, although that's because I have furniture which is far more comfortable than airplane seats!

Also, if you have an entire row to yourself, do people consider it rude to lay down and rest your feet (shoes off, of course) on the seat? What about tucking your feet under you (again, shoes-off) as you sit?

I find nothing wrong with putting your feet up on the bulkhead wall provided that your feet don't smell, and that you are not barefoot. As others have pointed out, the walls are carpeted so it's not like you'll be leaving scuff marks on the wall.

As for those that find it rude, I just don't get it. We're not in a five star restaurant here, we're in an airplane. I don't think it's any more rude to put my feet up on the wall than it is to sleep against the window wall. Should I always dress up in business casual or better (why not a suit or tuxedo)? Should I always sit straight up, with my feet flat on the floor and with my arms occupying exactly 50% of the armrest? (Well, maybe I shouldn't use the armrest because I might not be able to occupy exactly 50% of the armrest, so I should just keep my arms in my on seatspace to make sure that I don't impose on the person next to me?) Certainly, I should not fold my arms because that could be considered improper as well.

To use a less extreme example, why aren't you guys bothered by people using pajamas and slippers in first class if you're bothered by shoed feet on a bulkhead wall?

Please never comment to your crew on how trashy the planes look these days. Foot and heel marks are quite hard to remove, and those walls are papered which makes it easy to tear.

Thanks for your comment! Next time I have you on my flight....drinks are on me!

Security instructions at Qantas says it is prohibited to sleep on the floor ;)
AX