Cell Phones on Planes
Well, that would be just great. Like everyone else, I get the feeling that I’m the one who always attracts the unwanted neighbors on planes. Certainly I have not had luck in terms of the forward seat: over the last several years, on every flight, the passenger in the seat in front of me reclines his or her seat all the way back for almost the whole flight. I’ve been luckier with squalling infants, and so-so with passengers dominating arm rests and jabbing me with elbows. But allowing cell phones? I dread the day.
I just can’t see how the airlines could agree to this. Hell, they more or less insist that you close the window shutter during the time most people sleep; how could people get to sleep if a passenger nearby is gabbing away? Not that I get much sleep on planes, but I like to at least rest. And it would be hell for me to be stuck on a plane for hours on end with that distraction. I can only hope and pray that the service is not active over the Pacific Ocean, where I do most of my flying.
Now, Internet access on flights, that’s a horse of a different color. The worst noise that could come from that is keyboard tapping, which when lost in the background roar of the jet would be hardly noticeable. No problem there.
But even more desirable than that is the idea of power outlets, which are now available only in first class and maybe business class on some airlines. If you’ve ever tried to use a laptop for prolonged periods of time on an airplane, you know what I mean; on international flights, your laptop runs out of juice long before the flight is even half over. You need an adapter cable to plug in to an airline power outlet, but if an airline were to add that feature to economy class, I would consider that a huge plus.
I agree with you. It WOULD be nice to have power for laptops. Also a bit more legroom and an adjustable footrest; Air Canada used to have them and they really worked to relieve cramping. So now I take a sturdy LL Bean Traveller backpack as my carryon and use it to put my feet on, after I take off my shoes, that is.
Here is THE FIX for rude people who think you should give up your little space so they can recline. Cross your legs with one leg firmly over the other knee (so it’s perpindicular) and plant it right behind the other seat. They won’t be able to recline very far, if at all. You decide how far they can go.If they are dense and keep trying, like some young teens on a flight I took last time,just say “Sorry, that’s as far as it goes” or something similar. Usually that will stop them from future attempts too.
About the cell phones or incessant chatting during “sleep time”. Really, it’s best to take some foam earplugs and a sleep mask. It will dull things down to a comfortable level.
Adjustable footrest sounds nice, but wouldn’t that block the room underneath the next seat forward? I often stretch my feet into there, or put stuff in that place. Maybe the footrest can be folded out of the way of that.
I’ll see if I can’t do that leg-block move on the seat. Hard to visualize how it would work, though. With my luck, they’d recline when I’m not ready or when I’m up from the seat.
As for ear plugs and a sleep mask, they never work for me. I’m just way too conscious of things on my face and in my ears, and can’t relax well. Thanks for the suggestion, though! What’d be nice if I could just knock myself out for the main part of the trip. I even got a doctor in Japan to prescribe Rohypnol. Didn’t work well, but I was very conservative with the dosage, and just at the time it was supposed to take effect something happened to jostle me out of sleep. Maybe I should try again this time.
Sorry, forgot to mention it works best if you are in the aisle seat so you can cross one leg over the knee and put out your foot a bit. Believe it or not, you will have plenty of warning if you are in your seat when they want to put it back. It takes most people a few minutes of rustling around to figure out how to recline. If you say something then they won’t put it back even when you leave your seat, especially if you make it clear by your tone you don’t want them to. You don’t need to be grouchy, just firm. Most people, if they are recliners, start trying to put the seat back fairly early in the flight or after meals. Besides, it rests your legs to change the positions often.
Don’t know what that drug is; I presume a sleeping pill? I would never take that when travelling because I have about a 40 hour journey passing through 4 airports and I need every once of energy not to fall on my face on the last leg, or miss my connections.
Overall it’s almost impossible to sleep on those flights, resting is all I really try for. You could also try the old blanket or jacket over the head trick during “lights out”. It helps a little bit.