Took a flight from O’Hare to San Francisco. Sat in the last row, window seat. Only 1 open seat on the plane near the front of the plane. An overweight woman sat next to me whose thighs overhang her seat and squished next to mine. That is not the bad part (although it was bad). As soon as we were airborne, she began vomiting. Pretty much non-stop. After a few minutes, the guy in the aisle seat left to take the only other open seat on the plane. I was stuck as the barfer would not even move over 1 seat to the aisle. She continued to fill every sick bag on the plane (the flight attendants went through the entire cabin to collect every last one). The barfer would fill a bag, seal it, and set it on the now empty aisle seat next to her for all to behold (visually and olfactorily). And anyone who’s flown over the Rockies in the summer knows how bumpy that part of the trip can be. Filled quite a few bags on that segment.
After four and a half hours of this we finally landed in San Fran. Short of serious injury or death, can’t fathom how an actual flight could have been worse (unless, of course, we were flying overseas…)
Signed, Frequent Flyer
210
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
And you didn't ask her to move over?
I dunno, SAW, would you rather sit next to her or next to a seat full of vomit-filled bags? Tough choice.
MJ, it doesn't sound like there was much of a difference :-p At least the bags weren't going to start actively discharging their contents…
After a certain point, there can't be anything left to vomit.
That's a good point MJ… I think maybe I'd be begging a flight attendant for a spare jumpseat
That is a hard choice, between the barfer and her rewards… which one would make a worse seatmate?
I'm hoping that attendants were coming by once in a while and taking the bags, at least. Ugh.
I once took my seat and felt a lump in the seat. Upon investigation, I found that someone had stuffed a fully loaded barf bag between the seat cushion and the bulkhead. Unfortunately, my investigation had consisted of reaching in and pulling the bag out. So I now had it in my hand with no where to put it. I called the FA who apologised, but left me holding the bag while she went forward to get gloves. It took here more than five minutes to get back because of the boarding passengers. Luckily, the bag didn't open, but it felt weird holding a bag for five minutes that she wouldn't touch without gloves. Oh well, I guess better only one of us risk catching some disease.
I am so terrified of being near someone barfing on a plane. Everything in the world is wrong when it comes to puking in a bag mid-air in close quarters.
hm, couldn't the puking person just go and puke in a toilet like everyone else?
I swear by all that is high and mighty that this is a new fact to me, but @Sabrina apparently not everyone is willing to puke in a toilet.
I kind of thought that the whole reason most bathrooms are stocked with soap, water and paper towels would be to facilitate cleaning oneself up after visiting (perhaps intimately) with one of our dirtier communal areas, but I guess soap doesn't cut it with some people.
I am not prone to motion sickness (chili dogs before coaster rides and everything, not that I was trying, I didn't have a reason to care) but if I began feeling like I was going to throw up on a plane, my first stop would be the bathroom. I would only resort to the barbaric "barf bags" if the "fasten seatbelts" light was on and there was no way that I could flee. Not only does it seem more sanitary to throw up in a toilet with facilities to wash up in after, but it just isn't something I'd want to do where 50+ people could watch me. Also, don't they still have those little paper cups in there so you can rinse your mouth out? If not, oh well, give me a sheet of notebook paper. I can fold it into a cup!
Throwing up in the bathroom in the airplane? While in flight? There's a reason they have barf bags.