NFT: And why do you hate to fly?

I find the airlines' move to reduce the leg room available in their aircraft, and the charges passengers incur to be able to sit comfortably, unconscionable.

I realize that at 6'8" I am way outside the norm in terms of the flying public but I have heard the same complaints from other, more reasonably tall, people.

For that reason, I refuse to fly United. They have one of the worst "seat pitch' arrangements in the industry.

I only fly Virgin American because, first, their coach seats have more leg room and second, their gate attendants always, and I mean always, try their very best to get me into a seat that is not a veritable torture device.

But the biggest pet peeve is other passengers. Probably the maneuvering to get overhead compartment space (gate lice). I've taken to checking my bag to avoid the rat race. Sometimes I even board as late as possible to avoid the crush and rush.

Middle seats are a PIA, but what can you do if you cannot get to choose your seat.

their stuff in.
people who put their stuff in the overhead bin boarding the plane and then sit in the rear of the plane.
women who wear too much perfume
people who don't use deodorant
people with kids who let them go wild
people with strollers
people who get up and have a conversation with someone in the window sit as if you weren't there
I could write a book there is so much more

just kind of try to do my own thing and not talk or really make eye contact with anyone as you never know how its going to turn out.

Biggest pet peeve are folks that board the plane and take FOREVER to just store their shit and sit down.

Have your reading material or ear plugs for your iphone ready to go for christ sake before you board. Clogging up the aisle because you can't find your tic-tacs in your backpack is just plain annoying...

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In comment 13439082 gtt350 said:

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their stuff in.

You also had an issue with coach passengers daring to use the restroom up front too. I hope we dont ever fly together, we might have issues LOL.

I wont hesitate for a nano-second to move overhead stuff sensibly so that 4 bags can get into a compartment instead of 3. You think i have shit on my hands and will ruin your bag? Or maybe you're the dick that puts his coat or second (under seat) bag up in there so no one else can put their overhead luggage in the bin and ends up delaying the flight from leaving the gate (?)

But bottom line, you have about 30 complaints about flying - maybe take the train or drive instead.

Tied with people who put small belongings in the overhead. They take up space for rollers and generally can fit between your feet and not materially impact legroom. It causes wasted time when people have to then walk to find another row with space or start shuffling everyone's stuff around.

People who can't wait to get off the plane and try to shove their way out when everyone is waiting, especially when it's their final destination and others have a short layover when the flight was delayed

I used to like to fly. Did it quite a lot for work back in the 1970s and 80s, and a little in the 90s.

And I still do like to fly, just not on commercial airlines.

Most commercial airliners are too damned cramped for me. Not enough leg space, not enough hip space, not enough shoulder space, etc.

Other reasons to avoid flying include the TSA hassles, over-booking trouble, and sometimes lengthy layovers in places I don't want to be.

I'd rather drive, or just not go.

Flights that don't get the passengers and crew to their intended destination alive. I hate flying for that reason and that reason alone. Everything else about it is incidental when you consider the miracle of getting from Los Angeles to NYC in five hours.

In comment 13439058 Hammer said:

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I find the airlines' move to reduce the leg room available in their aircraft, and the charges passengers incur to be able to sit comfortably, unconscionable. I realize that at 6'8" I am way outside the norm in terms of the flying public but I have heard the same complaints from other, more reasonably tall, people. For that reason, I refuse to fly United. They have one of the worst "seat pitch' arrangements in the industry. I only fly Virgin American because, first, their coach seats have more leg room and second, their gate attendants always, and I mean always, try their very best to get me into a seat that is not a veritable torture device.

I'm 6'2 and fairly thin and I can't handle it. Boggled my mind how guys like you do it. Can the person sitting in front of you even recline their seat? There was a kid I went to college with that was damn near 7' tall and we would get on these really small planes where I had to bend my head to even board, blew my mind how he was able to do it.

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In comment 13439148 Chris in Philly said:

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I don't even like driving. As far as I'm concerned, man was not meant to be moving at speeds faster than 25mph. And yet....

Because there's no frickin room for a 6'4 all legs and arms giraffe that is me. Give me more room and I'd have zero complaints. I still say tall people are discriminated against. Basements are a travesty. At least we get everything else....

in airplane cabins? I've seen them a couple of times now. Flew home from Orlando and an older couple got on with their little toy poodle in Momma's bag. They were probably 20 rows behind us and that little fucker yapped non stop for two and a half hours. If I had been sitting within a row or two, there would have been an incident. How the hell is that permitted when it infringes on the experience for other paying customers?

When you think about it, it's really really really outrageous. In what other situation are you allowed to lie down by putting your chair in a strangers lap?

You are an absolute piece of shit.

and he mentioned that Spirit has "pre-reclined" seats to avoid the issues of people reclining when you don't want them to.

like flying.

In comment 13439191 Crispino said:

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in airplane cabins? I've seen them a couple of times now. Flew home from Orlando and an older couple got on with their little toy poodle in Momma's bag. They were probably 20 rows behind us and that little fucker yapped non stop for two and a half hours. If I had been sitting within a row or two, there would have been an incident. How the hell is that permitted when it infringes on the experience for other paying customers?

Because they're "service" dogs to calm the owner. I don't like it, but they are permitted.
I did see an attended question a lady and she smuggly said it was her service dog. The Attendant asked if she declared when she bought her ticket that she needed her dog. The lady gave some snotty retort. The attendant calmly replied that the airline needs to know because some people are allergic to animal fur and needs to be certain that another passenger would have an allergic reaction...

In comment 13439107 MetsAreBack said:

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In comment 13439082 gtt350 said: Quote: you sure assume alot, i have flown on business for 40 years around the world i have seen it all. don't be so presumptive on certain situations, the ones you describe are not a problem some of the ones I mentioned caused fights but not with me. their stuff in. You also had an issue with coach passengers daring to use the restroom up front too. I hope we dont ever fly together, we might have issues LOL. I wont hesitate for a nano-second to move overhead stuff sensibly so that 4 bags can get into a compartment instead of 3. You think i have shit on my hands and will ruin your bag? Or maybe you're the dick that puts his coat or second (under seat) bag up in there so no one else can put their overhead luggage in the bin and ends up delaying the flight from leaving the gate (?) But bottom line, you have about 30 complaints about flying - maybe take the train or drive instead.

In comment 13439195 Mike in Long Beach said:

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You are an absolute piece of shit.

+1,000,000

on a day time flight.

no big deal, almost everyone reclines their seat

In comment 13439270 gtt350 said:

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no big deal, almost everyone reclines their seat

except you only have about 12 inches between seats.

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Modern Perception on Flying - ( New Window )

In comment 13439337 gtt350 said:

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I like to read and don't like to recline. But it really doesn't bother me. I can deal with most things for 2 to 3 hours, except for somebody spilling into my seat from the adjacent seat...

14 from JFK to Tokyo , a 2 hour layover then another 7/1/2 to Singapore

In comment 13439143 giantsfan44ab said:

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In comment 13439058 Hammer said: Quote: I find the airlines' move to reduce the leg room available in their aircraft, and the charges passengers incur to be able to sit comfortably, unconscionable. I realize that at 6'8" I am way outside the norm in terms of the flying public but I have heard the same complaints from other, more reasonably tall, people. For that reason, I refuse to fly United. They have one of the worst "seat pitch' arrangements in the industry. I only fly Virgin American because, first, their coach seats have more leg room and second, their gate attendants always, and I mean always, try their very best to get me into a seat that is not a veritable torture device. I'm 6'2 and fairly thin and I can't handle it. Boggled my mind how guys like you do it. Can the person sitting in front of you even recline their seat? There was a kid I went to college with that was damn near 7' tall and we would get on these really small planes where I had to bend my head to even board, blew my mind how he was able to do it.

The only way I can travel cross country is to buy the exit row. If I can't, I won't go.

Quick story... I traveled for a conference in Hawaii, going courtesy of the ABA as a government fellow. As a result, I was only able to book a regular coach seat. I purchased the exit row outbound at JFK and again at LAX for the connecting flight.

Heading home I was able to buy into the exit row from the Big Island to SF International but when I found out that there were no exit row seats available on the red eye to NWK I knew I was in trouble.

I sat next to the window seat in coach for about an hour and a half and just couldn't take it anymore. I got up and, feeling bad about having to wake people up to get back into the seat, decided it was best to just stand. I stood in the back of the plane four four hours.

After about an hour the flight attendant asked what was going on and I told her about my predicament. She asked me if was driving when I got to NJ. and, when I told her that I was taking the train and she said good, here, and handed me a beer, and proceeded to feed me four more over the course of the rest of the flight while refusing payment. Needless to say, after the third one I engaged in conversation with two other people and had a blast.

It was bad but could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Flying sucks for tall people.

In comment 13439195 Mike in Long Beach said:

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You are an absolute piece of shit.

Depends. Some people do have bad backs but the asswipes that recline as your taking off down the runway because they know an attendant can't reprimand them then are complete scumbags.

I don't have too many pet peeves - the folks in group 7 or otherwise ticketed to board last who still decide to crowd the gate and priority lines top my list. As if them boxing us out is going to keep them from boarding last.

!!!

mostly because the two flight attendants were both cool and good-looking.

The alcohol helped of course...

In comment 13439406 Jimmy Googs said:

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mostly because the two flight attendants were both cool and good-looking. The alcohol helped of course...

You dog. :-)

The assholes who complain about overhead space. These are the same people who delay boarding, de-boarding, and get into confrontations with flight attendants.

If you don't like hassling with overhead space, pay for first class, priority boarding or check your bag. If you don't want to hassle with overhead space AND you don't want to pay, drag you bag to the gate and check it at the gate. The airlines are happy to do so and its free.

The only thing I like is getting off the plane. I'm 6 feet tall and 175 pounds and I feel like I'm in a sardine can. Seats are made for 12 year old kids. Many people are larger and they just hang over into another's seat. Just what is enjoyable about being on a 4 hour flight with your spine bent the whole time. People are slow getting on and off. It's just pathetic. United seems to have tightest seats. Flights usually delayed. What's fun about it?

In comment 13439489 Giant John said:

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The only thing I like is getting off the plane. I'm 6 feet tall and 175 pounds and I feel like I'm in a sardine can. Seats are made for 12 year old kids. Many people are larger and they just hang over into another's seat. Just what is enjoyable about being on a 4 hour flight with your spine bent the whole time. People are slow getting on and off. It's just pathetic. United seems to have tightest seats. Flights usually delayed. What's fun about it?

I'm 6'4 210 and I can survive sitting on a transatlantic flight in coach 5 times a year. And no one airline has "tighter" seats than another. If you hate it so much then drive or take the Greyhound. Then you can maybe appreciate how convenient and affordable flying really is. You sound like a spoiled entitled brat who has to complain about everything you think is your God given right. Guess what - there's other forms of transportation. Flying isn't supposed to be "fun". It's supposed to be a speedier and more convenient form of traveling long distances.

at least there is more room to stretch out and walk around

Ahhh....the good old days...

Killing a 5 hour flight with cigs and cocktails...

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I'm 6'4 210 and I can survive sitting on a transatlantic flight in coach 5 times a year. And no one airline has "tighter" seats than another. If you hate it so much then drive or take the Greyhound. Then you can maybe appreciate how convenient and affordable flying really is. You sound like a spoiled entitled brat who has to complain about everything you think is your God given right. Guess what - there's other forms of transportation. Flying isn't supposed to be "fun". It's supposed to be a speedier and more convenient form of traveling long distances.

Not as much specifically by airline but definitely by plane and airline. Spirit has 28 in of legroom on all planes while most vary from 30-32. Delta has narrow seats, JetBlue wider. But that's the world we live in today...people like you making snarky obnoxious declarative statements with no basis in fact.

It's a nice privilege

That said I like to be sedated during the first half of the process

In comment 13439631 mcr2343 said:

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Quote: I'm 6'4 210 and I can survive sitting on a transatlantic flight in coach 5 times a year. And no one airline has "tighter" seats than another. If you hate it so much then drive or take the Greyhound. Then you can maybe appreciate how convenient and affordable flying really is. You sound like a spoiled entitled brat who has to complain about everything you think is your God given right. Guess what - there's other forms of transportation. Flying isn't supposed to be "fun". It's supposed to be a speedier and more convenient form of traveling long distances. Not as much specifically by airline but definitely by plane and airline. Spirit has 28 in of legroom on all planes while most vary from 30-32. Delta has narrow seats, JetBlue wider. But that's the world we live in today...people like you making snarky obnoxious declarative statements with no basis in fact.

JetBlue has wider seats because they factor in their 'mint' product which is all business class into their average seat size. Take a standard JBLU A320 and compare the economy seat size with that of a Delta, United, American, or Spirit A320 and see what the difference is. If there's a significant difference I will retract my earlier post.

the seat sizes do vary

In comment 13439544 OnTap said:

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In comment 13439489 Giant John said: Quote: The only thing I like is getting off the plane. I'm 6 feet tall and 175 pounds and I feel like I'm in a sardine can. Seats are made for 12 year old kids. Many people are larger and they just hang over into another's seat. Just what is enjoyable about being on a 4 hour flight with your spine bent the whole time. People are slow getting on and off. It's just pathetic. United seems to have tightest seats. Flights usually delayed. What's fun about it? I'm 6'4 210 and I can survive sitting on a transatlantic flight in coach 5 times a year. And no one airline has "tighter" seats than another. If you hate it so much then drive or take the Greyhound. Then you can maybe appreciate how convenient and affordable flying really is. You sound like a spoiled entitled brat who has to complain about everything you think is your God given right. Guess what - there's other forms of transportation. Flying isn't supposed to be "fun". It's supposed to be a speedier and more convenient form of traveling long distances.

Check out this link - you'll see there are indeed seat size differences. And mcr2343 I was wrong that JetBlue factors Mint into their average seat size; I retract my above post.
Seat Guru - ( New Window )

In comment 13439363 gtt350 said:

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14 from JFK to Tokyo , a 2 hour layover then another 7/1/2 to Singapore

Man that must have been tough.

I was lucky to fly those exact flights but in Delta business, and it's been tough to go back.

In comment 13439631 mcr2343 said:

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Quote: I'm 6'4 210 and I can survive sitting on a transatlantic flight in coach 5 times a year. And no one airline has "tighter" seats than another. If you hate it so much then drive or take the Greyhound. Then you can maybe appreciate how convenient and affordable flying really is. You sound like a spoiled entitled brat who has to complain about everything you think is your God given right. Guess what - there's other forms of transportation. Flying isn't supposed to be "fun". It's supposed to be a speedier and more convenient form of traveling long distances. Not as much specifically by airline but definitely by plane and airline. Spirit has 28 in of legroom on all planes while most vary from 30-32. Delta has narrow seats, JetBlue wider. But that's the world we live in today...people like you making snarky obnoxious declarative statements with no basis in fact.

not a fan of spirit, I haven't done the measurements, but they seem so much more cramped.

In comment 13439544 OnTap said:

Quote:

In comment 13439489 Giant John said: Quote: The only thing I like is getting off the plane. I'm 6 feet tall and 175 pounds and I feel like I'm in a sardine can. Seats are made for 12 year old kids. Many people are larger and they just hang over into another's seat. Just what is enjoyable about being on a 4 hour flight with your spine bent the whole time. People are slow getting on and off. It's just pathetic. United seems to have tightest seats. Flights usually delayed. What's fun about it? I'm 6'4 210 and I can survive sitting on a transatlantic flight in coach 5 times a year. And no one airline has "tighter" seats than another. If you hate it so much then drive or take the Greyhound. Then you can maybe appreciate how convenient and affordable flying really is. You sound like a spoiled entitled brat who has to complain about everything you think is your God given right. Guess what - there's other forms of transportation. Flying isn't supposed to be "fun". It's supposed to be a speedier and more convenient form of traveling long distances.

you must be a toothpick.

Too many instances of cancelled flights, late flights, missed connections. I've raced across Charlotte like OJ-Fucking-Simpson, arriving on-time for my flight, soaked with sweat and panting only to have the door closed in my face, my seat sold from under me. What ever happened to holding connecting flights?

2. SPACE. If you're over 40 years old and taller than 5'7", you don't have enough space to be comfortable for more than an hour. Back pain, stiff neck guaranteed.

Anything under an 8 hour drive, I'm driving.

In comment 13439368 MetsAreBack said:

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In comment 13439195 Mike in Long Beach said: Quote: You are an absolute piece of shit. Depends. Some people do have bad backs but the asswipes that recline as your taking off down the runway because they know an attendant can't reprimand them then are complete scumbags. I don't have too many pet peeves - the folks in group 7 or otherwise ticketed to board last who still decide to crowd the gate and priority lines top my list. As if them boxing us out is going to keep them from boarding last.

I'm not a monster. If someone turns around and says "Excuse me sir, do you mind if I move my chair back a little?" I'd be enamored and say sure. It's the implication that you're entitled to bury yourself into my lap without so much of an excuse me that boils my blood. Just be a human.

In comment 13439613 lono801 said:

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Ahhh....the good old days... Killing a 5 hour flight with cigs and cocktails...

I flew from JFK to Sweden for a hockey tournament when I was 13/14 in the late 80's on SAS airlines and the plane had a smoking section. LOL. My father and some of the other parents were back in the smoking section, they had ashtrays in the armrests and when we'd go back to bug them it was like walking through a giant fog.

who thought that was a good idea?

... because any time you are over 10,000 feet in altitude your plane is being controlled by equipment that I helped design and install. If that doesn't make you want to drive rather than fly, I don't know what to tell you. ;-)

is a complete disaster.

Pricing-scheme, fees, etc.

Southwest, when someone tries to board ahead of there zone/number and the attendant doesn't let them board.

I pick "Italians who try to sneak in 2 zones ahead of what their ticket says and then pretend they dont understand the language or the boarding system (as if they took a fucking boat there)"

others?

Anyone over 6'4" knows every inch counts.
Heck ... very woman knows that too.

In comment 13440349 Deej said:

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I pick "Italians who try to sneak in 2 zones ahead of what their ticket says and then pretend they dont understand the language or the boarding system (as if they took a fucking boat there)"

LOL, I didn't realize this was an Italian thing. Try flying in Asia (and those fuckers sure as shit aren't waiting for your row to exit while they dash to the exit from their row 26 seat as the plane stops at the gate)