ORLANDO, Fla. – From unruly children to bare feet on the headrest, News 6 Insiders are sounding off, sharing their most bizarre, rude and downright disrespectful experiences while traveling. Most told their stories as passengers on a flight.
Hopefully by sharing their experiences, we can encourage everyone to be more polite this busy holiday travel season and pack some patience.
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“The seats on Spirit are already too close for comfort, than you smell something funky. You glance down and the guy next to you took off his shoes and has his bare feet on the plane floor. Nasty nasty nasty,” said Thomas from Orlando.
Thomas posted the photo on social media responding to News 6′s call for bizarre travel experiences and received quite a few responses, including this one from Matt.
“Just wondering what is gross about this? Looks like he had flip flops on so not like he took of socks or anything. We all have feet right? As long as they stay off the seat,” said Matt in a comment.
Gina from Port Orange shared a similar travel experience when her flight started off on the wrong foot.
“Upon my husband and myself getting in our seats a young girl got on a little late and sat next to me, she immediately kicked off her shoes and put her feet up in her seat and wrapped her jacket around herself. Within a few minutes after takeoff she was fast asleep and had leaned over [towards] the (aisle) and had her feet propped up on the armrest between her and I. I looked at the flight attendant in hopes she would say something to her. A few minutes later the girl shifted positions and had laid her head on my side on my arm and her feet were up in her seat, still with no shoes. After a few more minutes she then shifted again to have her feet on arm rest and her feet were almost in my lap! The flight attendant finally said something to her about putting her shoes back on, to which she did but continued laying on my side of the seat and when the attendant walked away she took her shoes off again and slept until snacks came around. It was a very uncomfortable flight,” said Gina.
What are your thoughts on bare feet during a flight? Do you think it’s rude and disrespectful?
Food was also a hot topic amongst News 6 Insiders when it comes to rude actions on a flight.
“I dislike foul smelling food. I understand people of different cultures cook, eat and drink different kinds of food and drink but when the smell makes you feel sick....it is a LONG flight,” said Linda from Summerfield.
Consumer Reports consulted with flight attendants and etiquette experts to come up with an essential guide of unspoken rules. Consumer experts warning travelers to steer clear of pungent foods like tuna fish, as well as foods that commonly cause allergic reactions, like tree nuts or peanuts.
This story is a bit bizarre and embarrassing. Ellen from DeLand said a flight attendant wasn’t shy about calling out a passenger who used the bathroom.
“Attendant announces that the person who last used the bathroom should really take some Miralax and repeated it several times!”
Maybe bringing it up made the situation worse for travelers and the passenger who just used the bathroom.
Some Insiders shared frustrations with baggage.
“We didn’t know Air South was about to go bankrupt. We were flying from Atlanta to NYC. When we were on the plane, I realized our luggage tags said Jacksonville. The staff must’ve been under tremendous pressure because when I asked why was my luggage headed to Jacksonville when we were headed to New York she threatened to have me removed from the flight!! It took 3 days of our vacation to get all our luggage. We returned Sunday; they went out of business Monday,” said Jeff from The Villages.
Many travelers pass the time listening to music or watching movies. Chris from Apopka wants to remind passengers, not everyone wants to hear it.
“I’ve been on 6 flights in the past month. People playing movies or videos on their phone speakers has become a nuisance. Not sure why they can’t use headphones,” said Chris.
We received several complaints about fellow passengers being rude and annoying during the flight.
“Crying babies and unruly children who won’t listen to their parents. If you have kids you can’t control drive or train, people pay a lot of cash and it ain’t to hear your kids scream the whole time,” said Daniel from Orlando.
Carol said she just wants to fly in peace.
“People that just talk and talk for 2 hour or more were annoying.”
Whether it’s a pungent-smelling snack, a drunk passenger or someone who won’t put their feet down, Consumer experts advise passengers avoid confronting the offender. Alert a flight attendant who has training on how to deal with those situations.
