Seat Lock Starts Fight on Flight!

That calls for a few wet sneezes.

 

On recent China Eastern domestic flights there were announcements in Chinese and English warning not to mess with exit doors - not even touch them. Apparently this follows events when passengers thought waiting on the ground was excessive, or just wanted some fresh air.

 

Yes, it's happened a few times. I'm not surprised: in July I ended up getting onto a plane from Beijing to Guangzhou three hours late and then sitting in the plane on the apron for five hours. People do start to get annoyed.

Flight delays on Chinese domestic flights are pretty catastrophic, especially on busy routes that involve the South in summer or the North in winter. It's why I get the train whenever it's a reasonable option.

 

2014?

How did this thread get dragged out of the dumpster???

 

wil davis was calling me out...

 

AND RIGHTLY SO.

What for?

 

Post 74 started this.
If it was so bad why did it take years to notice?

 

expecting decent behavior on airplanes, and in public generally.

 

Well, no wonder he called you out. That is both unreasonable and unrealistic.

 

i know. i'm old school, can't help myself.

 

With reference to the thread title, I did actually see a fight on a plane a couple of weeks ago, but it was not because of a seat lock. It was Air China, Sydney to Chengdu, on an overnight flight on an A330.

I was in seat something A, and the fight was in the right aisle, level with my seat but on the other side of the plane. I was kind of half asleep (only half because the IFE system was below the seat in front of me, so there was nowhere to put my feet)* when it kicked off, so I'm not sure of exactly what was going on, but from what I could make out from the shouting, Guy 1 had got up to get stuff out of the overhead locker too many times in the opinion of Guy 2. So Guy 2 addressed the issue by punching Guy 1 in the face.

Two stewards and two stewardesses rushed to the scene, and placed themselves in the aisle between Guy 1 and Guy 2. This, it turns out, was not enough, as Guy 2 launched himself over three rows of seats, fists windmilling, to attack Guy 1 again. Guy 1 responded by catching Guy 2 off balance, putting him in a headlock and repeatedly punching him in the head. The stewards and stewardesses then responded by grabbing each of them and threatening to handcuff them and hand them over to the police in Chengdu. That seemed to calm them down, and they stopped. For a bit. And then they started again. And they got the same threat again. And then they stopped permanently. They weren't arrested or anything, though. They did have a minor scuffle at the conveyor belt when we were waiting for our luggage, but that helped kill some time, so that was fine.


*Of course, the real in-flight entertainment wasn't in the box under the seat in front of me. It was Guy 1 and Guy 2. They were better than any of the films available.

 

It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Next you'll be expecting airlines to take you to the place you booked a ticket to, at the time you booked the ticket for.

 

and my luggage.

 

Haha. Yeah, right.

 

i hate when my luggage arrives at a place nicer than me.

 

No place could be nicer than you.

 

To tempt fate I will say that it has been 20 years since I've had luggage misdirected. Fifteen since I've had things stolen from inside luggage.

Since those has come US domestic flights charging extra for checked bags. This has been an unwelcome surprise for me who flies within China with a bag or two in (the plane's) belly.

If this old thread merits revisiting, howsabout discussing this industry's pricing structure?

 

Grammarian@96. You called him out for not typing "I did" instead of "me"? Your penance is 1 hour of jazz piano listening.

Make it easy on yourself. Oscar Peterson. What a bright light!

 

Last year, a few friends and I wrote a simple guide for Chinese people visiting Australia for work. It contained all sorts of tips that don't seem to be in any other guide: we were explaining things specifically for Chinese people who wouldn't know some of the peculiarities of how things are in Australia.

One of the things we highlighted was that on most Australian domestic flights - as is the case in America - you have to pay extra for your baggage. I have lost count of the number of Chinese people I've seen angrily handing over money at domestic check-in counters in Australia. It's a completely foreign - and, if you think about it, entirely unexpected - concept if you're used to flying in a country that doesn't do this.

We had to explain that you have to pay extra - no, really - for Wi-Fi in Australian hotels too.

 

Aaaagggghhhh, noooooo!!!!!!!

That seems like an extreme penance. Can't I do 15,000 Hail Marys and a month of sackcloth-and-ashes?