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6 Types Of People You Don't Want To Sit Next To On A Flight

Sofia March 11, 2011 Random Travel Thoughts 33 Comments

Many people hold the belief that they will be able to rest during a long flight and think that they will feel totally refreshed when landing in their destination – they will soon realize that they couldn’t be more wrong …

Flying (at least economy class), is not normally comfortable, you’re placed among a large bunch of strangers for many long hours, whether you like it or not – and you can’t get away from them.

Here are some typical types of passengers that you will want to do everything to AVOID sitting next to:

The Chair Kicker

For me, this is by far the worst one. I cannot stand bored kids yelling, whining and constantly kicking the back of my seat on a 12hr flight.

It’s not really the kids fault, what bothers me is that the parents don’t tell them to stop kicking…

The Farty Pants

Pray to god that the person next to you hasn’t eaten an egg sandwich, spicy cheese balls or…cabbage… before boarding the flight.

The Chatty Friends

Trying to get some shut eye at 2 am with two chatty girl friends next to you – is simply impossible.

The Alcoholic

I’ve found these people being most frequent on charter flights. They start partying already half an hour in the air, and the more drinks they order the louder they talk.

Whether they’re trying to calm their nerves or just can’t wait to get started spending all the saved up money for the holiday drinks, it’s not the most enjoyable people to sit next to.

The Arm Rest Rival

The constant and everlasting war over the ONE arm rest, and then you end up squashed between two seats with no arm rest to rest on – again!

Once you finally get a piece of it, you can’t take your arm OFF in fear of losing it again.

The Nervous Wreck

Flying is a little nerve-wrecking for many of us, but fingers crossed that you don’t have to sit next to the fingernail biting, knee shaking passenger who keeps asking the flight attendants questions every time they walk by.

How about you?

What are some types of people you can’t stand flying next to?

(photo credit: Soon. – Andres Rueda – Maanskyn)

http://daninaustralia.com/ Dan Collins

The ones that steal your food while you’re sleeping…. Seriously! Or the one that falls asleep on your shoulder (although I’m guilty of this one)

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Really, someone DID that?!

Anonymous

People who are too big to fit in their own seat–and then force you to squeeze into half of yours!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet/ As We Travel

haha yeah that’s not the most comfortable flight. Maybe we can learn from ‘TotalTravelBug’s friend who got herself upgraded to first class!

Julia

I was once sat next to an extremely nervous Spanish lady on a flight from New York to Vegas. The flight was only 5 hours, but as soon as i sat down she was shaking her legs and clicking her teeth together. I knew it was going to be a long flight…. Halfway through, the plane hit turbulence and dropped in the sky. She screamed and started babbling away in Spanish for the rest of the flight. Let’s just say it wasn’t the most relaxing of travel experiences!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Doesn’t sound like a very relaxing journey Nervous people make me nervous..!

http://www.totaltravelbug.com TotalTravelBug

Haha, the chatty friends are a nightmare but people who want to chat to you when you just want to sleep can be just as bad. There is no polite way of saying ‘Stop talking to me!’ without having a very awkward flight.

I had a friend who was upgraded to first class when she sat next to a very large lady who took up half her seat. So sometimes sitting next to fatty isn’t so bad if you can bag an upgrade out of it!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Yeah, sometimes it’s really hard to “kill” a conversation.

I will remember that next time I get squashed in my seat, to simply ask for another seat. It feels mean to do it, but hey, it’s better for us all!

http://www.minimalnomad.com Nick Danforth

Completely true! Just experienced a VERY long flight in front of a chair-kicker the whole way. Never a pleasant experience haha…

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Never, and it annoys me when the parents pretend not to notice it…

http://www.europeantravelista.com Debbie Beardsley

I agree that sitting next to people who spill into my seat is annoying at best. I have had to sit next to people like this many times but the man that spilled his coke all over me was the worst!

Chair kickers and arm rest wrestlers are next in line.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

oh no! Sitting for an entire flight with a wet shirt doesn’t sound very comfortable..

http://www.artarra.com Ariana

Haha, I totally agree with you, once I had two really drunken russian guys in the row in front of me – at the beginning they did not stop talking to me and trying to touch me (although I did not understand them), then they fell asleep and one fell on the floor and did not move until the end of the flight – very awkward…
And I agree with Dan – I had a women always falling asleep on my shoulder – that’s also very strange.
I always hope they are not sick or do not have the flu or something like that.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

That sounds really awkward..

People falling asleep on your shoulder seems more common than I thought! I’ve experienced that too, and I always try to wake them up without looking like I am, haha.

http://dreamalittledream.ca Dee

The Snorer and The Leaning Sleeper. Even worse if it’s both at the same time! Snoring and leaning onto you while they sleep. Augh.

Gotta also agree with the person who is too large for the seat. They make the seats so small an average size person barely fits! Gross factor: when you can’t avoid your body from touching theirs on a cramped flight and you get that sweaty wet feeling in-between. Yuck!

Oh, also people in front of you who keep their seat reclined the ENTIRE flight.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Yeah the seats are really small in general, I wish they all looked like Air New Zealand’s new second class seats.

It’s impossible for me to sleep when the person next to me is snoring.
Once there was a guy several rows behind me who snored so loudly that nobody else in the plane could sleep!
Traveller

Totally agree with Dee’s comments. I’ll add loud gum chewers to the list too!

http://twitter.com/manvsclock Anthony Middleton

People with B.O!! Always awful!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet/ As We Travel

yuck! OR people who have thought about their body odor too much and drenched themselves in a horrible perfume!

http://chasingtheunexpected.com Angela

Gosh, I often have the chair kicker, I usually try not to complain, but sometimes it’s really too much..

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet/ As We Travel

Yeah, and then you run the risk of the kid trying to piss you off even more, haha.

http://fastforwardacademy.com/index-page-irs-enrolled-agent-exam-course.htm enrolled agent course

I had the experience to be near a chatty person on my way back from Taiwan. At the boarding area, I could already hear her sharing stories to the person beside her. I find out that she was only 3 seats away from me inside the plane. She never stopped talking! Even though its only a two hour flight, it is still annoying. I also noticed that the one beside her is not even listening at all.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

Haha you wonder how some people can just carry on talking without caring if other people are even listening. Don’t they get the hints?

Will Jack Jones

This is brilliant! (Though I must confess, I’m dangerously close to falling in the ‘Nervous Wreck’ category!) The type I dread is The Bore…the person that just does NOT STOP talking about his/herself and other things that frankly you couldn’t care less about, because you’re more concerned with double-checking the life jacket under your seat. Or perhaps that’s just me.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

I’ve only been stuck with that kind of person once, and I’m still not sure if she was a compulsive lier or not…

http://www.culturezest.org/home/users/detail?UserHexID=B582FAEE-B50B-423C-B51E-AF1724F101AC Shaina Vlaun

This goes along with “the chatty person” but someone who thinks you will want to here about all of their problems as if you are their designated therapist for the next however many hours the flight is. As nice as some of us are i don’t believe that we are ever in the mood to play therapist while trying to relax ourselves! Let alone gain any new “best friends” during the flight. This isn’t to say there aren’t some interesting conversations to be had, but for the most part someone you are sitting next to who is looking for a pity party is not going to make an enjoyable experience at all!

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

I agree Shaina, the last thing you want to do at an uncomfortable flight is to play ‘therapist’!

Of course, like you say, you could end up having a great conversation, so it’s always worth giving it a chance

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http://twitter.com/olgaLG Olga Garcia

OMG! I love this post. We all know these kinds of people but I’ve never seen this written.

http://108.167.164.229/~wwwaswet Sofia – As We Travel

I’m glad you like the post Olga, I haven’t seen it written anywhere either, but I felt it had to be said

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http://www.stevenmallon.co.uk Steven

Another addition to the list could be the folk who can’t decide how far back they want their seat so they just keep moving it back and forward (usually while you’re trying to use your table).

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