Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for September 12, 2023

Same old, same old..  the baby’s are just larger

Nah, air traveler today are no more obnoxious than they ever were. It’s just today everybody has a camera to record them at their worst.

I guess I get the picture.

New rule…….You make trouble and you have to go outside and ride on the wing.

I don’t need to go to the airport, we have a gate in the backyard.

To be fair, having to be packed in like sardines, AND having to pay much more for the privilege, AND getting your paid-for first class ticket possibly downgraded (after paying thousands more for first class) tends to shorten fuses. I’m referring to people who are annoyed, not people who are annoying, btw.

Recycling an idea from https://www.gocomics.Com/nonsequitur/1995/08/07

At least on airplanes you can be reasonably sure no one has a gun.

Also now you can now fly without breathing second-hand smoke. Heyyyy, maybe there’s a connection to more irritated forced non-smokers flying.

interesting having restrooms anyone of any sex can use.

People can be discourteous on their cell phones wherever they go.

put them where they put the pets and move the pets up. you know, if they just allowed you to BUY a seat for your pet there would be less people AND less weight on the plane AND they still get paid

Could have been worse. Could have been Pacman Jones yesterday.

As a slow older person I often board early so I get to watch the passengers as they board. I have noticed a pattern of families with children: In the US, the mothers sit with their kids and the fathers sit several rows away, leaving the mothers to do all the placating, entertaining, etc. In other countries, the families sit together — one row behind the other and the fathers share the responsibility. Much quieter; much happier.

A tip for parents flying with infants: Sucking can reduce the pressure on ear drums so take-offs are a good time to haul out a bottle or binkie. Sucking on a straw also works for older kids.

many years ago I was flying from london to NYC. the plane was delayed but they told us that at the check in so we were waiting in the terminal not on the plane. Ahead of me at the check in was a loud guy who looked like someone had called central casting for ‘ugly amercan tourist.’ he was ranting about the poor service to the tiny blond behind the counter.

He stormed off to look for a bar and as i handed over my passport, her eyes welled up with rears and you could see on her face “another one”

I leaned one elbow on the counter and looked her right in the eyes. “Come on, own up, You personally went out and sabotaged the plane just to inconvenience me, didn’t you?” I followed in this absurd line until she started giggling.

The day was a weird one for many reasons, but I knew I’d done something good.

I see it now, the person on the other line is the phone dangling over the trash can. ;)

An odd cartoon to run the day after the anniversary of 9/11.

Face it, we are no longer a civilized society.

It’s called arrogance. It’s a result of being trained to think that you are a genius. It is a result of the “I think, therefore I’m a genius” syndrome, a viral spin-off of “I think, therefore I am,” which is a much more palatable actualization for the rest of the world. It will generally pervade among the dominant culture of any society, as that culture will cocoon itself into a self-generating, self-delusional, self love, in short, in the U.S., Caucasians. It can be overcome with willful self-education.

And here I just read a news article about a couple ejected from an airplane for refusing to be seated for a five hour flight in fresh vomit. Sometimes it isn’t the passengers we need to worry about.

But you can always find your lost luggage. It’s on sale at the Lost Baggage Store in AL.

The airlines have turned the process into a dehumanizing cattle call.

The problem is that, as in any war (this case corporate profit vs. customers) the ones on the front lines don’t get to make the decisions. They don’t get to call the shots, yet they are the ones being shot at. They take all the abuse.

If I were chairman of the FAA, I would make it Federal Policy that the CEO of each air carrier will be randomly tasked several times a year (but at least once at Thanksgiving or Christmas) to fly coach on his own airline.

In other words, the Feds can come in and tell the CEO, “Cancel your plans for next Thursday, you are booked on the 7:30 flight out of Newark for Miami beach, in seat 94B (Center). We will pay for you to fly coach to and from both destinations or you can take your private jet. Please arrive 2 hours early to get through security and check your bags.”

Just one more reason to not fly anywhere these days.

There are many jobs that I would not do for any amount of money. Customer Care is one of them. People call you and are pre-p*ssed at you. They are already in a bad mood over something that isn’t even your fault and they want to take it out on SOMEBODY. Being on hold for 45 minutes does not improve the mood.

So I do have sympathy for these people. I jot down their name and use it like, "Hi Marsha, I’m … I’m calling today with a problem with my billing. " I try to be as cheerful as I can.

On one recent call, The agent sounded very perky so, I responded with, “Well, that’s the best hello I heard all day!”

Sometimes during lulls, I will ask things like, “Are you working in the office or from home.” or “So, how is your day going?” Or, “I’ve worked with you guys before. You got a crappy computer system. I can understand the delay.”

I also use humor. One time when working with Direct TV to program a remote (a process that they have since simplified immensely), the agent asked me “How are you doing?” I replied with, “Well that depends on whether I can get this thing programmed or how far I can throw it.”

I try to be a bright spot in their otherwise miserable day.

I was once on a flight that was held until they could find a screaming baby to put on board. I think it’s an FAA requirement.

Same worry. The babies just got older,

No longer feeling the need to be self-conscious about being an introvert.

Back in the day flying was an adventure. Something few could do so it was a big deal. Now it’s a hassle from getting to the airport on one end and escaping the airport on the other. I don’t know how they can make it better, but I sympathize with those who succumb to the stress.

Captain Ouever, you have a Mr. Hamm on line 5 and Mayo Clinic on line 6. Captain Ouever: "Give me Hamm on 5, hold the Mayo!!

The bad attitude is understandable because so many people were never told, “No”, while growing up. Their sense of entitlement makes them obnoxious when everything doesn’t go exactly like they want.

Now everyone carries around their own discourtesy phone.

Those days haven’t gone away. It’s just that the babies are now adult babies.

I have been so fortunate to have not yet had a bad passenger on any of my recent flights. Unfortunately, the odds are against me.

Discourtesy phone, next to the toilet, of course…

I’ve always felt that all airline seats should come with ejectors, to be used at the discretion of the senior flight attendant.

That is a baby!

Remembering the days when we walked out on the tarmac, climbed stairs that had been wheeled over, and walked onto planes that had large seats, legroom and where meals were served to everyone. Those flights were a pleasure to take, to be looked forward to.Today’s commercial air travel has become little more than an unpleasantry that must be tolerated.

Looks to me as if they’ll get it out of their systems BEFORE they get onto the plane. Win, win?

It is fine to complain, and to even be discourteous sometimes. We have never seen these people before and may never see them again, so it is well below proper sample size to authoritatively assert a single incident of complaint behoves a lifetime of it. It is, however, far easier to assert someone with a negative judgment without patient evaluation (of which the complainer themselves is often accused) so perhaps it could be us, the silent judge, who is more like our opponent that we care to admit..

They grew up to be rude and crazy passengers.

Talk about pesty passengers.

On one flight within the past 30 years, an elderly woman seated next to me inquired quietly “Where were these people’s parents when they were growing up?” All I could do was shrug, because I had no better answer.

I only fly airlines that prevent comfort animals. What a croc. True service dogs, no problem. All others is an excuse not to pay to ship the animal.