Airline seats are funny things…rather than your seat being your seat, you get access to the back of one seat and the front of the one behind it. But what happens when you find an obnoxious seatmate who wants to take more…and what happens when flight attendants fail to intervene, as occurred on a recent Alaska Airlines flight?
Obnoxious Seatmate On Alaska Airlines Had To Be Asked FIVE Times To Remove His Coat…From His Neighbor’s Seatback
A passenger draped his coat behind his seat. It partially covered the seatback behind him, including the tray table. Even on an aircraft without seatback screens, that represents an unacceptable intrusion into the personal space of your seatmate.
She hoped a flight attendant would intervene and many passed by, but none confronted the passenger for his poor behavior. Finally, she asked him directly.
I politely asked, and had to repeat it 5 times cos he wasn’t answering and kept ignoring me. The person next to him politely repeated it to him and he was pretty pissed about it but finally moved it. I don’t understand how people lack common sense and etiquette.
…I wish it was that simple to ignore my social anxiety sometimes. I did end up mustering the courage and asked him because I got super irritated, but I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be nice about it and my gut feeling was right. Which is why I was hesitant in the first place.
First off, good for her for asking. But second, that is unacceptable…and this is why the flight attendants should not have allowed it in the first place: flight attendants should notice such tings (and also folks not silencing their phones). Passengers should not be put in situations in which they must confront a tacky seatmate. That is not fair to them and can stir up emotions onboard and create unnecessary strife…and even violence.
Some say, “Revenge is a dish best served cold….and wet,” but I’m not for retaliating against your seatmate by using his jacket as a tissue or dousing it in red wine. No, the better option is to remain above reproach by not stooping to their level. Yes, this passenger could have more forcefully asked flight attendants to intervene, but I’d really like to think a flight attendant would notice this and correct it when doing seatbelt checks prior to takeoff…
I just cannot believe how clueless some passengers are in failing to respect the personal space of others…
image: PsychologicalDot4049 / reddit