You’d expect air travel in first class to be a bit better than business or economy. Nicer food, comfortable seats, and a higher caliber of passenger, at the very least. What you might not see coming is borderline assault.
One man recently went online to rant about an appalling experience he had travelling first class on a red-eye Delta flight. Apparently, he was getting some welcome shuteye when the guy behind him slapped him awake for the most random reason.
More info: Reddit
First class air travel comes with its perks, but this passenger had a literal rude awakening on his recent red-eye flight
Image credits: pink1unicorn / Freepik (not the actual photo)'
He was napping peacefully when the guy behind him slapped him awake for the most random reason
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Apparently, the head slapper had dropped his ear bud, and wanted him to move his seat so he could retrieve it
Image credits: Pew Nguyen / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Moments later he felt a rapping on his head again - it was the guy letting him know he’d got his ear bud back
Image credits: Awkward-Regret5409
The man had had enough by this point, and let the obnoxious passenger know he could lay his hands on him again at his own peril
Sleeping on a red-eye flight is already tough but, for OP, his short nap turned into a bizarre nightmare. While dozing off in first class next to his wife, he was abruptly awakened, not by turbulence, but by someone slapping the top of his head. And no, it wasn’t an accident.
Still groggy, he turned to his wife to ask if she’d hit him, but it hadn’t been her. The real culprit? A man sitting in the row behind, casually admitting, “I dropped my earbud.” Apparently, instead of tapping a shoulder or saying something like a normal person, this guy thought knocking on another man’s head was totally acceptable.
Moments later, it happened again. Same head, same slap, same man; this time to say, “Found it, thanks pal.” By this point, OP had had enough. Turning around, he told the guy in no uncertain terms: “The one thing you WON’T be doing is putting your hands on me again.” The slap-happy stranger replied with a smug, “That’s fair.”
The rest of the flight was sleepless for OP, but at least someone had his back. Apparently, a flight attendant quietly confirmed she saw the whole thing and fully supported him. Word is, incidents like these are landing people on the Do-Not-Fly list. Because, really, who thinks it’s okay to basically assault a stranger in the first place?
Image credits: Dylan Bueltel / Pexels (not the actual photo)
OP’s ordeal proves that these days even first-class flights can be a circus. He certainly couldn’t have seen the borderline assault coming when he took his comfy seat. So, what is it about air travel that makes people think they can act as if the world owes them something? We went looking for answers.
In her article for The Atlantic, Lora Kelley writes that an airplane is an odd environment: You’re buckled into a flying piece of metal hurling through clouds, sitting in very close proximity to strangers. According to Kelley, you’re a member of a temporary, placeless mini-society, following rules distinct from those on Earth.
Sociology professor, Sheryl Skaggs, says even before the pandemic, reports of bad behavior in the skies ticked up sharply.
Skaggs and her colleague published a paper looking at misconduct on planes. They discovered that alcohol frequently fueled problems, but the combination of less comfortable conditions for travelers, alongside low transparency from airlines that often cancel or delay flights, also contributed.
In his article for Psychology Today, Dale Archer answers the question as to why passengers are behaving so badly. According to Archer, the answer is simple: we are becoming a nation of rude narcissists. The sense of entitlement is exemplified by one overriding thought: “I want to do what I want, when I want…. and I will!”
While we’re glad OP’s situation didn’t descend into a physical altercation, he was certainly within his rights to let the head slapper know what was up. Here’s hoping the obnoxious passenger makes Delta’s no-fly list soon.
What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Would you have been able to resist slapping the guy back, or would you have called over the flight attendant from the get-go? Let us know in the comments!
In the comments, some readers shared their own in-flight horror stories while others praised the man for not taking more drastic action
