I know what seats I will be most comfortable in, on an airline flight. I always try to select seats, once in a rare while I can't, airlines sometimes don't know what airplane they will fly on a flight, or the plane type changes at the last minute, or simply the reservation system is messed up and won't work. Airlines are making it more difficult to select a seat, in hopes of selling you a seat upgrade. I think that is evil and try to avoid it. Then there is Friday's experience, of canceled and delayed flights, when no one has any idea what flight they will be on or what seat they will be in, we all just want to get home. Under those circumstances as long as I am not standing on my head in the aisle I am just glad to be in a seat headed home.
It gets complicated when flights are in chaos and people are traveling together. Shortly after I settled into my last overbooked, delayed by hours flight Friday night a woman came down the aisle with a teenager and a second daughter about 10. She sent the teenager back to the row behind me, and stuffed herself and the younger daughter into the row ahead of me. A couple of minutes later the person who had a boarding pass for the seat in front of me appeared, looking for her seat. The family had three seats in three separate rows, the woman's reaction was "why would he do this to me and my family, see what he has done to me?" Well poo happens, I wanted to tell her to not take it personally. Your 10 year old will do okay sitting next to a stranger for 30 minutes, she might even grow from not being under mom's wing for 30 minutes. It was a tiny 48 passenger jet, mom was not going to be far away. What "he" had done "to" this family was get them on a jet to their destination. They had the seats that were available, not the seats were not all together, but they were all on the same flight. Mom's attitude of "poor little why would anyone do this to me?" really bugged me. She needs to learn to not take it personally and to inspire a sense of adventure in her children. When things don't go ideally - roll with it and embrace the adventure.
some people have a hard time with "go with the flow"; e.g., spouse, my boss. if you let EVERYTHING annoy you, you will be one miserable SOB. and NO ONE wants to be around an SOB.
ReplyDeleteIf it didn';t eat me, I have had a good day.
DeleteThis " meme" mentality on planes irritates me
ReplyDeleteAs does the bunfight to get off first.... I just sit there and wait
Go to the woman who sat herself on the floor of the aisle on the train car I was on once, and refused to get up until the conductor told her he'd remove her from the train at the next stop if she didn't move and find a seat. The problem was she couldn't find 2 seats together for her and her son.......seat together across the aisle wouldn't work for her so she planted herself in the aisle and screamed and this was about 3 am in the morning. It was such a lovely trip for me. lolz
ReplyDeleteKids do fine separated, it's the parents that can't seem to survive. They ARE on the same fight after all. I've bought the direct TV for a young'un that was placed beside me before. His parents were spread into other middle seats and he was left with an airline magazine which isn't exactly designed for children's entertainment. He was entertained and appreciated it, I wasn't bothered by a squirming bored kid. It was a win win.
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDeleteAnother one of those "it's all about me" people. And these Helicopter Moms are the worst. Thankfully, I have very little interaction with them in my daily life. I agree with Fearsome Beard, "it's the parents that can't seem to survive" being separated.
Ron
The ordeal of flying (other than first class) is one of the main reasons why I don't relish traveling.
ReplyDelete