Has someone stole your airplane seat?

[TheAdWrighty]

To avert the topics direction slightly - Clapping on ladding - What the hell is that all about? I work in an airport, perhaps I am numb to aircraft and their arrivals and departures, hence the original post with it feeling odd. (I work in area that has nothing to do with the pax of aircraft)

But really, the amount of flights, there really is no need to clap.

Maybe I'm just cynical?

[Asterix]

Nope - I'm with you. It does seem a bit odd. I guess I could understand it if it was a particularly dodgy flight, but they very rarely are.

Anyway, how to bemuse a plane full of Americans when flying from Houston to LA - a mate and I absolutely pissed ourselves when the pilot spoke over the intercom for the first time and announced himself as Captain wker.

[Puggit]

TheAdWrighty said:

To avert the topics direction slightly - Clapping on ladding - What the hell is that all about? I work in an airport, perhaps I am numb to aircraft and their arrivals and departures, hence the original post with it feeling odd. (I work in area that has nothing to do with the pax of aircraft)

But really, the amount of flights, there really is no need to clap.

Maybe I'm just cynical?

Italians

[Robatr0n]

A couple of times I've heard the clapping on landing and for the most part it's been in the US where they do tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves.

That said, we did once end up flying through some very adverse weather conditions and the landing was very heavy indeed. Prior to touching down, people were either praying, sat in silence (me!) or wailing so as soon as we had touched down for the final time it felt as though every passenger onboard erupted in applause. It was very surreal!

[Matt Harper]

Asterix said:

Matt Harper said:

In my experience, it's mostly a genuine error, where the miscreant has looked at the boarding pass and mistaken the departure gate number for the seat number.

Because I have to fly a lot, my status with several US domestics means I usually (though by no means always) get up-graded. I sometimes give up a biz-class upgrade if there are any deployed military on board, as a way of showing appreciation. It is always a crap-shoot where I'm going to end up on the plane and who I'm going to be seated with. Usually it ends-up being 2 or 3 hours of middle-seat hell, but once in a while it turns out to be really fun.

Not to nit pick but why would deployed military be on an US flight? Did you mean travelling on leave after a deployment?

Yes, that - though more frequently it's personnel heading to a deployment. My company is based in Indianapolis and there is a very large 'jumping-off point' for middle east/Afgan deployments at Camp Atterbury IN. I travel to Indy quite frequently from all over the country.

Edited by Matt Harper on Tuesday 31st March 16:11

[anonymous-user]

I travel the Chicago/Indy 'hop' fairly regularly (next time just after Easter), and I can't remember the last time I didn't see a serviceman get bumped up front - sometimes 2 or 3 on a flight.

I think it's great - and I've also seen people up front actively give up thier seats to a serviceman. It's only 45 mins or so, but it's a great gesture.

[hidetheelephants]

oilydan said:

Now that I use the UK trains it seems that the majority of the general public either choose to ignore the seat reservations or just don't give a damn. I even had one tell me I should not mind as its only a 2 hour journey, the train was packed and no other seats in the carriage, I had just got off an overnight flight with very little sleep. I swore alot and got my seat

I'm on the train between Glasgow and Aberdeen once a month and the carriages that allow booking are invariably booked solid, yet rarely are more than 25% of the bookings used; the sooner they charge for the service the better, as having to eyeball the booking slips is painful due to the faint and tiny print used.

[kev1974]

hidetheelephants said:

I'm on the train between Glasgow and Aberdeen once a month and the carriages that allow booking are invariably booked solid, yet rarely are more than 25% of the bookings used; the sooner they charge for the service the better, as having to eyeball the booking slips is painful due to the faint and tiny print used.

Some inter-city trains in Europe, if you don't have a reservation, you can't get on, simple as that.
I've definitely come up against that in Spain when wanting to go from X to Y at short notice.

I guess people try harder there to get the train they booked on.

[DeuxCentCinq]

As I related elsewhere, I was on my way back from Birmingham on Friday, sat in an unreservable seat by the window on a Cross Country train. There is a large luggage rack behind me, and a lot of space in the overhead one as well.
Chap gets on after me and sits next to me. Has a wheelie bag and a rucksack. Wheelie bag under his legs, rucksack on his lap. iPad out and starts playing a game. I notice his ticket says he is travelling all the way to Winchester, about two and a half hours journey.

Next stop (airport) some people get off so a double seat has opened up across the aisle a couple of rows up. He jumps up and nabs it, looking at but ignoring the dot matrix display above the seat that clearly says "Reserved from Coventry to Bournemouth". He spreads his luggage out across both seats, then gets out a Macbook Pro and starts doing something in Ableton (I think - I'm too far away to see precisely).

At Coventry, 200 people get on the train. All seats taken (including the one next to me). They're standing in the aisles. Guard announces "Please remove all luggage from seats so others can sit down. This train is full." Chap standing asks the Macbook guy to move his stuff. Macbook guy shrugs. "Nothing I can do mate, too much stuff."

At this point an elderly couple are wobbling their way down the carriage, carrying a printout aloft, looking for a seat number. It can't be? Surely.

It is. They find their pre-booked seats. Macbook guy has to get up with all his stuff and let them sit down. As the train is now super-busy, he has to stand directly next to them with his luggage for the next two hours, all the way to his stop.

Super, super-satisfying.

[anonymous-user]

had ham said:

I travel the Chicago/Indy 'hop' fairly regularly (next time just after Easter), and I can't remember the last time I didn't see a serviceman get bumped up front - sometimes 2 or 3 on a flight.

I think it's great - and I've also seen people up front actively give up thier seats to a serviceman. It's only 45 mins or so, but it's a great gesture.

Only in America...

Can you imagine people giving up their seats for a bunch of Squaddies on Easyjet?

[King Herald]

speedyguy said:

Le TVR said:

Happens quite a lot.

CC observed (with the tiniest of smiles) "While I realise that your flight for Newark left 5 minutes ago, boarding another one to Osaka is not allowed".

So all that security bullsh!t at the airport alluded to earlier isn't really worth a light then

Never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn. We all know you will NEVER be able to get onto the wrong plane, but it makes a great finale to the story.

I was traveling home from work with a guy last year, sat a few seats apart on the same row. A rather surly looking guy of middle east descent had my buddies seat. Mr Surly refused to move, 'My seat, my seat' was all he would say. Hostie eventually worked things out, put my buddy in Mr Surlys original seat, which happened to be in Business class......

It was only a two hour short haul in the USA, but a wider arm rest is always a good thing. (that's about all you get on Delta, on domestics, a wider arm rest and a few free drinks)

[kicks]

King Herald said:

Never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn. We all know you will NEVER be able to get onto the wrong plane, but it makes a great finale to the story.

It happens all the time. Gate staff check thousands of boarding cards every day. Some are going to slip through. Usually it is the the right flight but wrong date. However I have seen some people on the wrong flight. We were going to Malaga and the passenger should have been on the Milan flight.

[steveo3002]

kicks said:

King Herald said:

Never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn. We all know you will NEVER be able to get onto the wrong plane, but it makes a great finale to the story.

It happens all the time. Gate staff check thousands of boarding cards every day. Some are going to slip through. Usually it is the the right flight but wrong date. However I have seen some people on the wrong flight. We were going to Malaga and the passenger should have been on the Milan flight.

yeah it does happen , i got on a virgin plane to washington instead of la after going to the wrong gate hehe , still as long as my toothpaste wasnt more than 100ml its all good

[kev1974]

It does happen, I saw this documentary once about a kid whose family were flying to Miami but he accidentally got on the New York plane instead. When he wasn't getting up to mischief in the posh hotels and toy shops, he was forced to hang out with homeless people and robbers, poor kid had a terrible time, until his family finally noticed he wasn't with them and came and tracked him down.

[carreauchompeur]

kev1974 said:

It does happen, I saw this documentary once about a kid whose family were flying to Miami but he accidentally got on the New York plane instead. When he wasn't getting up to mischief in the posh hotels and toy shops, he was forced to hang out with homeless people and robbers, poor kid had a terrible time, until his family finally noticed he wasn't with them and came and tracked him down.

Haha, I saw that too. Great documentary and what a pickle! Plucky kid though.

[HTP99]

carreauchompeur said:

kev1974 said:

It does happen, I saw this documentary once about a kid whose family were flying to Miami but he accidentally got on the New York plane instead. When he wasn't getting up to mischief in the posh hotels and toy shops, he was forced to hang out with homeless people and robbers, poor kid had a terrible time, until his family finally noticed he wasn't with them and came and tracked him down.

Haha, I saw that too. Great documentary and what a pickle! Plucky kid though.

Unlucky though as I believe it happened twice!

[Twin2]

I've had the pleasure of ejecting many people from my seat on planes but this reminds me of one of the most awkward interactions I've ever witnessed on a train.

Train from Glasgow to London on a Saturday evening, 4 "lads" get on the train somewhere in northern England, obviously just finished with the football and having a few cans on the way back home. They sat down at a table and were chatting away, about the game, their wives, beer, usual st.

Next stop a 50ish year old lady gets on, looks completely confused. She stood next to the men for about 5 minutes before saying that one was in her seat. Now, the train was pretty empty so she could've sat anywhere but nooooo.

So eventually, after the guys explained that, she ejected one and sat down among the other 3 for the next hour.

[King Herald]

steveo3002 said:

kicks said:

King Herald said:

Never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn. We all know you will NEVER be able to get onto the wrong plane, but it makes a great finale to the story.

It happens all the time. Gate staff check thousands of boarding cards every day. Some are going to slip through. Usually it is the the right flight but wrong date. However I have seen some people on the wrong flight. We were going to Malaga and the passenger should have been on the Milan flight.

yeah it does happen , i got on a virgin plane to washington instead of la after going to the wrong gate hehe , still as long as my toothpaste wasnt more than 100ml its all good

I don't get it, I fly halfway across the glove every five weeks, and boarding passes and ID are checked multiple times on every flight I take, so how do people just happen to haphazardly wander accidentally onto the wrong plane? It is not like a plane is a bus, where you buy a ticket onboard.

[King Herald]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The one reason I try to get on the plane early is to make sure I have somewhere to put my own regulation sized carry on, before the selfish fvcktards roll on with their huge rollalongs, double or triple the regulation carry on size/limit.

And the 'beauty' of it all, the single cell hosties simply let them walk right past the bag size measurement device, and roll on by onto the plane.

Get to the gate towards the end of boarding, and the same dumb hosties start taking bags off people as the greedy, selfish a$$holes have already taken all the room!

[Mal001]

King Herald said:

steveo3002 said:

kicks said:

King Herald said:

Never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn. We all know you will NEVER be able to get onto the wrong plane, but it makes a great finale to the story.

It happens all the time. Gate staff check thousands of boarding cards every day. Some are going to slip through. Usually it is the the right flight but wrong date. However I have seen some people on the wrong flight. We were going to Malaga and the passenger should have been on the Milan flight.

yeah it does happen , i got on a virgin plane to washington instead of la after going to the wrong gate hehe , still as long as my toothpaste wasnt more than 100ml its all good

I don't get it, I fly halfway across the glove every five weeks, and boarding passes and ID are checked multiple times on every flight I take, so how do people just happen to haphazardly wander accidentally onto the wrong plane? It is not like a plane is a bus, where you buy a ticket onboard.

My mate did it when fairly pissed. He was supposed to be flying to Amsterdam and in his words "knew he was in trouble when he got off the plane and saw mountains". He actually ended up in Switzerland!

I,ve been on a flight sat down ready to go and a passenger has realised they're on the wrong one and had to get off.