Flight Gripes……… what annoys you on flights?

We all know that the airlines themselves can be pretty annoying at times, mentioning no names of course! But what about your fellow passengers, what is it about them that can drive us all nuts in the confines of an aircraft?
Has anything or anybody ever driven you to distraction on a flight? I was on a flight back from Amsterdam last week and an Irish chap two seats away talked without cease for 55 minutes, and when I got onto the shuttle bus at Birmingham (low cost airline so we parked up almost in Marston Green!), he was still talking nineteen to the dozen to someone on that. Good job it wasn’t a long haul flight, I might have thrown him out of the window!
Here are some favourite gripes that you may be able to relate to:
Carry on bags – These come in all shapes and sizes: too many bags, oversized bags, refusal to put bags in the overhead bins, showdowns when attendants insist you check them, etc. etc. ad nauseam world without end.

Chatty neighbours
I’ve met some interesting folks on planes; in fact, I find most people interesting in some way or another. Just not three-and-a-half-hours-nonstop interesting.
Strangers visiting your home town – “You live in Redditch? I have a friend who is visiting Redditch next month! Where do you live in Redditch?”
Seatbacks and tray tables – these seem to amongst the worst offenders. There should be etiquette rules for these things!

Asking favours:

“Uh, do you mind if we switch seats? I have a seat in the last row of the plane because I slept in and showed up late, but my companion and I want to sit together.”

“Uh, I see you don’t have anything under the seat in front of you. Do you mind if I put my things under your seat? I can’t fit these extra bags/my slobbering dog/my child that I smuggled onto the plane under my own seat.”

“Do you need your extra pillow? I know it’s an all-night red-eye, but I can’t sleep with just one pillow.”

“Are you going to watch this second movie? No? Can I use your headset?”

“I know there’s only one overhead bin for our whole row, but I have Mickey Mouse hats for my closest 200 friends and relatives back home. Can you find another place for your briefcase?”