HonestABE

The key word here is frequently.

Here are a few of mine:

1) The E- pax "fakeout" - the pax assigned to Row 222 who slips one of his/her massive rollaboards in the F overhead so they can preserve their precious legroom in E-;

2) The excessively chatty. Particularly obnoxious when a pax is chatting it up during the safety briefing, and, for long periods on red-eyes;

3) The doofus seated directly behind you who has a weak bladder, necessitating frequent trips to the lav, and, on each trip, gives your seat back a firm tug both when rising and reseating.

Don't get me started on parents who let their kids do anything they want in-flight. Not just talking incessantly crying babies. How about the kid behind you who thinks its cool to flip the tray table up and down - repeatedly - for hours.

EsquireFlyer

When you're in a business-class window seat, the aisle seat guy who insists on standing up and walking into the aisle every time you want to pass him to get to the lav, even though there is totally enough room for you to just step past him without touching either him or the seat in front of him. And his expression makes it very clear how disturbed he is. Oh, and if you're looking for something in the overhead, he stands in the aisle (blocking the FAs and carts) waiting for you, so that he doesn't have to go to the trouble of sitting down and standing up again.

vysean

How about an alteration on #1: Overheads are nearly completely full and the flight is an hour delayed. You put your bag in the overhead in whatever space you can find and you hear a loud groan behind you. Pax behind you begins berating you for using "his" space and pulls your bag down. Physical violence (nearly) ensues...

Oh, you were looking for frequent occurences...


#2 is far too frequent. Paid for F on a red-eye to ANC (5 hour flight). Pax in row 1 spent the *entire* 5 hours yammering on about something that they were apparently both mutually engrossed in. Ughh - drink more, talk less, and we all win!

With regards to kids - last flight I was on, dad and his two girls are sitting across the aisle from me. One is probably 15, the other 11. 15 year old decides she needs to do some mid-air glamour shots. Must've taken 50 pictures, each with a FLASH. Okay, two or three (or five) I can understand, but 50?!? I mean, we're not doing a fashion show at 35,000 feet. Dad apparently thought it was great. There were four or five of us who mount a counter-assault with synchronized withering stares, but alas, our efforts were ineffective.

Oh well, at least I didn't sit next to the "wetter"...

honmani2

Many of these have been covered over the years in various threads. My pet peeve is #3 when you're sleeping and the guy behind you grabs the back of your seat to get up. Grrrr . ..

Here's a few more:

- person doesn't lower the window shade but promptly falls asleep.
- person in front reclines seat suddenly causing your laptop monitor to slam forward.
- people with backpacks leaving it on their shoulder as they make their way to their seat whacking everyone in the aisle seats.

That said, the vast majority of people are courteous and sensitive to fellow passengers.

cblaisd

Since the topic of the thread -- "What's The Most Obnoxious Thing You See Fellow Pax Do Frequently?" -- really isn't UA specific (obnoxious pax being, unfortunately, on every airline), I am moving to Travel Buzz where it can join many, many similar threads.

cblaisd
Moderator, United

tjl

When boarding or deboarding, standing in the aisle to get baggage in or out of the overhead bin when s/he could just as well stand in front of the aisle seat, allowing others to pass by.

Putting rollaboards in the overhead bin parallel to the aisle, reducing the number that can fit in an overhead bin that can close with the rollaboard perpendicular to the aisle.

Small children constantly kicking the seat in front of them, and parents who don't prevent the children from doing so.

snert

Carrying on the equivalent of a steamer trunk's worth of luggage, distributed craftily in a series of bags just small enough to avoid mandatory check-in.
It's obnoxious because it often deprives the traveller with a legitimate check
in bag the luxury of stowing it above, cutting into the already tight legroom.

EsquireFlyer

Oh yes. I saw a group of 2-3 fashion industry people on their way to/from a show with a WHOLE BUNCH of purses, shopping bags, and little suitcases...

And of course there's the pax with the carry-on viola that takes up an entire overhead by itself because of the odd shape.

yyznomad

Now you've got me all started by reading this thread

whistler814

Armrest hogs.

Unimatrix One

1. People who bring their noisy, uncontrollable children onto the plane.

2. People who bring their noisy, uncontrollable children onto the plane.

3. People who bring their noisy, uncontrollable children onto the plane.

Oh, and did I mention loud children?

BLI-Flyer

- People who bring a bag on board that CLEARLY will NOT fit into the overhead and then spend time trying to cram it in, totally ignoring the laws of physics, only to give up and have to make their way upstream to the front of the plane to gate check it. This happens WAY too often on RJs and IMO is as much a fault of the GA and FA as the PX.

- People walking down the aisle who have no idea that their [insert one: purse, luggage, backpack, child, whatever] is whacking everyone they walk by.

dillard8

People in window seats who prop their feet up on the armrest of the row in front of them, usually after having removed their shoes. There's nothing like waking up thinking "what's that touching my elbow...?" Oh, it's SOMEBODY'S SMELLY FOOT.

Cromely

What are you talking about? That's a new service enhancement. It's the automatic back massage special.

Cromely.

crhptic

Late boarders who, when trying to find overhead bin space for their bag, open EVERY bin that the FA has already closed because it is full.