Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

I am not tall, but I get *very* queasy when traveling, so the only way I can do it is to sleep. I can't sleep sitting up, so I recline. It's a choice between being a bit cramped, or having me vomit and the place stinking up.

I feel for you, and I always ask if it's okay. Nobody's ever complained, so I've always reclined. Actually, scratch that. Once, there was a jerk seated behind me who wouldn't lower the volume of his headphones, so I didn't ask him. Otherwise, I've always asked, and I fly a lot.

[nukeday]

[edwardcatflap]

No don't fly business class. Fly economy and refuse to let the person in front of you recline their seat. From my experience the flight attendant will come down on your side. I'm not sure she'd be as sympathetic towards a fat person spilling over into another passenger's lap. Make a stand and see what happens.

[Mr. Peabody]

[cj1976]

In all fairness,after forking out hundreds of dollars for the flight, being able to recline your seat isn't really too much to ask.

[nikki15]

I only recline when the person in front of me reclines or if I am trying to sleep. If the person in front me reclines, I have to recline because I tend to get very claustrophobic on airplanes.

I feel bad if you are tall on cramped airplanes, but you can't really expect the person in front of you to deal with another seat in their face the entire time (if the person in front of them reclined).

I also think that the window seat person and aisle seat person should let the middle seat person have both of the armrests. It's only fair since they go put in the dreaded middle seat.

Lastly, I think the window person and the middle person should try to lean toward the window side when sleeping or resting. If they lean toward the aisle, that leaves the aisle person to learn toward the aisle, and they end up up constantly getting hit by people going up and down or the carts going up and down.

I wrote this fast, sorry if it doesn't make sense :S

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[DorkothyParker]

I've never flown business, but I've been upgraded to economy plus several times. I'm not sure how it happened. Does anyone know what I did and can do in the future to get free upgrades?

(EDIT: It may have had something to do with my 2 tickets being seated apart and needing 2 seats together).

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Economy is the cheapest ticket there is, so you were probably upgraded to business FROM economy.

[edwardcatflap]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Ah, you see, but it isn't your space. It's the space of the chair in front of you. You need more room? Move yours back as well. Who'd'a thunk it?

On a side note: I'd rather spittle than vomit

[madoka]

Tue May 31, 9:04 pm ET
WASHINGTON � Government and airline officials say a United Airlines plane with 144 people aboard returned to Washington-Dulles International Airport for an emergency landing escorted by two F-16 fighter jets after a fight broke out between passengers.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown says Flight 990 bound for Accra, Ghana, returned to Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia, just after midnight Sunday after a fistfight in the cabin.
Government officials confirmed that fighter jets were scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
United spokesman Mike Trevino said Tuesday that the Boeing 767 dumped fuel as a safety precaution to lighten its weight on landing.
The Washington Post, which first reported the incident, reported that the fight began not long after takeoff when a passenger lowered his seat and a passenger behind him objected.

------------------------------------------------

Before things got out of hand, it was a typical annoyance that happens once a flight gets airborne: A passenger hit the recline button and sent his seat intimately close to the lap of the guy sitting behind him.

What followed wasn�t typical at all: a smack to the head, peacemakers diving about the cabin to intervene and a pair of Air Force F-16 fighter jets scrambling into the night skies over Washington.

It happened late Sunday, just after a United Airlines Boeing 767 bound for Ghana with 144 passengers took off from Dulles International Airport.
Not long after the 10:44 p.m. departure for the overnight flight, the offending seat was lowered into the offended lap, and a fight ensued. A flight attendant and another passenger jumped in between, said sources familiar with the incident who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details.

The pilot has complete authority over the aircraft, a United spokesman said, and he decided to return to Dulles to sort things out rather than continue the transatlantic flight to Ghana when he was unsure of the scope of the problem.

Airline and Homeland Security Department officials said they had no other details on the incident.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, pilots have learned to be wary. In recent years, disturbances have revealed terrorist attempts to ignite explosives hidden in shoes and underwear. Air Force fighter jets stand ready to respond to situations such as this one, in which passengers, who might be terrorists, cause trouble in flight.

A 767 can take off with 16,700 gallons of fuel, and for the more-than-5,000-mile flight to Accra, Ghana, it probably would have needed all of it. The full load of fuel weighs more than 57 tons, and, although a 767 can get that weight airborne, it can�t land with it.

As the plane turned back to Dulles, an air traffic controller directed the United pilot to fly around for about 25 minutes, shadowed by the fighter jets, to burn off an undetermined amount of fuel.

Audio transmissions indicate that the two Air Force fighters scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base at 11:03 p.m, just as the plane reentered Washington airspace.

Five minutes later, the fighter escorts took up position 1,000 feet above the jetliner as it headed toward Dulles, sources said.

At 11:10 p.m., the controller asked about the passenger who slapped his neighbor, and a voice from the cockpit replied: �The passenger is not secured at this time; the passenger has settled down, though, but an assault has taken place, but at this time he is not secured.�

Members of the Dulles police force met the flight at the gate, said Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Officers determined that the incident didn�t warrant pressing charges, Yingling said.

It was probably expensive, however.

In addition to the fuel cost � jet fuel averaged $3.03 a gallon last month � the flight was delayed until Monday. Given that no arrests were made, there was no official record of the incident, and the identities of the men involved were not known. (But we all know it was edwardcatflap and NYC Gal) It was unclear whether they were on the flight when it left Monday morning or, if so, where they sat, United spokesman Mike Trevino said.

[edwardcatflap]

There's no need to fight about about any of this. It's the same principle as there is in the rest of the world. There's a default position and that is seats up. As it is when you get on the plane. Like anything else, if you want to change the default position you should only do so with the knowledge that you're not annoying anyone else. So you check with them first. If they don't agree you should accept the default position. Anything else is just selfishness. No matter how much you claim you're going to vomit

[madoka]

From the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704396504576204442583904246-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwNjExNDYyWj.html

Anne Loew, veteran flight attendant

Gordon Bethune, former Continental Airlines chief executive

Richard Wishner, frequent traveler

Anna Post, etiquette expert

Kirk Hanson, Santa Clara University ethics professor

Thom McDaniel, veteran flight attendant and union president

------------------------------

Do you recline your seat?

Ms. Loew: More people are choosing not to recline in deference to their fellow passenger. If someone reclines and you can't do your work, then you are permitted to ask them to please adjust their seat. Expect a dirty look and a 50/50 chance of achieving your goal.

Mr. McDaniel: You have the right to recline, however it is nice if you check to see if anyone has their computer open or has something that can spill on their tray before reclining. If you choose to recline, do it slowly or just halfway.

Mr. Bethune: Live with it. The recline is your space.

Mr. Wishner: Put your knee in the back of his seat.

Ms. Post: It's OK to recline, just don't do it fast. If the airline gives you the option to recline, that is yours. You don't need to ask permission.

Mr. Hanson: Some seats are so close together, and some seatbacks recline so much, that ethics and courtesy demand not asserting your "right" to recline all the way. One should always assess the impact your reclining has on the person behind.

[Steelrails]