I feel like a jerk to even comment on complaints while traveling. It's so diva to say "I had a horrible flight to Paris" when the trip is in no way work related. I'm sure a lot of people that read this are like, "yeah, I feel really bad for you ***hole." But, the only thing more pretentious than having a travel blog, which obviously I do, is to be that guy that complains about his flight to Paris. So hear goes a few gripes.
1) Anyone shorter than 5'10" in economy that has to lay their seat back the first second they possibly can and then lay in your lap for the entire flight. I get it, leg room is practically non-existent, especially with Ryanair (
my least favorite airline ever), but does a 5 year old's mom really need to put his/her seat all the way back? Do you really need to keep your seat back while you eat? And I know that the counter argument is "hey, I paid money for my seat just like you and have every right to put my seat back" or even "if you don't like it, why don't you pay for a first class seat." OK, good arguments. Just a little courtesy, try not to have it back unless you're closing your eyes to go to sleep. If you're a tall person, I guess I'm just more understanding of that.
2) The French guy on a AirFrance flight (he had a V-neck t-shirt with plenty of untamed chest hair long before "metro" was a part of our lexicon) that had the nerve to turn around and say "you just bumped my girlfriend's seat." It would sound even more ridiculous if you read that with a French accent. A little context, he made this comment about 30 minutes before we landed in Paris after a red-eye flight from New York and his girlfriend (about 5'5" if you're wondering) had kept her seat all the way back the entire flight. My faux pas occurred when I changed which leg was crossed and accidentally brushed the back of her chair. No credit given for the 7 hours I had gone out of my way to not bump her chair that was literally 1" from my knees the entire flight. Douche.
3) Any international terminal that appears as lonely and bleak as the inside of a tomb. I'll admit, it's been years since I've waited in the International Terminal at either LAX or O'Hare, so perhaps improvements have been made, but for the love of Pete, passengers often wait in these terminals for 4-6 hours. Can a restaurant, a quiet place to relax, or even a television bank showing anything other than CNN be made available? Hospital wings have more personality. I've left the country several times since encountering LAX or O'Hare, so even if they are improved, the fact that I vowed I would never route an international flight through either airport means I don't care if they've made improvements. On the bright side, those 4-6 hours waiting in a bad International terminal can feel like a week, so in that sense it does make your vacation feel longer.
4) People sitting behind you that crowd forward and try to get off the plane the second the plane comes to a stop. OK, so there is the rare case where the plane lands late and they have to rush to get to a connecting flight. But it's the person who hurries to grab their carry-on, get in the aisle, and try to move up two extra rows, knocking you over as you reach to get your own carry-on, that I just want to punch in the face. And the best is that that guy never looks at you, just straight ahead as though they didn't notice that every freaking seat on the plane ahead of them had a passenger sitting in it.
5) The idiot that has to feel like they need to open their window shade on a red eye flight. If you haven't experienced a red eye flight, hear me out. You leave NY at let's say 8:00 at night. Are you going to fall asleep the second you get on? Not likely, especially with that overhead BONG about every 5 minutes to announce a service cart or whether you can wear your seat belt. So there you are, wide awake, knowing that you land in 8 hours and it will be 7:00 in the morning. So about 1/2 way through the flight, you finally fall asleep to try to get those precious 3 1/2 hours of sleep needed to get you through the entire next day. Then about 2 hours before you land, the guy next to you opens his shade, just a crack mind you. Surprise, surprise, light comes pouring in the cabin. It has to do with the way the earth rotates around the sun, but it gets light earlier in Europe than in North America. Dude, that is why the announced to please close your shades following dinner service! Does this brilliant guy realize his mistake and quickly close the shade? Of course not, he has to look out the window down at the white fluffy clouds that obscure his view from seeing anything that might be remotely interesting.
I feel better.
.JPG)
