10 passengers we love to hate: Day 10 – Aggressive seat recliners

Dear passenger in front of me – I appreciate that you’ve taken the captain’s suggestion to “sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.” I’m trying to do the same thing myself. Heck, we’re stuck in this metal tube together with nothing to do but sleep and watch movies for the next several hours. But I gotta be honest – you’re getting just a bit too aggressive with your seat recline.

Sure, I can appreciate that seat recline button is there for a reason. By all means, use it to get comfortable. But you’re reclining that thing like you’re competing for a medal in the X-Games. Was it really necessary to recline your seat back BEFORE we even took off? The flight attendant even asked you to bring it upright for takeoff and landing, but you went and put it immediately back down again. Is that even safe? It’s not like this coach seat reclines into a bed and we’re busting out our pajamas.

And would it kill you to ask me first if you’re going to drop that comfy airplane throne down on my face? You don’t always have toddlers or Verne Troyer sitting behind you. Those of us over six feet tall have trouble even fitting our knees behind the seat, letting alone getting comfortable, and now your seatback is all up in my meager personal business. And forget about using my laptop – with your seatback so aggressively reclined, my laptop is looking more like a giant Dell-brand oyster that’s clamped shut on a pearl. How am I supposed to squeeze my hands on the keyboard?

Maybe I’m just that angry guy who likes to rant for no reason whatsoever. I am kind of cranky today. But I suspect, if you were to ask any other passenger in my position, they would feel the same. It’s a tight space to begin with – cut the rest of us some slack and ask me before you recline that La-Z Boy like it was nobody’s business.

Read about ALL the passengers we love to hate.

Drunk man forces Moscow-Atlanta flight to divert to Canada

Yesterday, a Delta Airlines flight from Moscow to Atlanta had to make an unexpected stop in Newfoundland after the pilot decided that an unruly passenger had to be removed from the plane. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were waiting at the gate in the town of Gander. They immediately took the man into custody.

Few details about his behavior were given, but he was said to be drunk, aggressive, and unruly. However, the man did not injure any other passengers. The flight arrived in Atlanta about 4 hours late. There were more than 200 people on board.

Canadian authorities are expected to file charges against the man, who is still being held by the Mounties. His identity has not yet been released. A passenger told an Atlanta newspaper that he noticed an empty bottle of Chivas (the 1.5 liter variety) next to the man’s seat. Other passengers said that the man had also taken prescription medication along with the alcohol.


These women weren’t drunk — but they did cause a stir in the air. Click the pics to find out what they did.