<p>Exactly. It’s not like someone is dragging a full-size, 27" inch suitcase through security to avoid a baggage charge. It’s simply carry-ons and rollaboards that would be fine on a full size plane but don’t fit in a regional jet (and the person doesn’t know what kind of jet they are on), or the plane overhead has filled up already, or they are anticipating the plane to fill up, or someone is stand-by / last on the plane and the bins are full. That’s all. This is absolutely nothing new, at all. It happens to me if I fly stand-by, or if I’m on a regional jet - and sometimes a route may be flown by both full size planes and regional jets. </p>
<p>“I have another pet peeve: people wearing backpacks on planes who turn around while standing in the aisle and whack you in the head. They always seem oblivious.”</p>
<p>I get whacked in the face with a backpack at least once a week on the bus when I do not get a window seat. While I am sympathetic towards the poor thing standing for 45 min on a bus, I think there are no excuses for the “whackers” during plane boarding! Just take it off and carry it. The dude you just hit with your backpack could be a lawyer having a really bad day.</p>
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I’m not. If you’re standing on a crowded bus or metro, take off your backpack and put it between your legs.</p>
<p>My favorite story on a plane is I was sitting at a window seat with a couple who were having an affair (man and his mistress) going to Paris. The woman was pissed because she wasn’t sitting in the front and she was upset not having received her monthly stipend from him. I listened to her yelling at him all the way to Paris. I tried to make myself as small as possible, until I had to go to the bathroom. The woman went ballistic because I had to step over her, then the man went crazy because the woman was such a b*. Needless to say, I didn’t get any sleep on that flight. Even since then, I tried not to sit in the back when flying overseas.</p>
<p>Watch the first class and super-platinum fliers walk past the gate agents with a large roller-bag, a large soft garment-bag, their laptop case and their purse or portfolio. Nobody dares stop them. My DH is of a passenger class where we get earliest boarding but rarely class upgrades. It’s amazing what some high paying passengers drag on board. </p>
<p>Re: reclining… I’m only 5’8" . If I cross my legs before you recline I can’t un-cross them with your seat reclined without seriously kneeing you in the back. I’m not being mean, but I can’t fly 5 hours without moving my limbs around. So every 30 minutes or so I have to move my legs. (I have to cross them because the men I my row always have to spread their knees into my space to be able to sit down.).
If you are over 6’ and recline, your hair is less than 12" from my nose and often less than pleasant. Yuck.<br>
I don’t recline unless it’s an overnight flight or more than 6 hours. Maybe we need an “I’ll stay in my cube if you stay in yours” zone.</p>
<p>The most absurd memory I have is with Lufthansa. It was 1982 - there were still smoking and non-smoking sections. Lufthansa had the non smoking section on the left SIDE of the plane and the smoking section on the right SIDE of the plane. So, if you were in the middle 5 seat section of a 747 - the person next to you was in smoking, and you were in non-smoking. The reasoning…(I dated one of their pilots for a short amount of time) - they wanted to make sure everyone had a chance at a ‘good’ seat. Oh well, at least the booze was free ;)</p>
<p>“Watch the first class and super-platinum fliers walk past the gate agents with a large roller-bag, a large soft garment-bag, their laptop case and their purse or portfolio. Nobody dares stop them”</p>
<p>I’m a pretty elite flier (though not global services), automatic upgrades, etc and I don’t see this. Though to be honest if I’m international biz class, I might push the bounds as I know the overhead bind can easily handle it. </p>
<p>I’m a pretty elite flyer too, and I’ve observed just the opposite. First class and super-platinum/iridium/plutonium fliers get bags checked for free, so they tend not to weasel all their stuff in the domestic cabin to avoid the checked bag fee.</p>
<p>But I’m w Pizza-- if it’s int’l bz class, I also push the bounds, so I don’t have to deal w baggage claim when I arrive.</p>
<p>S always carries everything on the plane (but he is a pretty compact packer and always hefts everything himself). He will on occasion expand his rollerboard, but mostly doesn’t and is able to fit everything just fine. They are apologetic if they can’t fit his luggage, but since he’s an early boarder (with lots of miles and status on their program), he usually has no problems and is upgraded regularly to 1st class.</p>
<p>He just takes problems in stride and does whatever workarounds he needs to. We all try to avoid northern airports in the winter but accept delays and cancellations as they occur.</p>
<p>Change of subject for a second… Has anyone flown in the new(ish) 787 dreamliner? Comments? Busdriver??</p>
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<p>I pack pretty light myself. On the last major flight where I had to bring along a suit for a week-long hanging out before a friend’s wedding, I managed to fit EVERYTHING for the week in 1 small tote suitecase…including my backpack with my laptop. Also, had no problem placing it right above my seating area. </p>
<p>When my friend saw I only had one medium sized tote suitecase which just met the maximum for carry-ons, he was astounded at how much I was able to pack into so little space…including a freshly dry-cleaned/pressed full suit and dress shoes for the wedding. </p>
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<p>Oldfort,</p>
<p>It just may be that it’s THEIR time of the month…</p>
<p>S flies for business and manages to fit 1-3 weeks worth of BUSINESS attire in his rollerboard suitcase, unexpanded (which fits neatly in the overhead above his seat nearly every time unless there is a very strange configuration), plus puts his electronic gadgets in his small backpack which fits under the seat in front of him. He is able to easily switch flights as needed because he has everything with him, even a jacket if he’s flying in the winter or to cold climates and he manages to fit everything.</p>
<p>Other than having to carry medical gear, we similarly pack very light. The medical gear alone takes up nearly the space of a regular rollerboard, so that is more luggage than we like but we can’t easily choose NOT to fly with it. We end up with one small wheeled suitcase apiece, the medical gear, and each have a small carry on that can fit under the seat in front of us. H dislikes wrangling his own luggage so he happily check his while I prefer to carry mine on the plane.</p>
<p>@dietz199 KLM did the same thing with Smoking and non-Smoking. Last time I flew them! </p>
<p>NBC is reporting another ballistic passenger in a fight over a reclining seat. The details haven’t come out yet. So much anger. </p>
<p>It’s really sad that folks are carrying around so much anger and that it takes so little to set folks off. It’s actually rather scary–seems like a firehose that could cause a LOT of collateral damage. Seems like the reclining issue is just a symptom and perhaps the tipping point for some folks. So glad that most of my flights have been fairly uneventful and that I minimize stops and try to get along with those surrounding me on my flights.</p>
<p>This seems to be the clip about the Miami to Paris flight that was diverted to Boston to have the unruly passenger who lunged at the flight attendant arrested.
<a href=“Reclining-Seat Ruckus: Passenger Charged After Miami-Paris Jet Diverts”>http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/reclining-seat-ruckus-passenger-charged-after-miami-paris-jet-diverts-n190781</a></p>
<p>I sometimes get peeved at these people who explain how they can fit all their clothing in a little carryon and I should be able to as well-- then you look at them, and they’re 5’2" and skinny. People get bigger, but the size of carryons is the same for everyone.</p>
<p>Well, if you’re a good packer it doesn’t much matter. I can do 2 wks in a carryon (and did earlier this month) because I’m a streamlined, efficient packer </p>
<p>I have not flown in the 787 yet, @jym626. I’ve heard it’s pretty nice. I’m a little wary of flying in an airplane with so many parts made of composite material, but we probably don’t have to worry about fatigue in those for years.</p>
<p>Anyways, I just flew with a guy who has flown on Emirates A380s, in first class, several times. He said it is an incredible experience. Trust me, he wasn’t paying for the ticket, he might not have been as impressed if he had.</p>
<p>My son and DIL flew business on Thai Airways A380 for their honeymoon. They each has his/her own pod. They loved it. I paid for their tickets with my miles. I have yet been on an A380…but will do that soon.</p>
<p>I don’t pack light. Depends on the season, but I take lots of running gear and I like to have some choices of outfits for work or play. I’m not ridiculous, but I am NOT someone who can fit a week of stuff in a carry on. I had to be really creative when I traveled with my CEO and CFO last fall and had to carry on. I made it, but I didn’t like it! It was also a cold weather trip.</p>