Dan Antion

Entitled to What? – #1LinerWeds

One of the things that most concerned me about air travel during this stage of the pandemic was encountering people who are causing problems aboard domestic flights. I’m sure you’ve read the stories about flight attendants being assaulted and unruly passengers being duct taped to their seats. Suffice it to say, these weren’t scenes I wanted to witness at 30,000 feet.

I have always approached air travel with the objective of minimizing stress above all else. I don’t like stress and being in a crowded airport / on a crowded plane is stressful enough. Toward this goal, I take the 6:20 am flight from Hartford (BDL) to Minneapolis (MSP) because that plane is already on the gate at our airport in the morning. I get to the airport two hours early, even though TSA-Pre gets me through security quickly. I was at my gate with one hour and forty minutes to spare – just how I like it.

I read some of your blogs and comments as I was alerted by the Fly Delta app that my luggage had been loaded onto the plane. My carry-on bag is a backpack containing my laptop. My “personal item” is a smaller bag containing my iPad. Once seated, I don the noise-cancelling headphones our daughter gave me a few years ago, and I enjoy my flight.

While some people avoid checking a bag, I embrace the option. My first (only) bag was checked for free. The Fly Delta app tracks the bag’s progress at every step, and Delta has generally lived up to their “Your bag on the carousel in 20 minutes” guaranteed. (MSP) is a huge airport. By the time I made my way to baggage claim, my bag was already there. For the record, I haven’t lost a bag during air travel since 1979.

I’m focusing on luggage because it’s the source of my one-liner. On my way home, I flew from Des Moines (DSM) to MSP and then onto BDL. The flight from DSM to MSP was, as I mentioned last week, on-time and idiot-free. My flight from MSP to BDL was fine, but there was an encounter with a member of the entitled elite. I was following a woman during boarding. Her suitcase was way too big. The gate attendant told her it would have to be checked. The woman shrugged off that remark. At the end of the jetway, she ignored the polite young man who offered to check her bag. On board the plane, she encountered an immovable object – the flight attendant.

The flight attendant informed the woman that her bag would not fit in the overhead bins. Words were exchanged, but the flight attendant stuck to the facts – the bag was bigger than the largest bin on the plane. The woman shouted:

“I paid for a first-class ticket, and I expect you to accommodate my request!”

We were asked to back ourselves back into the jetway while the woman rolled her suitcase off the plane and handed it to the nice young man. The rest of the flight was incident free.

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you would like to join in on the fun, you can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

Note: I still can’t get the captions to appear in the mosaic. If you want to see the captions, you’ll have to click to enter the slide show.

Note note: I am adding a Classic block gallery for the people having trouble. I’m leaving the Block gallery in so I can contact the Happiness Engineers.

My brother was driving. He alerted me to the cranes.
A little bit of beach on the north shore of Lake Superior
From a scenic overlook on I-35
I have never seen a pedestrian detour
This guy had just unfurled the spinnaker (perhaps a normal jib)
A good day for sailing. From our hotel room
The casino in Minnesota certainly has a big flag.
Our long shadows are coming back
The sun is rising later.
Fallen leaves are back
Sunrise
These are some of the strangest mushrooms I’ve ever seen.
Contrails
Keeping an eye on the back yard
Smokey decided to join us on Maddie’s porch.
I’m not sure I like the look in MiMi’s eye

90 comments

  1. I was shocked to read about the violent incidents happening on those airplanes. At 30000ft above earth, you would think everyone wants some peace. But to physically attack a flight attendant mid flight and even having to be duct-taped to a chair is to me sort of suicidal. I can’t imagine having a fight up there. Whatever the issue is there’ll be plenty of time to sort it out when we land. I get scared of heights till I feel a chill going through me. I even feel the chill when I see somebody else standing or hanging a great height. Usually I have to carry a novel to engage me throughout the journey, always praying we land safely. One day we seemed nearly as far away above the clouds as when we are down here on earth.

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    • I stay focused on what I’m reading and I listen to music , Peter. I’ve never enjoyed flying, especially since the airlines have squeezed every penny of profit out of the experience, but I was nervous this time. I was comfortable with the flight, but I was nervous about the people. I hope you’re having a good week.

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  2. I don’t like flying at the best of times and these are not the best of times. At the moment it’s irrelevant, since I’d only use a plane for international travel and there aren’t many places we can go to and the rules about them change frequently.

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  3. What do I click to get the slide show? I would like to see the captions. There are some real beauties here, and I do love the detour straight up. I had written a blog post for today but then hesitated to hit “publish.” After I read your post, I was no longer hesitant. Some people have perfected the fine art of abuse.

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  4. Remember the book title I mentioned in my Tuesday post? You may be able to apply it to rude air travelers who act inappropriately. Kudos to the flight attendant who stood her ground and made the rules apply to everyone.

    I hope my upcoming flight goes as well as yours. I only pray for no air turbulence or long delays and I’ll be fine.

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    • I hope you have uneventful flights as well, Mary. There are a lot of flights every day. The news likes to focus on the ones that end badly. At least they are stlll banning alcohol on the flights – these people are bad enough sober. That flight attendant was 100% professional, but she wasn’t caving into the abuse.

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  9. I can’t get the slide show either!

    I’m so glad the flight attendant stood her ground and did so without being attacked by Ms. Special. That woman wound up walking the Aisle of Shame, and she deserved every step of it!

    Love the Shadows and the weird mushrooms. Smokey is looking fit and very pleased with his peanut.
    Ginger

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    • I tried adding a Classic block gallery in case that helps, Ginger. The woman was not happy coming back across the jet bridge. I tried not to smile.

      Smokey was pretty bold to joine me on the porch, Maddie was on the lower step, but I could have handed the peanut to the little guy.

      I hope you don’t get the “possible severe thunderstorms” we see in the forecast.

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  12. People who try to avoiding checking baggage annoy the hell out of me. Purse, briefcase, small backpack is all you should be allowed to carry on. I’ve been whacked in the head twice by those hard case suitcases people stuff in the overhead and it’s not a pleasant experience.

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  13. Thanks for the classic gallery — I enjoyed the captions. As for pedestrian detours, I can’t help thinking of all the Specials in the world, like the one on your flight. One might stub his/her toe and then sue if there hadn’t been a sign. There are many reasons I am not a flight attendant, one of them being that I’d have strapped her oversized bag in her seat and stuffed her in the overhead.

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  14. ‘The entitled elite’ are amusing to watch in action–they are so special, you know. Kudos to the flight attendant for sticking by the rules. I’m glad, aside from this, your flight was uneventful. Smokey and Maddie look so cute together. I’m waiting for the day Smokey looks to share the peanuts: Maddie, would you care to join me in a nut? For the record: both galleries worked for me.

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    • Thanks Lois, and thanks for the feedback on the galleries. I wish I knew what was going on.

      I fully expect Smokey to get up in Maddie’s cot one day. He (they) are getting bolder and bolder. I hope they realize the neighbors’ dogs are not to be trusted.

      Sad Miss Special had to walk back out, and then the flight attendant continued boarding, so she had to wiggle herself back in line with the steerage customers.

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  15. I haven’t traveled for a while, but I’m always surprised by people’s craziness. Years before COVID, I’d wear a mask. People usually assumed I was sick and left me alone – which I loved. As for suitcases, the rules are not difficult to understand, but difficult people don’t follow rules. Great reflection, Dan, and your photos are amazing, as always. 😊

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    • Thanks Gwen. There are always people who put themselves above the rules. Connecticut has had a “Hands Free” law for cellphones for 10 years, and with modern cars, you have to work not to have your car answer your phone, but I see people every day holding a phone up to their face while driving. Fortunately, I don’t have to fly very often anymore. This trip was easy. With the exception of this one wingnut, everything was smooth.

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  18. “I paid…and I expect you to accommodate my request!” is the battle cry of wealthy white women everywhere. I’m semi-terrified my first public outing in something like a plane will result in me rolling my eyes so hard they lodge in my skull. 🙄

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  19. Great photos, Dan. I’m one of those no check types unless the trip is over two weeks. Here’s a story of the elite. I arrived on my flight and was about to put my modest carry-on in the overhead. A guy in the seat with initials on his cuff says, “You’re not putting that bag up there.” “Why?” I said. “My suit coat is up there.” “I’ll move it for you.” “Nope. You are not putting your bag up there.” The flight attendant arrived and wondered if there was an issue. She explained to the guy that the bag was going in the overhead. He told her that it wasn’t. She left and came back with the captain. He softly said,”The question is not whether or not the bag is going in the overhead cause it is. The only question is are you and your suit coat going with us to New York?” My bag went into the overhead and I had the pleasure of sitting next to this jerk the whole way.

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  22. One of the nicest things about (most) people traveling to Central America is their calm. Tranquillo, if you will. We had yet another drama free journey. Delta thanked all on board gor following protocols with no issues.

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  23. Sigh and double sigh. People also seem to feel they’re entitled to say whatever they like if it’s online. Even in the NextDoor app, which is for neighborhoods, people are so mean and nasty. I’ve never posted anything there and probably never will. I only check sometimes for some updated information. It’s as bad as Facebook or worse. Sigh again.

    janet

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  25. I never have understood trying to stuff luggage into the overhead bins. Or people who like to make scenes. Minneapolis’ airport is one of my favorites…. so roomy and the folks are so helpful and friendly.

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  26. Sorry I’m late, but no email. :-( Anyway, I loved John’s comment and the one suggesting tossing a passenger off to make room for the suitcase. Oh my goodness, the pandemic has affected our ability to draw on any common sense, and we’re back to acting like spoiled children at 30,000 feet. At this point, if I can’t get there in my own car, I’m waiting. Even on the road, it seems like a large majority of people are outraged all of the time especially if you aren’t driving 15-20 mph over the speed limit. Lots of anger issues out there right now.

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    • Sorry about the notifications, or lack thereof, Judy. I have contacted the Engineers…again. I wasn’t eager to fly, but you’re right, driving is not the way to escape the entitled nut jobs. I’m on the ground for a nice long time. Traveling by car or train from here on out through this year and into 2022.

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  27. We used to fly a lot, but since Covid haven’t been on a plane. These kinds of entitled people have have always been there. Yes, I know those people who take half of their household on the plane. And they’re often the entitled ones.
    The opposite happened to me one time (they always attack me, not my 6’3″ hubby!). It was a flight to Holland. Apparently our carry-ones were too big. A young stewardess began to blast me. After her tirade I said, “If it’s too big, just put it with the cargo – I didn’t say anything about wanting to have it with me, did I?” I wanted to add, that if she didn’t like her job she should look for another one, but I realized that would only fuel her fire, so I left that part off, lol.

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  28. I can say very honestly, Dan, that I just don’t understand behaviour like this. The baggage is to big and would be a safety issue for everyone if the flight attended conceded to this request. Why do people think they have the right to endanger other people’s lives. It’s just weird.

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  29. Sorry, I’m late reading this post I’ve been visiting the boys and Baby Girls again this week.
    We’ve flown a few times during this pandemic and so far…knocking on wood now there haven’t been any incidents on our flights, but on the way home from our son’s they wouldn’t let me on the plane with the mask I had on!! Really! It has a little fake air do-dad on it and they freaked out about it. I tried to explain it, but they weren’t having it. So I donned one of those blue not N95 masks and they let me on. Geez, they were letting people on with thin neck gaiters, but my mask with it’s charcoal replaceable filter insert was a NO GO! Go figure.

    I bought a new mask without a fake little do-dad on it for our upcoming trip. Hopefully, I don’t get pulled out of line for it!

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    • I read that some airlines are cracking down on the type of mask being used. Some are not accepting cloth masks of any kind. I was wearing a paper mask, but I had a cloth mask over it until everyone was in their seat. Then I removed the paper mask and just kept the cloth one. It has a filter insert, so I figure it’s good enough, and it’s comfortable.

      Good luck on the next flight.

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  32. Hi Dan – well I’m glad it was sorted … must be so irritating for everyone – except Madame. People! She sounded professional and unyielding as she should be. Cheers Hilary

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  35. Jeez. I haven’t flown since before 9/11 and don’t know when I will next, but I always checked a bag and took a carry-on and never lost a bag — maybe 30 or so flights. I believe airport staff knows of what they speak.
    I’ve never seen a pedestrian detour either! Neat!
    Great photos! Love the leaves and the long shadows :)

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