First flight overseas, what to expect?

[operafan]

Slightly OT, but you have to read this letter to Richard Branson, head of Virgin, from a passenger who was less than enamoured with his inflight "meal":

http://benlancaster.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/a-letter-to-richard-branson-virgin-inflight-food/

 

LMAO- I must say though, the food was more "colorful" than that on USAir! Thanks, that was priceless.........

[upontheCs]

Slightly OT, but you have to read this letter to Richard Branson, head of Virgin, from a passenger who was less than enamoured with his inflight "meal":

http://benlancaster.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/a-letter-to-richard-branson-virgin-inflight-food/

 

 

after laughing for a minute, i gave thanks i don't fly BA.

[Leejnd4]

OMG, that is AWESOME! I bow to that letter-writer's greatness in composing one of the BEST complaint letters I have ever seen. Thanks for posting it - it totally brightened up my day! And it made me realize that those horrific substances that they served us on the Moscow flight really weren't, in comparison, quite so ghastly after all... :D

[Leejnd4]

And in the general spirit of that post (and the direction this thread has headed) ;), I offer the following link:

 

http://msgboard.snopes.com/travel/graphics/seat29e.pdf

 

This is a Continental Airline passenger's complaint, written during the flight, describing the disadvantages of being seated directly across from the plane's lavatory, complete with humorous illustrations. Note that it was confirmed as authentic - here is the response from Continental spokeswoman Courtney Wilcox, written to a Chicago Tribune columnist who wrote about the letter (which has since been made famous on Snopes):

 

The letter is not totally accurate and uses sarcastic humor to make the seat sound a lot worse than it is. But we don't want to pooh-pooh this customer's concerns - seat 29D is less than ideal. Most flights are not sold out and normally we can easily re-seat a customer who prefers not to sit in this location. However, the Dec. 21 flight was completely full, and we have apologized to the customer who wrote to us about the concerns. If there was a quick and easy solution to this problem we would do it in a whiz. However, the aircraft configuration is fixed and there is little we can do at this point to just flush away the issue.

 

The best part about this whole thing is the liberal use of potty-jokes by Continental themselves - at least they have a sense of humor!

[D4]

Another tip: reserve your seats carefully - if there are 2 of you and the configuration is 2-3-2, then get a set of 2 seats next to the window because you'll have the also have the aisle.

 

Speaking of food, we had the BEST airline food we've ever had on Mexicana Airline from Chicago to Mexico City in April. We had already eaten breakfast, but we went ahead and ate again on the plane. It was delicious and extremely hot. I don't have any idea how they did that!

[upontheCs]

maxjet was the best food i ever had, but that was quasi-business class so it's not a fair comparison to coach.

 

my maxjet photos are here (may they RIP)

[fbgd]

after laughing for a minute, i gave thanks i don't fly BA.

 

:confused:

 

That letter was about a flight on Virgin.

[lancelady]

Re: Racking your airline seat all the way back.

It may be good for you but remember and put yourself in the position of the person behind you. Since most of the rows in the airlines now are

3 - 4 and 3. If someone behind you needs to get up and into the aisle

how will they be able to do this without leaning on your seat or making

you move your seat forward? DONT GET UPSET, they need to get out

and your keeping them from doing this due to being a selfish passenger.

Also in the case of an emergency your creating a problem.

9/2008 I had a person ahead of me rack the seat all the way back as soon

as the wheels left the run way I asked the person to kindly leave the seat

upright until we were airborne. Comment "I paid for this seat". If there

was an emergency this would have caused a problem for 3 people.

I have also been on a plane when we prepared for an emergency so I can

speak from experience. Do to medical problems I have to push myself up

using the arm rests and when the seats are reclined all the way this is

impossible and when asked to move the seat upright due to needing to

stand and walk every 1 1/2 hrs. they get upset. I told them from the

beginning this is what will happen. Remember, I also paid for my seat.

Please be considerate of those behind you and before racking your seat

back make sure the person behind you is not bending down to put something on the floor or picking something up. I got knocked out by

someone just racking their seat back when I was putting my purse back

on the floor.

[Leejnd4]

^^^Y'know, this argument gets really old. But people keep making it, in spite of the futility of it.

 

The bottom line is that the airline's own policies assure that passengers are allowed to use all of the features of their seats, including the recline mode. Like it or not. End of story.

 

Have you ever actually done a 13-hour overnight flight in a seat that you were unable to recline? I have. It's miserable. Can YOU sleep while sitting up ramrod straight? Right. Neither can I.

 

Air travel is miserable, no two ways about it. But we all have to try to make do. Reclining seats is part of the deal. You get to recline yours, and I get to recline mine. And if one person reclines their seat, the person behind them simply has to recline their own in order to equalize the space. It's pretty simple. In fact, I have never been on an airplane for a transatlantic flight in which the seats reclined back far enough to prevent someone from exiting the row behind. The reality is that most long-haul airplane seats just don't go back that far.

 

All these protestations are a moot point anyway. If someone wants to recline their seat, the airline says they can. Those are the rules. If you fight it, you will be the one on the losing end of the battle. Try it, and see what happens.

[fbgd]

If there

was an emergency this would have caused a problem for 3 people.

I have also been on a plane when we prepared for an emergency so I can

speak from experience.

 

If it would cause a problem in an emergency then the FAA would mandate minimum seat pitch requirements above what they are now, or would restrict reclining abilities.

 

I fail to see how a coach seat reclining correctly would cause problems in an emergency. If broken and it went beyond the usual recline then yes it could but hey, that's a broken seat.

 

Do to medical problems I have to push myself up using the arm rests and when the seats are reclined all the way this is

impossible and when asked to move the seat upright due to needing to

stand and walk every 1 1/2 hrs. they get upset.

 

Then pick an aisle seat! :rolleyes: Honestly!

 

I got knocked out by

someone just racking their seat back when I was putting my purse back

on the floor.

 

Sure you did...was this the reclining equivalent of the Bruce Lee one inch punch? Coach seats recline so little that I doubt there is anywhere near the force to be able to knock someone clean out!

 

If seat recliners cause so many problems for you just pick a bulkhead seat instead.

[operafan]

What I'd really like to know is who is that guy that always seems to sit behind me on flights who grabs the headrest on my seat when he gets up every 15 minutes? (Ok, I'll admit, not very articulate but you get the point!)

[Leejnd4]

If it would cause a problem in an emergency then the FAA would mandate minimum seat pitch requirements above what they are now, or would restrict reclining abilities.

 

I fail to see how a coach seat reclining correctly would cause problems in an emergency. If broken and it went beyond the usual recline then yes it could but hey, that's a broken seat.

 

Excellent point, and thanks for adding some logic to this ubiquitous discussion.

 

Sure you did...was this the reclining equivalent of the Bruce Lee one inch punch? Coach seats recline so little that I doubt there is anywhere near the force to be able to knock someone clean out!

LOL! That's hilarious. :D But in lancelady's defense, I will say that I received a nice colorful bruise once when I was leaning down to get something from my carry-on, and the person in front of me jammed back their seat. It may only have gone back an inch, but my forehead was right there, and the seat traveled that one inch at surprising speed. And remember, I'm a person on the "we are entitled to recline" side! ;)

 

The moral of the story, of course, is simply to BE CONSIDERATE of the person behind you. I always check to ensure that the person behind me is in a condition to allow me to recline my seat - not leaning forward or whatever - before I recline. That's just basic courtesy.

If seat recliners cause so many problems for you just pick a bulkhead seat instead.

 

Yup, pretty simple. Reclining won't go away - the seats are designed to recline. Anyone who flies needs to accept that seatbacks recline...that's just the way they work. You can't prevent it - the airlines won't let you.

 

And with that comment, the side discussion of reclining seats in this thread has come full circle, following the exact same pattern that all of these discussions take. Here is the classic run-down of a reclining-seat thread:

 

1. Someone protests that seat recliners are inconsiderate, and nobody has a right to take up their personal space by reclining their seat into it.

 

2. The pro-recliners remind the person that they have a right to recline, as it's one of the features of the seat they paid for.

 

3. The anti-recliners say that your rights end at their lap, and nobody has a right to invade that space.

 

4. The pro-recliners protest that the space taken up by their seat, including in the recline mode, belongs to them, not the person behind them.

 

5. The medical conditions get trotted out - "I have a medical condition that means that my legs are in severe pain if I can't stretch them out." "Well *I* have a medical condition that causes me pain if I can't recline my seat!" "Well *I* have a medical condition that prevents me from being able to exit the seat when the one in front of me is reclined..." etc. etc.

 

6. The pro-recliners say that if you have a medical condition such that you can't be comfortable in coach, then you need to either get a bulk-head, or ante up for business.

 

7. The anti-recliners state that they should be entitled to fly in coach just like everyone else.

 

8. Pro-recliners state that coach seats barely recline enough to impact anyone anyway, so what's the big deal?

 

9. Anti-recliners disagree, and state that if they encounter a recliner in front of them, they will take some action to prevent the person in front of them from reclining (often trotting out the "knee defender", which is a product that blocks seat reclining).

 

10. The pro-recliners tell them that airlines don't ALLOW knee defenders anymore, and will demand removal...and remind them that it is the airlines' own rules that dictate the answer to this perpetual argument: reclining is part of the features of the seat you purchased, and all passengers are entitled to use the full features of their seats; any dispute on this matter will ultimately be settled in favor of the recliner.

 

11. Anti-recliners grouse about how inconsiderate pro-recliners are.

 

12. Pro-recliners remind them that all it takes for the system to work is basic consideration - just check with the person behind you before you slam your seat back. Problem solved.

 

Discussion ends. :D

[tomko2]

Check with Seatguru for seat configurations. Do not take the last row before the emergency row(s); the seats usually do not recline.

Kathy

[operafan]

LeeAnne, And now I'm dizzy...... :D

[Leejnd4]

LeeAnne, And now I'm dizzy...... :D

 

Yeah, that's how I felt when that person in front of me slammed their seatback into my forehead...

 

:p:D

[operafan]

yeah, that's how i felt when that person in front of me slammed their seatback into my forehead...

 

:p:d

 

lol.......

[fbgd]

Discussion ends. :D

 

You've obviously seen enough of these discussions, not only here, but on other travel forums too. :D

 

Very nicely put too! :D