Passengers @ MindSay 
planes
Or so I thought.
In fact, when we flew down together two Thursdays ago, we couldn't all reserve seats together. Turns out that Av and socKs had 23D and 23E and I was stuck with 22F. But that was resolved rather quickly -- all I had to do was smile, be friendly, and ask the nice man in 23F if he could trade places with me. It was a window seat for a window seat and he knew he didn't have to sit in the same row as a three year old. Everybody wins. He had no problem switching with us. It was a good flight out -- Av slept through most of it.
Although we had already booked our flight and received confirmation for seats 8A, 8B and 8C, we checked in and found out that while Av and socKs had seats 8A and 8B, my boarding pass indicated that I was sitting in 5C. Interesting. Hadn't we already reserved three seats together? Oh well. Being that it was a flight in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, we were happy to find out that it was not a full flight. And chances are the smile and a favor of the person sitting in 8C would allow us to sit together after all. 5C wasn't a bulkhead seat, and it was that much closer to the front of the plane, which means being able to save a bit of time disembarking. This would be easy.
Or so I thought.
We "pre-boarded" -- a special privilege we had since Av is a young child traveling with us -- which meant we were in line with the folks boarding towards the back of the plane. In front of us was a woman, possibly in her mid to late 60s, who was told at the counter that her section had not yet boarded. She then shreiked back that she was travelling with her husband who had already gotten on the plane, and that she needed to be on as well. They let her through. And then they let us through.
Av was charming to the flight attendants when he came aboard. socKs and he sat in 8A and 8B. I got my smile ready. There was a gentleman who had already claimed 8C. I politely asked if it would be a problem if he could switch seats with me and move to 5C.
Apparently it was a problem. Not as much for him as for his wife, the lady in front of us in line, who was sitting in 8F. They were traveling with their kids as well, and all four of them had to be together, apparently, in seats 8C, 8D, 8E and 8F. We had explained that we wanted to be in close proximity to our three year old, which is likely why she brought her kids into it.
socKs asked her how old her kids were. "Oh, they're adults," was the reply. In fact, the "kids" hadn't boarded the plane yet because they had been waiting patiently for their row to be called!
Both socKs and I had our smiles on, trying to win over this middle aged couple. The trade was an aisle seat for an aisle seat not too far away. It would likely be a more pleasant journey not having to be in the same row as a three year old kid. But they were quite upset at the notion that we would inconvenience them -- after all, the man I was attempting to displace had to "talk business" with his son-in-law across the aisle! The woman demanded to know why I was doing this to him and not asking the folks in 5A and 5B to switch with Av and socKs instead. I guess common sense, to me, was that two people switching seats would be easier than, say, four people switching seats.
Fortunately, the guy in 9D had overheard all of this and offered to switch over to 5C -- allowing the Dad to sit immediately behind his son-in-law. We smiled and thanked him, continuing to absorb the glares from dear old Mom in 8F whose entire trip we had obviously ruined.
But we're not going to lose any sleep over it. Mom in 8F read her book the entire time. Dad in 9D read his newspaper. Son-in-law in 8D slept the entire trip. So much for talking business. Meanwhile, Av had to take two bathroom breaks on the plane, something which would have inconvenienced Dad had he sat where I was sitting. Twice.
And that, my friends, was how I won the battle of seat 8C.
(CNN) -- Air travelers might have to get used to stuffing lipstick and lotion into their luggage rather than carry it with them in the wake of a plot to destroy airliners with liquid-based explosives, security experts say.
The Transportation Security Administration issued new rules banning nearly all liquids, including beverages, lotions and hair gels, from being taken on planes after British authorities arrested at least 24 suspects in the plot.
British airlines went even further, banning all carry-on luggage except for keys, wallets, glasses and other essentials. Medications and baby formula are being allowed. (Full story)
Jamie Bowden, a former terminal manager at London's Heathrow Airport, said the new rules may be here to stay.
"I think certainly here in the U.K. and certainly in the States as well, people are now getting used to kind of a new way of travel," Bowden told CNN on Friday. "So that I think, although the airlines certainly don't want these kinds of restrictions, if they believe through government intelligence that it's much safer to fly like this, that may be a new way that people are going to have to get used to flying."
The TSA hasn't indicated how long the restrictions would remain in place but said on its Web site that "these measures will be constantly evaluated and updated as circumstances warrant."
U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Michigan, said the plot "eliminates the days of carry-on baggage," according to The Associated Press.
Nancy McKinley of the International Airline Passengers Association said the new rules are going to be a "huge adjustment," especially for business travelers.
"The challenge is going to be with the airlines on all the luggage [that] is checked and can it actually get to the destination in a reasonable amount of time once you get there -- how long do you have to wait for it and all of that," she said. (Watch how airports are getting bags through screening and to planes -- 1:47)
McKinley said some airports are urging people to arrive three hours before their flights.
"That's going to be difficult for business travelers, too. That takes a big hunk out of your day," she said.
A senior congressional source said authorities believe the plotters planned to mix a British sports drink with a gel-like substance to make an explosive that they possibly could trigger with an MP3 player or cell phone.
The components of the bomb would appear harmless until they were combined aboard the planes. (Full story)
The TSA has not banned U.S. passengers from carrying laptops, cell phones, MP3 players or BlackBerrys onto planes.
McKinley said it would "just be a nightmare" for business travelers if they did.
"If they try to take laptops and cell phones and put them into checked baggage, that creates a whole new problem," she said. "Because in the past, those type of things (were) not covered. If your luggage is lost and you have something like that in your luggage, it's not covered."
McKinley said she was confident that the restrictions eventually would be eased, once screening technology catches up with the threat.
"I mean there are studies going on right now to get more equipment, more updated equipment that can be changed out so that it doesn't become archaic, and I think that's where the focus has got to go," she said.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, authorities banned passengers from carrying sharp objects such as knives, scissors and nail clippers. Passengers also were required to have their shoes examined after Briton Richard Reid tried to blow up a plane with a bomb hidden in his shoe.
In December, the TSA decided to allow passengers to carry scissors and small tools on board. (Full story)
Rafi Ron, former head of security at Tel Aviv, Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, said screeners should focus more on finding suspicious people than on hunting for potential terrorist tools.
"It is extremely difficult for people to disguise the fact they are under tremendous amount of stress, that they are going to kill themselves and a lot of people around them in a short amount of time, and all the other factors that effect their behavior," Ron said.
From CNN.com
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This is so outrageous. I just can't believe that this is happening... again.
Man I really cant stand passengers that complain about everything we do. Your not putting our bag upside down are you? Sir we have to put it upside down so that it wont roll of the belt and we can't find it. What are you trying to say, that you will lose my bag between here and the plane. NO what I am saying is that your bag will roll off the belt if the wheels are not up. I want to speak with your superviser. Okay sir I will get her. Superviser: How can I help you sir? Yes you can. She was very rude to us. She is telling me that she will lose my bag on perpose. Is this true? No I just explained to him why I was putting his bag upside down. NO she told me that my bag will be missed placed or not be on the plane. Im sorry sir I will speak to her about this. Later on in the back. Christina come in my office. Yes sir. Christina I wanted to talk to you about the incident that we had earlier today. Okay. When a passenger wants you to do something their way just do it. if we miss place his bag or not it will be because he was a hot head. Just put in his remarks that he wanted his bag wheels down. So if the bag was missing they can look in his remarks and find out what happened. Okay I will do that next time that happens.
Just to those people that are rude to the girls at the counter. Be warned that they can put what ever they want in your remarks. If they want to get back at you for any reason they can and they will. even if they never see you again they will remember you. And everyone can see these remarks when you check in somewhere else. It can be very easy for you or very hard. Its your choice. Just Remember that they have control of you flights and can put you on the next avalible or the next morning. Keep that in mind next time you are mad and want to yell at someone.
I believe that life goes on no matter what happens. I have passengers that lose their bags but in the end they find them. So why must they yell at the recieving end. We are not the ones who checked the bags we didnt load the bags and we didnt lose them. At the end of the day we go home and forget all about these things and the passengers go on to their destinations and forget it ever happened. But yet tomorrow I will have another passenger yelling at me because they cant find their bags. Same with passengers that have no ticket or reservations. They scream and yell at us because someone else messed up their reservations and their flights. Oh and we have no seats left for those flights. We get this every day and I would like to have someone say "THANK YOU" It dont matter who you say it to weather its a check out girl at a store or a ticket agent like myself. We need that feeling that we have done a great job today. We have lost another emplyee because she couldnt handle passengers yelling at her all day. I can stand it to a point but at the end of the day I am yelling at my family with all the anger I bottled up threw out the day. So if your having a bad flight and its only getting worse please be kind and try not to explode on the poor person behind the counter their only doing their job.
I wish I had more people come up and tell us how well we are doing. Instead I get "Its all your fault that this is happening" "Cant you do your job right" "I want to speak with your superviser" Its a stressful day without all this and we dont get breaks half the time. We stand all day checking you in and we stand there with smiles even though our feet are killing us. I have been going home for months with swollen or blistered feet. I can tell you that I have people who come through here every day with the same problem as yesterday and life goes on. You will forget what happened and go on with your life while we have to deal with it every day.
I just want to ask you to take it easy on workers. We have hard long days just like you. So next time you go to get gas or to get something to eat take time to say thank you.
Christina
Omigosh...so I thought this lady in the last story was a little bit over the top, but this last week I had a passenger prove me wrong and I have to share the story.
Ok, so since some of our flights are pretty short, we have 3 different levels of cabin service. If the flight is one hour or more, we do a full service in which every passenger gets one beverage and snack and then we offer a refill. On flights that are 45-59 minutes, we do a shorter service, where we start at the back of the plane and then passengers only get one beverage and snack and no refills. Then on flights shorter than 45 minutes we don't offer a service because there just isn't enough time to get it done. So when are flights are 46 minutes or so, you really have to hustle to get your service done, especially when you have a load full of 50 passengers. Keep this in mind.
I forget what city we were in, but we were in the middle of our four leg day. It had been a way early morning, and although it wasn't even noon yet, we had put in a full day's work. We began to board our plane for the trip back to Chicago, and the first gal down the jetway and into the plane is wheeling her (fairly large) carry-on bag behind her. Since our planes are considerably smaller, we can't fit some carry-on's, so we gate check them and then the passengers can pick them up as they de-plane at their destination (instead of having to go to baggage claim). It's actually pretty easy and painless. So I stop this gal and start my little speel..."I'm sorry ma'am, but this bag will probably be too big to fit. How about I just gate check it for you?
Wrong question.
She whips around and start to rattle off how she is going all the way to India (where she was from), and that her husband had his bag lost on the way out, and that she needed to keep it with her. Well, I could understand her being nervous about it, so I said that if there was an open seat in the plane, we'd just strap it in. She seems to calm down a little bit. We finish boarding, there are no open seats so I explain that it's going to have to go in the back. She starts to protest again, and I said, "Ma'am there is absolutely nothing I can do for you. The bag is too big, it has to go in the back." She relents and away it goes.
Finally, after some issues with the amount of cargo we were carrying, we are underway. After 5 minutes, I am allowed to get up and begin my beverage service, but the rest of the passengers are required to stay seated until the sign is off (another thing I never understand...when passengers point to the sign overhead and ask if they can get up...hello!). This same lady, let's just call her 1B, leans forward and asks if she can use the lav. I tell her she can after the seatbelt sign comes off. I get the cart ready and push it all the way to the back of the plane (because of the short flight), when I hear, "Ding!", the seatbelt sign go off. Not two seconds later, 1B is behind me, demanding to get by. There is absolutely no room, so I politely ask if she wouldn't mind waiting a couple minutes until I was done serving. She glares right back at me and says with a huff, "That's why I asked to go beforehand." Whatever. I pull the cart all the way back to the front of the plane (losing precious serving minutes), and follow behind her as she proceeds to the lav. I serve a couple rows before she comes out. I pull the cart all the way back again to let her return to her seat. I push the cart back to the row I was serving. It was actually to the point that the other passengers were sympathetically shaking their heads.
I get to the front row and ask each of the passengers what they wanted to drink. 1B asks for a half cup coffee with cream and sugar. After asking how many of each (cream and sugar) she wanted, she finally decided on one...no, maybe two...nope, one would be fine. I am exasperated at this point. Seriously.
I park the cart, and begin to restock it. She leans over and asks for a water. I barely even stop what I'm doing and hand her the water. Two minutes later she asks for a Diet Pepsi. (What?!) I hand her the rest of an open can I had used. She shoves it away and says she doesn't want it opened. I explain it's the only one I have left onboard (a little bit of a lie, but she's already gotten more than the rest of the passengers). "Well fine, I'll take that regular Pepsi right there," and reaches for the one behind me.
At this point, (which doesn't happen very often), I am at my wits end. I make my way back to the lav, lock the door, and enjoy the humming of the motors. You know, people always complain about how small the lav is on our planes, but sometimes it's the only place I can get away, even for a brief moment. Plus, I figure the longer I stay in there, the less I'll have to deal with 1B, although right now I'm sure she's rummaging through the galley for whatever else she can get.
Finally (thank God!), we land in Chicago and allow everyone to deplane. Never, ever, have I been so happy to get rid of a load of people. It's times like those that makes me wish I was Customer Service so I could of sent her bags to Indiana instead of India.
*evil laugh*
Just kidding! :)
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