Trivial Airplane Etiquette Question
 

Hello all,

First of all, this is admittedly a trivial and possibly stupid travel question. However, hope springs eternal that you experienced travelers out there could settle a debate.

I have a very good friend who travels on airplanes about 2 or 3 times per year. I consider her a nice person who is highly educated (PhD) and generally socially adept.

Recently, however, we traveled together on a plane, and I was taken aback by something that she did. After chewing several pieces of chewing gum (the new gum w/o any wrappers) during the flight, she would "dispose" of the chewed up piece by putting it into the "barf bag" in the seat pocket in front of her, and then she would put the bag back in the seat pocket.

I "called her" on this behavior, and she stated that she believed that this did not constitute a breech of etiquette because she believed and/or expected that the cleaning crew would discover the gum and throw the bag away, replacing it with a brand new one for the next passenger. My position was (and still is) that we can barely expect the cleaning crew to clean and replace obvious things (e.g. pillows and blankets), much less something like that.

We decided to let this board decide whether this behavior is permissible or not. I know that in the big scheme of things this is miniscule, however, we would love to know what your thoughts are.

Thanks in advance.

I believe those small paper bags are there for discarding things, other than vomit.
Where would you suggest she throw her gum?

sorry-Not "other" than vomit but not only vomit.
Ugh.

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that the cleaning crew, which would be the FAs between flights, are going to go digging through seat back pockets checking barf bags to see what is in them.

If your freind leaves the barf bag on the seat, they would probably throw it away.

At least ask her not to put the barf bag in the seat back pocket. Can you imagine the poor sick person opening the barf bag and seeing a wad of chewed gum?

Meant to say, the cleaning crew is NOT going to check the barf bags in the seat back pocket.

I would have to say that you are both correct. If she was to use the bag for something other than vomit she should make it obvious that it has been used so that the cleaning folks could see it and take care of it. I'm sure they don't check every bag especially if it looks as if it has not been touched.

ttt

Why not just take the bag off the plane with you and dispose of it in a trash can? That way it's not left to a cleaning crew to try and find it, and seems to be a reasonable and responsible thing to do. I chew a lot of gum and never expect someone else to clean it up after me.
Maybe it's me, but I was always told to leave things in the same or better condition than I found them.

I agree with theladyjess.

I agree, make the bag noticeable for cleanup or take it with you.
Another question: Who actually reclines their seats back when riding in coach? You must know that it puts you in the lap of the person behind you. I just had this happen AGAIN, it gives me about 2" of leg room and I spend the rest of the flight thinking evil thoughts about the person and curbing the desire to kick the hell out of the back of their seat.

No, the worst example lack of concern for others is when someone sprays perfume in a closed cabin. We came back from Europe (1st class) and this woman continued to spray herself w/ this perfume - it stunk up the entire cabin. I've heard of spraying yourself w/ evian water to rivive your skintone - but to have no regard for fellow passengers (especially those w/ allergies or motion sickness) was very irritating!!!

The bag can be used for more than vomit. But, she should have the courtesy to throw out the bag when the flight attendants come around collecting trash, which they usually do about 20 minutes before landing (at least on Continental.)

The seats recline for a reason. If you don't like it, complain to the airline not to the person in front of you.

If she thinks it's OK to use the barf bag and return it to its original place without disposing of it propersly, I have to ask: What's her approach to toilet paper in a public restroom?

Does your friend leave her popcorn box and soda container on the floor next to her seat after the movie's over because she knows the cleaning crew will come in and "take it away"? (Just asking.)

I am very tall and unless a small child is sitting behind me, I will not recline my seat. I think it is very rude. I have asked the person in front of me to pull their seat up and have never had a problem.

Jack,

That's an excellent analogy! I don't know whether she does or not, but as someone who worked at a movie theatre while in college, I was amazed that so many people would just leave it there to be thrown away by the ushers.

Why ruin a barf bag for a small piece of gum? Put it in a tissue, then dispose of it in the bathroom or in a waste basket at the airport. ((Y))

I fully recline my seat for the duration of my flight. It helps me relax, seems to take some pressure off of my back. Frankly, I find nothing rude about it, I paid for the seat, the seat reclines, and if the fella behind me doesn't like it then too bad.

I really don't see what the big deal is about it. When the person in front of me reclines I have no problem eating my food on the tray, working on my laptop, etc.

I put my seat back throughout the flight.

Ridiculous! The seats recline for a reason. I would NEVER expect the person in front not to recline, and I certainly recline mine the moment they will let me.

If everyone reclines their seats, then everyone has EXACTLY the SAME amount of space they had when everyone was upright.

However, I don't think I am the one that's been leaning into your lap, because I am CURSED with getting a seat that won't go back about half the time!! There was an article in WSJ last friday about picking the best and worst seats in a plane. Apparently there's a website called seatguru.com or something like that that tells you about various seat numbers on all makes of planes. I haven't been there yet, but perhaps you guys that hate the recliners could try to get behind the ones that don't go back (say Hi to me when you do)!

Your friend is being vulgar and disgusting. Furthermore, I find chewing gum aficianados more disgusting than smokers. Childish types.

Litespeed_Chick, you are so wrong. A tall person with long thing bones sticks out farther, and the long angle bones makes the knees stick up much higher. If the person in front reclines the seat goes directly into his knees whether or not he relines himself. You are speeking from the standpoint of a person who's knees are lower than the pivot point of the seat in front, so of course it works OK for you.

An absolutely unsolvable delimma... to recline or not to recline! And my pet peeve (the recliners), being a person with long thing :-) bones. (sorry, Jor, I couldn't resist). I am lucky enough to have good enough status to always either get an upgrade or a bulkhead seat so it no longer tortures me. But I also never recline my seat. If you are a person who doesn't mind the reclined seat, please wear a sign to that effect so I can go ahead and lean back! Thanks!!!

By the way, the gum thing is very tacky.

I meant thigh bones, not thing bones.

In response to the original post. Everyone gets the chance to receive a napkin when drinks are offered. Put it in the napkin. As for the barf bag. What about the person on a later flight who might need it to throw up in and can't open it because it is stuck shut with gum???? Not nice behavior on your friend's part.

Let me get this straight, if one is tall, then he should expect the person sitting in front of him not to recline because of his knobby knees and thigh bone structure? Too confusing.I am going to continue to recline so if you are tall and lanky and sit behind me and my seat hits your knees and causes your drink to spill, too bad.

Gee Jjason, what a nice attitude. Your karma is going to get you. :-)

If a potential passenger cannot fit into a seat when the seat in front is reclined then perhaps that passenger should either book only seats behind emergency rows, bulkhead seats, or should not fly in coach.

The seat pitch and recline configurations are not my fault. Take it up with the airline. Perhaps you could send them a letter asking them to either remove the recline function of the seats?

I expect the person in front of me to recline his seat and it has never been a problem. Why would they make the seats to recline if you're not supposed to do it? Does not make sense.

I was thinking about jor's point that maybe the crew does not check barf bags and the gummed up one remains for the next passenger. Well what happens when the next user needs the barf bag for it's true purpose but it's "gummed" shut? Maybe the MS. Gum Chewer should be sitting in the same row so she can benefit directly from sealing the bag shut instead of finding a proper way of disposing of the gum.

This thread is so ridiculous I had to chime in. You can put your seat back whenever and for however long you want on an airplane. The only rule is that it be upright for takeoff and landing, that is what the fa's say, and that is what I do. To claim that one's bone structure somehow obliges a passenger in front of you to not utilize the recline feature is rude, selfish, and arrogant. They paid for their ticket and can recline to their hearts content.

I always recline if so inclinced. I am short so I really never thought of it as rude. AFter seeing this post, I felt sympathy for a second but thinking about it, I've never had a tall person at a ballgame, concert, movie, etc. become concerned that I couldn't see over his/her head and offer to slouch down in the seat for my convenience, so I will continue to recline.

Loki, that's sort of like saying those short people at an outdoor concert are so dog-gone easy to trip over, therefor I will continue not to consider their needs.

Not at all, jor. A frivolous and cheap shot of an analogy you attempt to use. What next? Will you now try to claim that passengers with small appetites have some sort of 'obligation' to give uneaten portions of their in flight meals to large people so that their 'needs will be met'? No. Everyone gets the same sized meal, everyone gets the same sized seat, and everyone can recline as they will.

I will absolutely recline. And if anyone has a problem with it or tries to kick my seatback in retaliation then I'll fart on you.

So what the anti-recliners are saying is that, although I purchased my ticket just the same as they did, I should allow myself to be uncomfortable for the duration of the flight in order to make them more comfortable. Huh?

this thread made me laugh quite a bit, although i'm sure all the posters were serious about their issues.
i'm a seat recliner but never all the way because i know how little room there is and i wouldn't want someone to completely recline on me. all this because airlines can't properly manage their companies, they're constantly in the red and have to make money at our physical expense.
now enjoy this article:
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/...y/recline.html

It's the "me-first" attitude that this country has. So allow me to say I will recline. Karma or no karma, grasshopper. Confucious say, "those with lanky leg should fly Amtrak"

That's right, it is me-first that makes this country great. You help out others, when you can, but your first obligation is to watch your own ass. And if enough people had real heartburn about airline seatpitch then they would be screaming to legislators about some regulation in this area. I've heard about consumer legislation regarding luggage and overbooking, etc, but nothing touching this issue.

It would appear from simple market analysis that people are more than willing to accept bovine-style accomodations in the air because of the discounted airfares we've been blessed with over the decades. This is why SWA and JBL are successful, and both airlines offer reclining chairs.

Worse than spraying perfume in the closed plane cabin, the woman next to me in Business was so happy with her new perfume, she took my arm and sprayed MY WRIST!! I was so pissed but had to sit with her for 10 more hours so kept my grin plastered and said nothing! Bleh!