Fat, Skinny & Me in the middle

[simongr]

CIP = Comercially important Passenger.

A tag that can be added to your boarding pass to show that you are important to your company who is in turn important to the airline concerned.

Seriously though does anyone actually have that?

 

[oz_mark]

Seriously though does anyone actually have that?

I had a phase of it on a particular consulting project where the client booked the travel. Alas, no more!

 

[Skyring]

At this point my US based work colleague who was booted out of the marines because he was “too violent” intervened and rather forcefully told the guy that unless he moved he would “pick him up by his F’ing eyebrows”

Reminds me of Steve Martin's character being picked up by some other body parts in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".

While I have no sympathy for seatjumpers, I wonder what would have happened if the middle-aged gent had ignored the threat. Attempting (or succeeding) to evict another passenger by force is probably grounds for removal from a flight.

And it may be that he thought he was in the right spot and couldn't hear polite protests through his earphones.

 

[serfty]

... And it may be that he thought he was in the right spot and couldn't hear polite protests through his earphones.

Perhaps he was able to Lip-Read the phrase with the words ”... pick him up by his F’ing eyebrows... ” ...

 

[Skyring]

Perhaps he was able to Lip-Read the phrase with the words ”... pick him up by his F’ing eyebrows... ” ...

One imagines that this was said with some force...

Great line, but I'd be a total failure at delivering it, due to fits of giggles.

 

[NM]

The only time I have accidentally sat in the wrong seat is when I had a boarding pass for 1C on a 737 and in my head counted across the cabin as 1A, 1B, and then 1C across the aisle. I sat myself in 1D thinking it was 1C. I was quite embarrassed when I figured out the mistake I has made - must have been a delayed pm flight .

And one time my connecting flight from BNE to SYD for a SYD-LAX service was significantly delayed. There were about 30 of us to make the connection, so they held the SYD-LAX flight for us and ushered us all onto the b*s and through immigration to the waiting aircraft. All other passengers had boarded quite a while earlier and were all waiting for us. I had seat 18K allocated, but there was someone already at home in that seat and 18J was vacant. This guy had decided he liked the upper-deck window better than the aisle. I said that I has 18K and he pointed to the aisle seat and and said something like "that's your seat". I stood there waiting and the FA wanted me to take my seat so they could get moving. She looked at my BP and also pointed to the aisle seat and said the same thing.

So I sat in the aisle seat for 14 hours, ensuring that Mr Window Seater found it difficult to get out. He didn't say a word to me for 14 hours. He knew that I knew he had taken my pre-allocated window seat. It was at that point that I changed my preference from Window to Aisle and upper deck to lower deck as I now knew how difficult it can be to climb out over a "sleeping" aisle seat passenger, especially when you are not willing to engage in conversation :evil: .

 

[simongr]

Why the switch to lower deck as well NM?

 

[Skyring]

Why the switch to lower deck as well NM?

If you're in an aisle seat, you might as well be as close to the exit as possible, I guess!

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Upper deck is requested far more often in my experience. I've had flights where upper deck is 100% full and only 1 or 2 people on the lower deck business cabin. Makes for great service

If I can't get upper deck exit row I usually request centre aisle seat lower deck in business (except for LH of course which has first in the upper deck), since the middle seat are the last ones to be filled (particularly bulkhead middle).

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

If you're in an aisle seat, you might as well be as close to the exit as possible, I guess!

Unless I have a tight connection that is unlikely to be a factor for me.

 

[serfty]

Why the switch to lower deck as well NM?

The carry on luggage storage is far better on the main deck. Also, no stairs to negotiate. Plus you are generally out of the aircraft faster.

I really do prefer the lower deck ... window or not ...

In my early FFlyer days, to get a seat in the upper deck was tantamount to Nirvana for me. :shock:

The more I flew, the more I preferred the main deck for the reasons above and a few others.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

If you're going to have an Aisle Sat, the carry on luggage storage is far better on the main deck.

That is certainly true on Qantas - their upper deck overhead bins are tiny. For other airlines (NZ, SQ, BA, LH, etc) the upper deck storage is fine in my experience.

 

[simongr]

Ahh - I dont have much hand luggage normally as when I travel its for a week at a time at least and with suits I find that its just too hard to travel with just hand luggage. As such the storage space is no biggie for me - I normally just have laptop, power lead, couple of cds to watch and a book

 

[NM]

Why the switch to lower deck as well NM?

Several reasons:

• The upper deck window seats have the side lockers, but the aisle seats only have overhead locker space, and they are shallow and don't even fit my rolling briefcase. The new ER interiors may be better, but the original 744 upper deck lockers were very shallow. No such problem in the lower deck.
• The middle E seat is unlikely to be occupied by a single traveller. On the few occasions that the E seat has been allocated, it has been to a person travelling with the person in the other aisle, so they tend to climb out over their travelling companion and not over me.
• I find the lower deck to be more sparsely populated. The upper deck is generally full before the lower deck is much beyind 50%. That also means a better pax:lav ratio etc.
• Faster exit upon arrival means I get to the immigration line ahead of the upper deck passengers or to the lounge showers before the upper deck passengers.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Several reasons:

• The upper deck window seats have the side lockers, but the aisle seats only have overhead locker space, and they are shallow and don't even fit my rolling briefcase. The new ER interiors may be better, but the original 744 upper deck lockers were very shallow. No such problem in the lower deck.
• The middle E seat is unlikely to be occupied by a single traveller. On the few occasions that the E seat has been allocated, it has been to a person travelling with the person in the other aisle, so they tend to climb out over their travelling companion and not over me.
• I find the lower deck to be more sparsely populated. The upper deck is generally full before the lower deck is much beyind 50%. That also means a better pax:lav ratio etc.
• Faster exit upon arrival means I get to the immigration line ahead of the upper deck passengers or to the lounge showers before the upper deck passengers.

Same reasons as me except I substitute pax:FA ratio (rather than lav)

 

[NM]

Same reasons as me except I substitute pax:FA ratio (rather than lav)

Does the FA:lav ratio ever come into play?

 

[serfty]

Not sure about ratios, but the self serve bar is on the way from and to the Lav ...

 

[simongr]

I have never availed myself of the self service bar - I have had adequate service in that respect from the FAs on my few J class flights this year. I might have to make more of an effort

 

[garyjohn951]

agree fully with NM about centre aisle seat, normally the other people are couple and the middle climbs out their side. or the middle is last seat assigned so end up with empty seat 50% of time.

 

[Commuter]

When I get to my (exit row) window seat, there they are in the aisle and middle seats with no possibility of me getting to the window seat.

Ugh! That is bad. They should have never been seated in the exit row. It's basically illegal to do so.

I've been noticing rather poor safety rule compliance from a certain carrier lately. They have been letting exit row passengers keep bags under the seat in front of them (and sticking out of the seat in front of them, to top it all)... I'm wondering if it's the same carrier.