"The spat [between a man and a woman, both 48] began on United Airlines flight 1462 because one passenger was using the Knee Defender, a $21.95 lock that attaches to a tray table and jams the reclining mechanism of the seat in front.
The male passenger, seated in a middle seat of row 12, used the device to stop the woman in front of him reclining while he was on his laptop, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official said.
The dispute on the service from Newark to Denver escalated to the point that the airline decided to divert to Chicago’s O’Hare international airport, according to Transportation Security Administration spokesman Ross Feinstein.
...The plane then continued to Denver without them, arriving an hour and 38 minutes late, according to the airline’s website.
Both passengers had been sitting in United’s “economy plus” section, which advertises four more inches of legroom."
-Guardian
49 comments:
It's almost painful to read about such petty stuff.
Tray Hog and Recliner Gusher hit the road in Greyhound luxury.
Back in steerage where we don't get an extra 4", one even as short as I can use an actual knee to block the seat in front.
Saves $21.95, plus S/H.
But wait! For a limited time only, you can take advantage of your other knee to really block that discourteous oaf in the row ahead. That's right, two knees for the price of none.
Reclining? Really? That's what that is? 5 degrees back? It wouldn't be a problem but for laptops.
On three occasions I've had people kick my seat repeatedly throughout four and five hour flights. One in the head area. Flight attendant status: Useless.
(Which is interesting in this case because United Airlines officially bans the use of seat recliner preventer devices.)
I'm sorry that you can't get an optimal view of your laptop.
Not really, seat kicker.
Neither can I.
But I'm not taking it out on the person in front of me.
The real victim here: the other passengers.
People are growing bigger.
How the story should have ended:
A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him....
The dispute on the service from Newark to Denver escalated to the point that the airline decided to divert to Chicago’s O’Hare international airport...
On the ground at O'Hare, The entire plane disembarked the airplane and gathered in a circle around the man and the woman. The fight was epic. The man was a total puss and the women beat the crap out of him. At one point she even shoved the device right up his keester. The onlookers cheered.
(dreams beyond thunderdome)
I hate when people recline their seat, especially when it is fully reclined and I'm staring down their face while they snore. Still, the guy is an ass, and I hope United (which ruined the good service Continental provided) asks this guy to fly with some other airline in the future.
I hate when people recline their seat, especially when it is fully reclined and I'm staring down their face while they snore
This is when you start having a sneezing and coughing fit. Spray as much as you can onto their face. AAAAAACHOOOOOOO!. Oh Pardon me. I have such a severe allergies. I can't take my medication on the plane because it causes ear infections....Cough cough. AAAAAAACHOOOOOEEEY!!!!!!!!
They will sit back up. I guarantee it.
Both 48 years old.
Arrested development.
Entitled brats, probably both overweight, without the somewhat redeeming cuteness of youth.
People are getting bigger, but their brains are getting smaller and their manners are non-existent.
I have never seen an airline seat that reclines to the point where you are staring into the abyss, excuse me, the face of the passenger in front of you. Ever. I've put my seat up to accommodate people behind me, but it's not required nor should you be bullied into it. The thing reclines about 5 degrees, it's really not the end of the world. Maybe inquire whether they would mind switching so they can sleep and you can play your solitaire. Find a way to work it out like adults.
DBQ, I've done that once. At least it got the person to put their blanket over their head. I'm a bit more passive usually and just turn on my overhead light.
It's incredible to me that someone would restrict the movement of someone else's purchased seat.
Lem said...
"People are growing bigger."
That's it. It isn't any more complicated than that.
Airplanes need to be made longer and wider, by about 2 inches every year.
As long as it sends the right message all's good.
Yes, the airlines are horrible with seat room. But yes, many more passengers need to be thrown off.
Many, many more.
In this day and age do we really need to complain about not enough people being able to make it onto planes?
When it comes to passenger volume I say the less the merrier.
Getting two extra seats for not acting like the jackasses in the story makes it worth it for the rest of us.
Damn! Which airline allows an angle of recline low enough for people behind you to see your face? Which one! Tell me now!
I'm lucky if I get twenty degrees back into that wall of separation dividing the rows in today's flying passenger slave ships.
Actually slave ships probably had more room if you think about it, because they at least got to lie down.
In the interests of showcasing a blow to the competition, one of the largest commercial airlines in operation today released a plan of their new seating arrangement.
Increases in efficiency are expected to be enormous. Stock prices rose 150% following the news and inevitable shareholder response.
Well, at least they got fully reclining seats. You gotta pay business class for that nowadays. Hey, is that Crack in B17?
Asking for trouble ...
Ritmo: United, previously Continental. Also depends on your height.
Leland said...
I hate when people recline their seat, especially when it is fully reclined and I'm staring down their face while they snore.
I hate when Type A's personalities (usually law firm associates) board planes in economy class just to bill hours. Most clients will pay travel time and so they are in essence double-billing -- unethical. The greedy fucks insist on working while others seek to relax. I especially hate the childless 40-something (usually women) who have conniption fits at the mere presence of a child on board.
The women must be daft. She had the Stewardess on her side and the man on the ropes. But then she throws water on him.
Completely daft. Are we sure it was water and not vodka?
Is it really too hard to ask to change seats?
Was it Alec baldwin again?
I noticed more and more of these self-entitled jerks. Oooh, they're hard-charging professionals with things to do and money to make. Get out of my way Peons!
If she poured water on his keyboard I wonder if he would have decked her.
One way to unnerve the overeager professional traveler is to let your field of vision wander to capture images from his or her laptop. Remember, photons freely associate and once they leave your neighbor's space they're yours for the capture.
A nice friendly midwestern icebreaker is "Say, that's a nice brief you're working on -- are you working for the good guys or the bad guys?"
One of the most annoying types are the morons who rush to get out of their seats when the plane lands. They MUST get their stuff out of the Overhead NOW. They must climb over, around, or under you to get in the aisle.
No matter that everyone in front has to get out first. No matter that its going to take the line 5 minutes to get to them - no matter what. No they MUST GO NOW.
United is evil. Jeff Smisek is the devil.
One of my best recent flights was on Continental. As I marveled at the unprecedented level of comfort and courtesy I experienced, and my excitement at the idea of choosing them as my carrier again in the future, the in-flight promo video came on the screen and I saw his douchiness's visage, enthusiastically informing me of his acquisition of this much superior airline and how he intended to make it more like his own.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-fagin/why-uniteds-jeff-smisek-i_b_5249902.html
https://twitter.com/FakeUnitedJeff
I usually fly United. It's usually acceptable. Have had one horrible experience but I've had bad experiences on other carriers as well. Europe/Brit low budget carriers are scaaaary
totally OT: but - F*** our media.
Really - just F them. Democrat operatives full of crap.
The flip side of the exit door rushers are the people who have had literally hours to an their exit strategery and still can't get their shit together when their moment comes to mooove out of their seats. And theyre not sure which overheard bin it's in, and their craning around all bewildered. Oh no, is it behind me? Where could it be? Maybe I need to repack everything right now. Maybe I need to shout instructions to my family members across the other side of the plane. Maybe I'll just sit here and wait for things to clear out in front of me so I can be a Parade of One. Gah
Fuck em if they can't take a joke
Just ran their own business right into the ground
But that's okay. They took a lot of other jobs down with them
Haha
"Say, that's a nice brief you're working on -- are you working for the good guys or the bad guys?"
LOL! Thank you, chickelit.
Rhythm and Balls said...
Damn! Which airline allows an angle of recline low enough for people behind you to see your face? Which one! Tell me now!
Flew almost weekly until I retired, now occasionally....and in any economy class I have never seen seats that would recline that much.
So, YES, tell me NOW where these wonder airlines are? Please.
One of the most annoying types are the morons who rush to get out of their seats when the plane lands. They MUST get their stuff out of the Overhead NOW. They must climb over, around, or under you to get in the aisle.
I don't fly much....at all....anymore. BUT, when I did sometimes I would have a connecting flight to catch. My first airplane was late for, whatever reason, and upon landing I would have about 5 minutes to get from one side of O'Hare to the other to connect. We, (my business traveling companion), were frantic not to miss the flight. So, yes...I'm guilty of being the one trying to rush out of the plane and then run, in high heels, carrying my stuff as fast as I could and be one of the very last to board. Huffing and puffing and sweating and really really really cranky.
Otherwise I'm usually one of the last to get off. I have no place special to go and just sit in my seat and wait until the rush is over. I hate standing in lines.
I have a lot of retro travel posters in my guest bedroom/office and bathroom that remind me when travel was luxurious, fun, exciting and glamorous. This is one of my favorites The reason travel and flying especially was so in those days was because it was rather expensive. Something where the "little" people had to save up for such trips. It was a very special event. It wasn't just hopping onto a bus or streetcar. It was SPECIAL and people dressed up and were on their Sunday go to church best behavior. Only the rich could fly frequently.
The costs of everything were relatively less also so the airlines could offer more room, real food, good service. Almost everyone had a first class experience. Today economy and cutting corners is the rule. Ritmo's example of the slave ship stacking of bodies is right on.
I am old enough to have flown on commercial prop planes before jetliners were common.
What's funny about the old movies depicting travel on piston engined aircraft is the fiction that one could carry on normal conversation. Those things were loud! The interior noise levels were much higher than on jet aircraft, and they flew low and slow. Earplugs were a good idea and yelling was required.
"Hey, I can see my house!"
"WHAT?"
What 60 Grit just said....my first commercial airline flight was on a DC-3 in 1954. Yeah, they were loud, low and slow.
We didn't fly when I was a child so I don't have much experience on prop planes. We drove or took the train. Agreed though, on the ones that I have been on. Loud!!
Once I was flying back from the east coast and the final connecting flight to Sacramento was canceled due to extreme fog and we landed in SF....however, we could opt to fly on a small prop plane from SF to Sac which was OKed to go. It was really scary. First they weighed the luggage. THEN they weighed us to make sure the plane was balanced. There were about 8 passengers. My knees were almost in the co-pilot's back. The view of the valley from the air was like a white sheet of cotton batting. The passengers were all very silent while we were descending through the thick fog....holding our breath. Upon landing, we gave the pilot and co-pilot a round of applause. I was never so glad to be on firm ground in my life.
Ari - that is too cool - my oldest brother was quite the airplane guy and he always kept track of what he flew on - I think the earliest he managed was a DC-4.
I like to pretend that I flew on a DC-5 or 6, but in reality it was probably a DC-7 - Washington National to Atlanta, which I remember as miles of corridors made out of plywood, then Atlanta to Jackson, 1959.
"We'll be on the ground soon" - probably in a heap of smoldering wreckage, "And thank you for flying Delta" - yeah, and I hope you can use the plane again!
What I find interesting is that DC-3 was designed in the '30s and is still being flown - that is some excellent engineering right there.
And speaking of DC-3s, I saw Ricky Nelson at the Santa Clara county fair just before he died.
Yeah, good times. Well, not so much for Ricky, but you know...
Smisek is an ass. He took an airline that had turned itself around and was only being beaten by Southwest in terms of profitability. The fleet had great service, meals at meal times, bags flew free, and unlike Southwest, you had an assigned seat that you didn't have to rush to the airport to gain that spot in line.
Whatever life United employees had was sucked out of them long ago. If their soul was gone, then damn it, you, the passenger, are the soul sucking asshole that took it from them. And so the experience goes on United. Alas, their is soul sucking going on at United, but not by the passengers. I have friends and neighbors that worked for Continental and were happy, but now under United, they hate going into work. They used to brag about their jobs, but now they complain about it everyday.
As a passenger, I'll still take United Business Class über alles. Otherwise, I'm not sure a greyhound bus would be any worse an experience than United coach. Even coach plus, where this event occurred, isn't worth it. At least with Southwest, they give you free peanuts. Unfortunately for living in Houston, United is the best choice, unless you really want a layover in DFW or Atlanta.
Chick, I'm not much a fan of working while flying either, especially those who use it to credit labor hours, but then I'm salaried so whether I work on a plane or not doesn't matter.
On my last flight, I went to Alaska and was seated next to two young girls traveling alone, likely between divorced parents. For them, the 6 hour flight was like a slumber party. They didn't sit still for more than 5 minutes. Fortunately, I raised two of my own, so it didn't bother me in the least. But I did admonish them a little when they kicked the seats in front.
I have some pictures from 1961 of my grandmother and me, at just past three years old, in front of a TWA plane. She was flying me back to my family in California after a visit in Ohio.
I remember crying during take-off, but settled down to eggs for breakfast and playing with Colorforms. I remember looking out of the window and seeing a road formation, I guess, that looked like the outline of a clown.
After we landed and went in the airport, I wanted to go down the escalator alone, but was too afraid, so as I hesitated a nice lady offered to hold my hand on the way down. I was very surprised to find a new-born baby on the front seat of the car when I climbed in.
Leland, you remind me how in our early teens my middle sis and I thought we were a big deal to take the Greyhound by ourselves to see our grandmother for the week (the one mentioned above). By then we were living in Ohio an hour or so away from her.
Neat poster, DBQ. It seems so strange that the 1930s were so old-fashioned, yet flight was available.
I love that he seems to be sitting in a rattan chair. That couldn't have been very comfortable. LOL
Back then flying was adventure, romance and very exciting. Now it is a pain in the rear from being felt up by the TSA to being crammed into tiny uncomfortable crowded seating next to fat sweaty unclean people or crying snot nosed kids. Maybe an adventure, but certainly not romantic.
Haven't flown in over 40(!) years. It sounds really gross now. If I ever do it again I'll bring a sheet and use it like a burqa after I get to my seat, and have a couple Scotch rocks :)
Well fine. We'll agree to disagree. I have lowered expectations from years of experience but I truly believe that with the big carriers you just have to realize it's luck of the draw as far as the quality of the flight crew and flight accommodations and conditions. Every carrier has horror stories.
I have flown United Business Class. It was heaven up there. I get why they make sure that curtain stays closed! And speaking of keeping the peons contained, I flew on the A380 back from Frankfurt to SFO last year and surreptitiously tried to check out the upstairs. NEIN! (It was Lufthansa.) Denied. Back to your pen! (Okay, they were nice about it.) Given the opportunity, and the time, I will always choose driving over flying.
When I win the lottery I'll fly first class with the fold down seats for sleeping, and arrive in Paris refreshed for a day of leisurely sight-seeing and shopping.
Yes, I like sight-seeing trips by car. It's great to see the country roll by, but it is time-consuming. And considering hotel and gas costs...But all things being equal, I choose the car. More cozy and chatty :)
I enjoy train travel. I don't think it's worth the subsidies proposed, but I still like it.
I'd love to ride the Trans-Siberian Railway from end to end.
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