getalifewillya

It figures: John, Cindy, Martha (dumb ass)Python and ilisa with pet peeves. Who woulda thunk it. Do us a favor & stay on this board because we would just die if we didn't know what bugged you. Legends in your own minds.

ilisa

Alex, I almost went absolutely buggy on the way home today looking at all the pole leaners! To the last poster, the question was about pet peeves. What did you think we would talk about? Loosen up. You'll be a lot happier.

Struckanerve

Getalifewillya (if that is your real name),

Are you annoyed because you have a beer belly, because you are a public petter, or because you are a Metro slob? Please clarify.

Call It

Getalifewillya obviously drives an 'enhancing' sports car and wears Speedo thong swimwear.

martha python

Cindy, Ilisa, and John:
I have an epithet and yoooou don't! Nyah nyah.

KN1

OK, back to travelling pet peeves. Mine is people who try to stuff that steamer trunk into the overhead bin. Now some blame here has to be put on the airline. Do not let them on the plane with it in the first place. You have to pass at least 3 flight attendants and the pilots with the door open. I was once told by a friend that works for the airlines that if you gatecheck your bag, it should never get lost. I have been doing that for years now and have not lost a piece of luggage yet. (Knock on wood). On the same vein, people who bring items aboard that they want to protect -, ie not stow under seat or above and then get upset when the flight attendant insits on stowing it. On my last flight they would not shut the door until she gave it up. We did get our revenge tho - at then end of the flight we all stood up and seeing as to retrieve the bag the person had to go to the back of the plane, she had to wait until we all filed out - smiling.

Second pet peeve - Americans who think that the whole world should speak English. Get a life!!!

jamie

Most things are not worth bothering about. But there is one thing that happens a lot and causes delay & bother. This is the people who book trip but fail to get seat assignments either from TA or airline. They then get to the airport and get seats assigned on a fully loaded plane (like to Hawaii or New York) and get upset because they are not seated together. I am not talking about honeymooners, just regular people, some with children, some just couples. They then make the stewardess attempt to reorganize the seating arrangements of the entire plane, so that a few people who did not take the time to call a toll-free number and get seat assignments disrupt an entire planeload of people, usually causing late departure. Just venting, that's my peeve.

Just

Jamie, I understand your pet peeve, but I'm hoping you and others can answer this question: how come when I call the airline to get seat assignments, they sometimes tell me they can't assign them and I'll have to take care of it at the gate? Are they thinking they might have to change the type of aircraft or something?

Michele

Jamie,
I can certainly understand your frustration, but sometimes it's not the passengers fault. My mother and I had our seats assigned for our trip to Israel - there and back. But when we got to AA at JFK, we were told they were overbooked, and they would have to seat us separately. My mother is terrified of flying, and one thing that gives her comfort is to be sitting next to some one she knows. I tried to tell the airlines (both ticketing AND stewards) this, to no avail. Why? They didn't want to break up any of the other passengers!!! Meanwhile, my mother was stuck sitting several rows in front of me, surrounded by people she didn't know, scared, and I got stuck in the middle of a large family going to California for a cruise. I was on my way home, had limited sleep, and the last thing I wanted was to be around loud, noisy people, worrying about my mother.

Last time with American Airlines and last time at JFK!

lisa

Michele -- Part of the reason not everyone can be assigned seats is that the airlines are not permitted to assign exit row seating until people check in for the flight, because if you want to sit in an exit row they need to see you and make sure that you could lift the emergency exit door (around 35 pounds) if you had to -- i.e. no kids, frail elderly passengers, or persons with disabilities that would prevent them from performing the necessary exit row procedures. A plane with multiple exit rows may therefore have 6-12 passengers with seats that are unassigned until check-in.

KN1

The airlines also hold the "good" seats for the gold/platinum frequent flyers just in case they make last minute plans. If you book too far in advance or last minute you will be subject to gate check-in. On the too far in advance bookings, call the airline (30-45 days ahead depending on airline) and ask for seats. Your TA should automatically do this for you but it is a hit or miss situation with them. I am not sure about International flights what the rules are, maybe someone else can help on this.

jamie

Just,

Believe you usually have to wait until about 30 days before departure date to get specific seat assignments by calling the airline, at least that's what I had to do last year on domestic trip booked 5 months in advance. They WILL however note your seating preferences, of course if you are FF Elite this is in your profile. I would personally always recommend calling the airline myself for the seat assignments. KN1 is right, they do hold some choice seats (bulkhead, exit rows) until the last minute for FF Elite customers usually.
On international flights, it may vary by airline. I just came back from Puerto Vallarta 3 weeks ago, flew with Alaska (never again, even if I have to pay more to fly Mexicana or Aeromexico). On Alaska flight to Mexico, we also got seat assignments in advance.

Michele, that is just terrible, I really feel sorry for you and your poor mother. In types of situations like this I would be more than willing to move, as this is a definite hardship. Know what you mean about American, hubby & I stopped using them 4 years ago, their loss is Continental's gain. Hope you wrote or sent email to their Customer Relations VP.

Brian in Atlanta

I have been able to get seat assignments with Delta months in advance. In fact, when I buy my tickets through their web site, I always get a seat assignment, no matter how long away the flight is.

Also, Delta (and I think most other airlines) holds out the first few rows and many aisle seats for customers who have reached just the first premium level (don't have to be too elite).

Samantha

Not a biggie, but aggravating none the less - and it actually happened to my husband and I *3* separate nights while making a cross country move last summer - people that (obviously) didn't double check the number on the room door and/or key/card before trying to enter the room. Once we got into a mild argument through the door that the couple had the wrong room, though they were insistent they didn't. The other 2 times, we were awaked by the attempt of people to enter the room, which can be a bit scarey when coming out of a deep sleep. Thank goodness we always to use the safety bar.

Ann

We Americans aren't the only ones that seek familiarity overseas. I lived in Ireland/U.K. for a few years, and had many private laughs over the Brits who will only eat fish and chips when they hit the beach resorts in Spain and Greece. And unfortunately these towns are catering to these tourists--it's a struggle find local cuisine around places like Majorca and Gran Canaria.

Lisa

More on seat assignments- I got my tickets and seat assignments well in advance last year but not having flown with the whole family except once before didn't even think to check them carefully. Didn't figure out until we were at the gate that they had given us two seats together and then another two totally separated from the first and from each other. We could have managed except it was me, my husband and two kids ages 9 and 11. Would you want to be seated next to someone else's kid without their parents on a 3 hour flight? What if there was an emergency or the kid started panicking. The airline knew the ages of the kids when I called for the tickets. We had to wait until everyone boarded to get new seat assignments of two and two.

sue

Here's a new one. First class.I only flew first class once but now pity those poor folks. First if want to do a little reading you have to get up to get your book. It's too far to reach to the seat in front. I also like my little tray to come down from in front of me. Some of the first class seats you have one of those wrap around you trays which make me feel like a prisoner till they come and relieve you of your tray. For those of us who have any stomach problems none of the first class menus are bland enough, although I know you can special order the food, for the coach passengers it has never been a problem. So next time you are wishing you were rich and seated up front it's not that big a deal unless your tall and need lots of leg room (I'm a shorty so it's not a problem). So three cheers for the regular seats.

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