Flying Foul: Passengers Behaving Badly

Flying Foul: Passengers Behaving Badly
Rude Neighbors, Messes Left In Seat Pockets Proliferate; Exploring the Revenge Motive
May 6, 2008; Page D1

THE MIDDLE SEAT
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

You'll never look at, or reach into, an airline seat-back pocket the same after reading this. Besides being a repository for magazines, newspapers, books, iPods and air-sickness bags, seatback pockets get stuffed with all kinds of disgusting trash, from toenail clippings to mushy meals.
WSJ's Reda Charafeddine asks people in the street about airplane etiquette. People do things on airplanes that they would never do in other public settings. They pluck eyebrows, polish nails and pick noses. They stick chewed gum in places only other passengers will discover. They blow noses into blankets that get folded up for the next weary traveler. They prop bare feet up on bulkheads and seats. Sometimes they even engage in sex acts.

One reason frequent fliers and flight attendants perceive an increase in offensive behavior may be the decline in air service -- customers seek retaliation for late flights, snippy workers, lost baggage and unavailable upgrades... Though crammed together elbow-to-elbow in more-public conditions than you'd find at a shopping mall, restaurant, church or office, airline passengers sometimes behave as though the cabin were their own small nesting place -- and one where they never have to worry about cleanliness, either.

Steve Cuzzone, finance director for a Birmingham, Ala., manufacturer, has found old french fries, a festering baby diaper, half a hamburger, used Kleenex and wet napkins in seat-back pockets. He put a book in once and pulled it out to find the bottom covered in a melted candy bar. "If you sit in a middle seat, never look in -- those are the riskiest ones," he said, noting that children often sit between parents and that passengers will dispose of their grossest things in an unoccupied middle seat.

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Flight attendants often say that the biggest messes they have to deal with are dirty diapers left in seat-back pockets or worse, handed to them while they are serving beverages and snacks. "Would you hand that off to your server at a restaurant?" said Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, a union representing workers at several big airlines. "It's amazing how people treat the inside of aircraft cabins as opposed to other public spaces." The detritus problem is exacerbated by the fact that most airplanes are only lightly cleaned between each flight. Airlines say planes get a more thorough cleaning overnight and a "deep cleaning" scheduled about every 30 days. In many cases, seat-back pockets aren't thoroughly checked until overnight cleaning crews work over a cabin.

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While some people are testing boundaries or acting out when away from spouses, friends or seemingly any authority, experts say that for others, air travel leaves people psychologically off-kilter and more likely to do things they wouldn't normally do. Some lose control because the flying experience strips them of all control -- you're told where to sit, when to sit and when you will arrive. In addition, many people have difficulty being stuffed in close proximity with others and forced to share space, whether it's overhead bin space, armrests or space taken away when the person in front reclines. As planes get more crowded, people get more cramped. The decline in air service likely has also exacerbated the problem. Some people are simply mad at airlines and seek retribution. What's more, air travel is largely anonymous and, removed from everyday reality, people perceive few consequences to bad behavior. Just the opposite is true: Federal law requires that travelers comply with crew instructions, and penalties for disruptive behavior aboard airplanes can be harsh.

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URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121002938540469015.html (subscription)

sit and play games with other passengers. I wish other people loved trains like I do they would then be popular and funded like highways and air travel

Republicans resent every dime that goes into AmTrak. So Japan and France have 200 mph bullet trains and we have crumbling rail infrastructure (where there is any left at all).

subsidised cause they either use oil or are oil! :grr: did I say :grr:

For example, if it takes me one hour to fly from Minneapolis to Chicago, and there are several flights a day, and the alternative is a train ride of 8 hours, once a day - you know which I will choose.

The problem is that funds for infrastructure in general are so limited, that many plans for high-speed rail, or for Mag-Lev remain on paper.

And, of course, we have the FAA that pumps money into building more airports, but no one is putting money into rail, and AmTrak is expected to show profit..

train trip when I was 5 years old. It left such an impression that when I got married we took a Canadian Rockies rail trip for our honeymoon. It was fabulous! I wish train travel was more available, practical and as pleasurable as it was 40 years ago. I've learned to hate flying.....all that is missing these days is a cattle call sound track playing in the background!

but I just checked the Amtrak site and a trip I took recently that was 2 hours by air would be 18 hours by train. The fare would be $75 cheaper per person, but if your time is valuable that kind of itinerary is kind of grueling.

Does it always take that long?

a 2 hour plane flight probably takes up 5-6 hours of time...and I agree if time is of the essence you cannot take a train, but if you are traveling for pleasure, the train can be a pleasurable part of the trip. They also have sleeping cars for long trips.

edit for not checking spelling

Then again you get meals with a compartment. Now if I have the time I'd love to take the train. Never seem to have time though. If I'm taking a week vacation in say Reno, 3 days of it will be spent traveling. I don't know if I like train travel THAT much. :)

Heck I can drive from here to Grand Junction in 4 hrs and it takes the train about 9. I can do 70 mph up the mountains. Trains can't plus I don't have to stop at most towns and cities.

we resent being treated like idiot children from the moment we step into the Transportation Security zone, do you?
I used to enjoy flying. Now, it's torment.
And, no, I don't make disgusting messes on planes.

..... Just go into a public restroom in any store, airport etc etc and observe the condition people leave them in. Yuck!

Lately I have been carrying booties to put on my socks while going through the metal detector, and Purell toilette to wipe the armrests, tray and the light and vent above my heard - a-la Monk. Now I am going to add baggies to "line" the seat pockets.

However, in the good old days aircraft were cleaned before turning around. Now it's not only lousy service but nasty aircraft to boot.

start treating their customers like humans, maybe they will behave like humans.

While the cost got lower, based on cost-of-living, the rest went down hill.

I live in Korea and when I fly to the US, I refuse to fly any US carrier. I fly Korean Air.
I spend the extra money because their coach class has more leg room and wider seats for flights to the US (and I get a monitor in my seat, so I can watch what I want)

When I fly to other countries, I also refuse to fly northwest, united or delta because of crappy service.

The last time I took a US carrier was 2004 and it sucked big time.

They are the worst for service, bar none!

I fly internationally frequently...

Every time I arrive back in the U.S., I know I will be delayed, have crappy service, fly in old crappy airplanes, and have crappy food.

This was the most pleasant trans Atlantic flight that I have had.

the worst behaviors of people.

people are pigs -- unless they are placed in situations where they feel they have to behave.

crowd people -- give them crappy service -- charge them 5 bucks for potato chips -- and on and on -- and people are going to act out.
and that's what they are doing -- acting out.