I fly a lot for work and recently flew a relatively short 2 hour flight on a smaller regional jet with 50 seats. The plane was full to capacity. I knew it was going to be a bad flight by the sounds of toddlers having tantrums in the gate area and exhausted parents who could not control their kids and babies.
I boarded and was seated in the last few rows. A single father boarded with what looked like his 2 year old and 3 year old sons. They sat 2 rows in front of me; to my immediate left was a single mother with a what looked like a 3 year old. The 3 year old had a temper tantrum when he was forced to buckle up, and screamed for 45 minutes non stop. The FA had to intervene a few times and ask what was going on as the kid was hysterical. To add to this, there must have been 3 babies crying on and off the entire flight.
About an hour into the flight, 2 rows up a 2 year old boy starts whining and wants to run in the aisle. The kid runs and cries and whines for 15 minutes annoying everyone. Then the single father gets out of his seat and grabs a diaper and wipes from the overhead bin. I think, OK, he’s going to take his 2 year old to the back lav and change him. No, he stands his son on his lap, pulls down his pants, and unfastens the tapes of a loaded diaper. Everyone was hit with this disgusting aroma. Dad is just wiping away the mess for a good 10 minutes and then just rolls up the diaper and wipes and tosses them under the seat. The used diaper was under the seat when we got off the plane.
I don’t understand why some parents can be so unmannerly. It was foul! People were complaining about the smell, but the FA did nothing. Airlines have changing tables for a reason… use them please! To make matters worse, I get off the plane and have to use the washroom. Not even a foot away from the urinals another father is busy changing junior’s soiled diaper. Why not place diaper changing tables near the sink or in a stall? I did my business and got out of there fast!
The joys of travel!
Pascal
Tagged as:
children & babies,
odor,
poop
Story #1:
A couple of years ago my wife, daughter and I were flying from Tampa to London via Chicago. Leaving Tampa on a lovely September afternoon, we were about half an hour into the flight when we were told to expect turbulence as we got closer to Chicago. About half an hour later we were informed that Chicago was now closed due to an electrical storm; however we were being allowed to continue as we had a medical emergency aboard. The flight got bumpier and bumpier, and just a few minutes before landing the plane was almost flipped sideways by a gust of wind, then we were struck by lightning. When you are about to land in a storm, a blinding flash and loud bang has the same effect as a powerful laxative.
Story #2:
Flying into Reno, NV in 1997 with the now defunct Reno Air, my flight hit a thunder head on approach which caused a sudden drop of over a thousand feet in elevation. I was not afraid – there just was not enough time for that. The pilot tried to correct for the drop. All I can say is that’s the hardest landing short of a crash I have felt; the pilot probably has nightmares.
Tagged as:
pilot,
reno air,
weather
On a relatively quick flight from Dallas to Orlando, I was seated next to a pretty cool guy around 28-29 years old. I usually refrain from talking to people on planes to maintain my sanity and to make sure there aren’t any false senses of friendship which lead to hours of conversation. About 20 minutes into the flight this guy breaks the silence and starts talking about how he’s from Vancouver, Oregon and is in construction. He asks me what I do, and I reply that I’m a college student majoring in psychology… This is where I went wrong.
Despite that I have no real qualifications to psychologize people as a student, he immediately opens up about his relationship woes over the years. He passes me an “airborne fizzy” and informs me about his inability to commit, his attraction to noncommittal girls and how he can’t seem to get his life on track. Notably, he mentions that he’s only going to Orlando to meet his stripper girlfriend he met a short time ago, and that he’s worried because she has a child and he may not be ready to be a father yet. I didn’t really buy the stripper deal, but whatever.
This all leads him to ask me, “So you’re in Psychology, what do you think I should do? Do you think I should marry this girl?” How the hell should I know what he should do! I just want to go to Epcot Center, maybe the Animal Kingdom, and this guy wants me to make his life decisions on a three hour flight? By the way, my girlfriend is sitting next to me in the window seat, and here I am trying to parse through this guy’s relationship problems with my girlfriend rolling her eyes wondering why I wasn’t more committed. I try and tell him that his decisions are his own, but at the same time he should not pass up opportunities he might regret. This continued all the way until landing where we made that awkward walk to the baggage claim.
While waiting for the bags, I noticed a pretty attractive gal waiting on the other side of the carousel. She had pink streaks in her hair, and was wearing a short skirt and tank top. I quietly thought to myself, “Wow, that girl looks like a stripper.” At that moment the tormented man runs over and gives her a giant hug and at the same time embraces her son next to her. They walk off out of the airport hand in hand with smiles all around.
Good luck to you tormented relationship guy! Hopefully you committed yourself to that gal and her son and have made a life for yourself.
- Formerpsych
The loudspeaker announces the security warning clearly, “Do not leave your luggage with anyone else…” Yet, inevitably, someone always asks me to watch their luggage for them while they go… wherever. Once, while waiting for a connecting international flight, this lovely older person asked me to watch her one piece of carry-on luggage while she went to the restroom. Again, I apologized, and said “no.” It was obvious to me that she could have carried it with her without any problems.
This traveler insisted she wasn’t a terrorist or anything and that her luggage did not contain anything to worry about. I informed her that it wasn’t about me not knowing who SHE was, but rather SHE should worry about who I WAS. I painted the scenario in which while she was gone (and if I were unscrupulous), I could put anything into her luggage and she would end up getting blamed for it.
She then turned to the person on the other side of her and asked exactly the same favor. When that person also said no, she announced we were all rude and huffed her way through the whole ensuing flight.
Tagged as:
baggage,
security,
senior citizen
