Boarding a plane can feel like a bit of a lottery. You never really know who you’re going to end up sitting next to. It could be the kindest person alive, or it could be someone who makes the next few hours feel a lot longer than they should. From crying children to seat kickers, there are plenty of ways a flight can go sideways.
When this Redditor made his way to his window seat, the woman sitting next to him was clearly annoyed that she had to stand up to let him through. She made a whole fuss about it and even called him a “silly moron.” So, he decided to get back at her with some very petty revenge that lasted the entire 4-hour flight. Read below to see what he came up with.
For some reason, the woman was furious that she had to stand up and let a fellow passenger reach his seat, causing a scene in the process
Image credits: Tahir osman / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
So, he found a petty way to make the rest of the flight just a little less enjoyable for her
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Anna Tarazevich / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: NotBattleTested
There’s actually a reason why airplanes seem to bring out the worst in people
Just like the man in the story, many of us have dealt with our fair share of entitled seatmates. In fact, encountering difficult people on planes is surprisingly common.
In 2021, 85 percent of flight attendants dealt with unruly passengers, and nearly 1 in 5 experienced physical incidents (though the survey was conducted during the pandemic, when stress levels were particularly high).
So what is it about air travel that brings out our worst selves? The nature of flying creates the perfect storm for frustration.
You’re squeezed into a cramped space for hours with no real way to move around. Escape is impossible once those doors close. And if you’ve already experienced an unwanted delay, you’re frustrated before you even take off.
A big part of what triggers this behavior is that all of these factors make people feel like they’re out of control. And people universally hate losing control. That sense of powerlessness breeds anxiety and fear, which often leads to acting out.
“Few things can leave you feeling less in control than flying—someone else is driving, you can only get up when you have permission, there’s a lot of noise, you’re often left in the dark,” clinical psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula told Thrillist. “When we feel out of control, our emotions get out of control too, and anger and frustration are going to lead the fray. It’s a recipe for rage.”
Of course, it doesn’t help that alcohol and airports often go hand in hand. For many travelers, having a drink is part of the experience, whether celebrating a vacation or calming pre-flight nerves. Time seems irrelevant at airports, so people drink at 7 am just as readily as 7 pm, often continuing once they board.
But alcohol doesn’t always have the calming effect people hope for. Patrick Smith, a commercial airline pilot since 1990, says alcohol is involved in a very high percentage of air rage incidents.
“Booze and airplanes are not a good idea. It’s like having a bar where there isn’t quite enough oxygen; the effects of alcohol tend to be potentiated at altitude,” Dr. Durvasula said. So be careful when you’re tempted to make your journey more fun with a few drinks.
What also makes things trickier is the diversity of passengers. Airports and planes bring together people from all over the world, each with different cultural etiquettes. What might seem like a strange or rude interaction to you could be completely normal for someone else.
“The rules in Manhattan, Kansas, are different than in Manhattan, New York,” Nick Leighton, who co-hosts the etiquette podcast Were You Raised By Wolves?, told Time. “We’re all operating from slightly different etiquette playbooks, and we all have slightly different ideas about personal space, volume, and what’s acceptable and not acceptable. Combine that with people being sleep-deprived, hungry, cranky, and stressed out, and it’s a recipe for disaster.”
Image credits: ClickerHappy / Pexels (not the actual photo)
If you manage to keep your cool, you can deal with difficult passengers without escalating the situation
It helps to remember that even when someone does something annoying, they might not have meant to bother you.
So as triggering as it may be when a passenger reclines their seat all the way back to your nose, experts recommend trying to solve the issue diplomatically before retaliating. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you…” is always a good opener before making any request.
“With a lot of these things that are happening on an airplane, people are not being malicious,” Leighton told Time. “They’re not intending to make things unpleasant for you. It helps to come at it with that understanding.”
Sometimes you’ll be the one doing something that might inconvenience other passengers. In those cases, acknowledge it and be kind. Leighton suggests using something like: “I understand this is inconvenient, but would it be possible for you to close the window shade?”
Then there are those moments when you find yourself sitting next to someone who’s clearly lonely and wants to chat for the entire flight, but you’re low on energy and desperately need quiet time. In those cases, you can still be polite about setting boundaries.
You can say “Thanks for the conversation” and mention that you’re going to proceed with whatever you need to do, whether that’s opening your laptop to work or putting on headphones to listen to music.
Ending the conversation is preferable to simply ignoring the other person, explains Jacqueline Whitmore, a former flight attendant who’s now an etiquette expert, speaking with Time.
So what do you think? Should the man have handled things more diplomatically and just let it go? Or was his commitment to pettiness actually inspiring? Share your thoughts in the comments.
In the comments, the man explained why he went through all that trouble instead of simply closing the window shade
Readers were just as annoyed by the rude woman, but they couldn’t help applauding his dedication to being petty
