kswl

Thank you, nessurdorma. I think it is incumbent upon members of this community to be generous, as you say, in their interpretations.

Can I think of some set of circumstances that would legitimize diaper changing in one's seat? Yes, I think so . . . how about

you are traveling alone with your baby and you sprained your ankle when you tripped over the lout's foot stuck out in the aisle. The trip to the loo is torture, so you spread out the baby-changing pad on the seat and do the necessary. Or . . .

all the loos are occupied, there are long lines at every one, you have pled your case to get in front of the line but have been snubbed by people whose glances clearly disapprove of your even <i>having</i> a baby on the plane, not to mention needing to <i>change</i> it.

or what if you are traveling with several children and one is not feeling at all well and holding on to your arm for dear life, crying. You can either leave this child alone in is seat (drawing angry looks ranging from &quot;why did she even have children if she's going to ignore them?&quot; to God, won't that kid just **** up?&quot or take him along with you to the loo, knowing that the door will have to remain open as there won't be enough room for you and him, which will mean that the other people waiting in the line will still be treated to the sights and smells . . . or

if the hinges on the baby-changing table are broken, and it either will not fold down or won't support the baby's weight. There is nowhere else in the bathroom to change the baby save on this table, or on the floor, or the seat. And what if this is the only such table on the plane, the other loos not having this feature . . . I have been on planes that had one, single designated &quot;family&quot; loo. Then what?

Are these scenarios likely? Of course not! But they are examples of situations in which I would not hesitate to change a baby wherever it was possible.

kswl

Whoa, Ira!

This thread is bringing out the beast in us all. . . perhaps someday we will all travel in the little pods I've seen in first class. Not very interesting, of course, but obviously a much preferred method than dealing with our messy, smelly, overweight, seat-reclining, baby-changing, gum-smacking, drunk &quot;neighbors.&quot;

Madison

a few years back I was seated next to a man who had the foulest breath, the kind that comes from deep inside the belly and on top of that he must have had a cup of garlic puree the night before. it was awful. I was so close to losing my previous meal. We were in the middle section with 4 seats to ourselves. I asked (nicely) if he would move over so we both could have a lot of room. He said maybe later. He was so rude. I said okay, then put my plan into play. I started having a coughing fit, just kept coughing and coughing. It wasn't long before he lept over two seats and moved as far away from me as possible.

Spygirl

There is one more story that I have to share which happened within the past year on a long-haul flight from Asia-and it is a singularly distasteful memory...

The young college-age dude sitting next to me in premium economy apparently had a very bad case of, well, jock itch. I am not exaggerating: every five minutes, for some 13 HOURS, he would reach into his pants and scratch the crotch area. Right in front of me, and then he would continue to read, use the AVOD, touch everything and anything. He was very polite otherwise, spoke perfect English when addressed by one of the F/As. I saw someone over on the other side of the aisle standing up and, having seen him do his thing- was staring over at me with this huge look of surprise on his face, trying to figure out what was going on. Well, it was pretty obvious wasn't it?

Of course, the time came to start filling out the customs forms. Of course, he asked me for my pen...of course I gave it to him, and said &quot;you can keep it.&quot;

MaddieAstrid

I have a poor sense of smell and unlimited tolerance for noise, but there are two frequently occurring behaviors that infuriate me.

1. NOT SHARING OVERHEAD SPACE. Despite the fact that my carry-on bag is small enough to fit under most (unfortunately not all) seats, I occasionally must hand my bag over to the flight attendant to be checked because some passengers believe that they are entitled to the entire overhead bin, or even half the bin because they have arrived first. If one has a standard rolling piece of luggage, for example, IMHO it is impolite to carry on ANYTHING additional that doesn’t fit under the seat. I think if you are in a row of three seats, it is rude to use any more than ONE THIRD of the overhead space before everyone has boarded. Just because you can get away with it does not mean you should. Lots of otherwise well-mannered admitted offenders on this board.

2. Sitting behind a small child, or to be honest any child, who reclines his/her seat.

stokebailey

Is it rude, then, to recline seat all the way back? What about during time people would reasonably want to sleep?

kp

How does a person wash their hands after changing the babies diaper if they remain in their seat? I realize that there is hand sanitizing gel but there are times when soap and water are needed.

I think this post has convinced me that it really is a good idea to use a disinfecting wipe on the armrests and the tray table once I locate my small area in coach!

bennyb

I can live with people grabbing my seat back to get out of their seats and into the aisle. The rows are so narrow that people do what they have to do. I can live with people reclining their seats into my face in an attempt to get comfortable, and probably because the people in fron the them reclined, and it's a domino effect.

But there's NO excuse for changning diapers in the seat. If the fact that it's a natural function and the line to the lav in long is a good enough reason, then I can also use those urine collection containers (the ones truckers use) in my seat. Because, hey, it's a natural function, right? And the line to the lav is too long.

Unless you want to see me use one of these - and believe me, you do NOT want to see me use one of these - then no baby changing either.

Dukey

If you used something to sanitize everything your intact skin touched on your WAY to that seat you'd never get to the plane.

crefloors

I don't swab my way on to the plane but I always wipe down the arm rests and the back of the seat and my tray.

flsd

Memo to self: buy a package of antiseptic hand wipes before next flight.

Curt

do not poot

hanl

It never occurred to me that anyone would change their baby on a plane seat until I read this thread!
Next time I fly I will be carefully checking my seat for traces of baby poo before sitting down.

katya_NY

I consider myself a very good diaper changer after many years of working in child care. That said, I would never consider changing a diaper in a non-discreet (bathroom, changing stall) area. That is selfish and unfair to any nearby people.

I think that one of the most impressive travelers I ever saw was a mom- she was traveling with two small girls (probably 4 &amp;6) from NYC to Paris, France. She had a &quot;surprise&quot; for them with every air travel event- ie., when the beverage cart came, they got goldfish crackers. When the movie started, they got a little toy. Some of the items were not new, but just surprises from their own toy bin at home. The older daughter had a little notebook to record everything she learned on the plane... this was ingenious. The girls were lovely and thrilled with each new thing.

The worst seat mate? Hard to choose... probably the lovely woman and her toddler en route to Costa Rica. I had the aisle seat, he had the middle, she had the window... and he laid down across the seats, with his head in her lap. He slept for awhile, kicking me the entire time as he got comfortable, rolled over, etc... Then, I got up to use the lav, and he had taken over my seat!! She thought it was adorable, I was less than amused.

LoveItaly

My daughter and SIL saw a woman change her baby's dirty diaper on the bench seat at a local fast food place. My kids were on their way out but they still said they of course were so grossed out. They got wondering afterwards if any employee said something to the women.

issy

It's been about six years since I've changed a diaper, but many times the planes we were on did NOT have a changing table in the lav. A couple of times, I have had to change my baby on the seat. Not because I wanted too, or was inconsiderate, I just didn't have a choice. Planes for longer flights usually had them, fortunately!

janisj

I find it enlightening that the only person really defending SAnParis on the diaper front is the very same one who does her nails on airplanes.

can you say chutzpah . . . . . .

L84SKY

I honestly don't understand this problem people have with the seat recline. It's not like the darn things recline that far to annoy anyone. But then if one does recline the seat it does make it difficult for anyone to get up from their seat without using the back of the reclining seat without being a yogi.
What's one to do? I'm sorry to say, I'm a seat recliner and if you need to use the back of my seat to do so, I won't quibble.

Brockbank

Not long ago, my son, his wife, and his two children, 4 year old girl and 4 month old baby, took a short flight. The baby did a job in her diaper and I guess you could smell it everywhere. As mom was getting things together to take the baby to the lav, the four year old yelled, &quot;EWWW, Dad, is that you?&quot; Got a few chuckles from all passengers except, of course, Dad.

We seldom take any luggage to put in the overhead bins. My wish (my pilot friend says it's never going to happen) is that the airline would allow all passengers who don't have anything overhead to exit before others stand up and start getting into overhead bins.

kswl

Janis, I had a bet with a friend on how long it would take you to chime in with that remark. And as I told you on that Other thread, I (regrettably) <i>have no nails,</i> having instead a filthy nail-biting habit. I don't &quot;do&quot; my nails, nor have them &quot;done.&quot;

What about that don't you understand? Oh, of course---you simply must get in your little comment. It actually took less time than I thought; I won the bet and YOU took the bait . . .