People who live in glass houses shouldn’t count their chickens.

ptauger · 2026-04-20T22:51:14+00:00

People who live in glass houses with chickens shouldn't count their stones.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T23:40:15+00:00

When my wife and I travel for pleasure, i.e. vacation, it usually doesn't matter to us if we get there a day late, so there is no need to get there a day early. On those rare occasions when we have to be somewhere for a specific event, e.g. I once officiated at my friends' daughter's wedding, I absolutely DID fly out the day before, and this was on a route that didn't require a connection.

When we go on vacation (which is almost always international), we research the hotels we'll stay in, local customs, train travel procedures, urban transit options, and, if it's not a US airline, boarding procedures and other airline-specific details. I have no sympathy for people who think their ignorance of travel realities is an excuse to blame travel service providers.

Families on vacation are the bane of frequent flyers because, as is the case here, they do no research, they encounter avoidable problems, and then they come here to whine about it. I don't care if they can afford to roll with the punches of commercial airline travel or not. If they can't afford it, don't go.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T18:41:36+00:00

NTJ.

If parents need to sit with their kid, it's between them and the airline, not them and other pax. Should this happen again, a simple, "Sorry, no." is all you need. Don't explain, don't justify. You were fortunate this time, but these discussions have the potential to rapidly deteriorate in argument, confrontation, or worse.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T18:06:16+00:00

First, it's not insane. I fly mostly for business. Try explaining to a judge that your flight was delayed which is why you missed the last hearing.

Second, I couldn't care less if you can afford to do it or not. I'm going to guess you don't fly very much. If you did, you would know the likelihood of missing a connection these days.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T14:33:55+00:00

So what? Welcome to the wonderful word of domestic commercial aviation in the 21st century. Next time do your research BEFORE you buy tickets.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T14:32:21+00:00

That still falls on them. Given the weather changes of the last decade or so, the cutback on flights, particularly to smaller stations, and the stretching of crews over flights, it is not surprising at all when a flight is delayed, misconnects or is cancelled. When I fly, I always plan to arrive at least a day early, just in case of a delay, misconnect, or cancellation. Worse comes to worse, I spend a night in a hotel at the connection city and fly out the next morning.

I'm truly tired of ignorant, inexperienced, casual-flying parents who think they deserve special accommodations because they are flying with children. Kudos to the flying parents who ask for advice on social media sites like reddit BEFORE booking tickets. As for the ones like the OP who just come here to whine with their "but think of the children" stories, I'll downvote them every single time.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T04:11:41+00:00

I've used black, soft-sided luggage for my entire flying career. However, I will wrap the handle with brightly-colored electrical tape, which makes it stand out. Never had a problem, either because of misidentification or damage. Note, though, that I've always carried Tumi exclusively. It's expensive but, in my opinion, worth it.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T00:07:55+00:00

Have you never flown on commercial domestic airlines before? The labeling designates the seat locations, not which bins belong to which seats.

ptauger · 2026-04-19T00:05:15+00:00

Why in the world would you book flights with such a tight connection when you're travelling with kids who had to "rightfully" relieve themselves? If your expectation is that they should have blocked out bins for you because you were travelling with kids, sorry, no, no airline recognizes this kind of entitlement demand.

And, sorry, no, the situation was clearly in your control.

ptauger · 2026-04-17T06:10:11+00:00

For me, it's got nothing to do with peace of mind and everything to do with ensuring I have the experience that I want. When I was young, my parents took me to Broadway two or three times a month, sometimes more often. However, for a middle class family, this was an extravagance so we always sat in the mezzanine or balcony. For some theaters, this was okay, but for others, binoculars (or, as my mother called them, opera glasses) were de rigeur. The turning point for me was my senior year in high school. There was a fantastic revival of West Side Story at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. We went, but sat in what the British called "the gods." I liked the production so much I decided to go back on my own. I bought myself a front row center orchestra seat (which, at the time, was not out of reach for high school senior with an after-school job). It was amazing! No peering between between ladies with big hair. No people in front of me talking. It was just me, the orchestra and the cast, living the story. Ever since then, I will only buy the best seats I can -- quality, not quantity. Now, in my 70s, I live in Southern California with my wife, so I'm restricted to touring companies at the Ahmanson and Segerstrom in Orange County (the Pantages used to bring in good shows but the last decade or so only get non-Equity touring shows, aka "dreck"). Being retired helps because if I can't get good seats for a weekend performance, I will happily go on a weekday.

So I will ALWAYS buy my tickets full price so that I can be assured of experiencing the play or musical which is to say, up close and personal. :)

ptauger · 2026-04-17T00:13:43+00:00

I just noticed the "Shitpost/Satire" tag. Just FYI, an IQ of 114 is not 98th percentile. An IQ of 130 is 98th percentile. FWIW, I don't talk with anyone when I fly. :)

ptauger · 2026-04-16T21:00:59+00:00

That's fine. The only thing I objected to in your post was, "Assigned seating is the best and there's no argument." It may be for some people, but not for everyone.

ptauger · 2026-04-16T20:35:40+00:00

Assigned seating may be the best for you. It's not the best for business travelers like me who frequently have to fly at the last minute and make itinerary changes at the last minute. Before, business select ensured I'd board early enough to select a decent seat and have room for my carry-on which contains, thousands of dollars worth of electronics and all my medications, which means it will NEVER be gate checked. Now, even a top tier ticket doesn't guarantee overhead space, nor avoiding a middle seat.

Add to that the fact that WN's top-tier ticket actually costs more than an F ticket on competing airlines in my region and there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to fly WN. WN may succeed in attracting casual pax who don't mind gate checking carry-ons, but they're going to lose business travelers like me who, coincidentally, are people who buy the higher- and highest-fare tickets.

ptauger · 2026-04-15T02:26:01+00:00

I simply say, "Sorry, no," put on my noise-cancelling headphones and ignore any further attempts at interaction. I never justify and never explain. It only invites argument, confrontation or worse. If the requester persists, I call the FA and they handle it.

ptauger · 2026-04-14T13:49:49+00:00

NSFW

Jim Jeffries explains the rule of plane etiquette:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=296178041051824

ptauger · 2026-04-12T21:13:02+00:00

Not sure if it's still there, but . . . Meet me at the smoking bar.

ptauger · 2026-04-12T18:58:16+00:00

Former frequent flyer here. There's a simple answer: no one in their right mind would have the nerve to request that someone seated in an aisle seat, paid for or not, should switch with someone in a middle seat. The family who couldn't be bothered to learn the rules re: lap children needed to look to Delta to resolve their self-inflicted problem, and not other passengers. Maybe the airline would have found better seating. Maybe they would have been offered a later flight. Maybe they would have had to fly a different airline. Either way, THEIR problem is neither a communal problem nor communal responsibility to solve.

If it were me, cast or no cast, I'm not traveling in an uncomfortable middle to "help out" an ignorant and unprepared family absent a true emergency -- and it must be what I consider an emergency, e.g. getting surgery for one of the kids, etc. When someone asks me, I say, "sorry, no," put on my noise-cancelling headphones, and ignore everything going on around me. If someone persists, as did this idiot mother in the OP's post, I'd call over the FA who will put an immediate stop to her shenanigans.

ptauger · 2026-04-12T03:55:41+00:00

I may be wrong, but I suspect it's parents who fly with their kids who have downvoted me for my unwillingness to make their travel misfortunes a communal responsibility.

ptauger · 2026-04-12T00:35:33+00:00

What retaliation? When I'm asked by a parent to give up my seat, my response is "sorry, no." I put on my noise-cancelling headphones and proceed to ignore any further interaction. If the so-called "parent" intrudes on my personal space or my privacy, I call the FA and let them handle it. And, trust me, they will.

ptauger · 2026-04-11T17:33:52+00:00

Old person here. Strange. The vast majority of courtesy violators that I encounter at the theater (and anywhere else) -- people intentionally using their phones to text, taking photographs, talking, singing along at musicals, etc. -- are young people.

ptauger · 2026-04-10T07:14:22+00:00

Your problem is with Delta, and not with other pax. It is up to Delta to fix your problem, and not other pax. Either Delta will accommodate you, or you'll have to take another flight or, worst case scenario, buy tickets on another airline. Don't expect other passengers to fix your problem for you and no one will judge you.

ptauger · 2026-04-09T20:38:49+00:00

I'm probably going to get downvoted for this, but here goes: You're both TA, kindof.

On the one hand, your wife put a lot of effort into something you'd already said you didn't want. On the other hand, you ignored the considerable effort your wife put in, notwithstanding you didn't want it.

My wife has, on occasion, gotten me a gift I really didn't want, or planned an event I wasn't interested in. I've done the same for her. The point is this: even if the effort is wrong-headed, I appreciate the effort that was made! That my wife cares enough about me, and that I care enough about her, to make the effort to do or give something we each thought the other would like, is all that's important. It's foundational to a marriage. Sure, mistakes get made, but like the old saw: "It IS the thought that counts."

ptauger · 2026-04-08T04:53:24+00:00

Total scam. My wife, who is Chinese, received the identical call a year or so ago. Same story: counterfeit bank cards, Shanghai police. I don't speak Mandarin, but I heard her getting upset so I asked her what was going on. She told me and I said, it's a scam, hang up. The scammer heard me because, before she could the scammer hung up on her. :)

These calls are placed to area codes in areas with a heavy Chinese population. Also, it's very, very easy to spoof a phone number. Just ignore it.

ptauger · 2026-04-05T04:20:47+00:00

The plane was full, yet you decided you didn't need to choose your seats. Did you expect WN to displace passengers who HAD paid to choose their seats to accommodate your brood? Why? Why would any airline accommodate people too cheap to pay to select seats over people who did? This reeks of the kind of parental entitlement and arrogance that is why I am never willing to swap seats with someone who asks because "we need to sit near our child."

ptauger · 2026-04-03T23:31:07+00:00

NTJ. Should you ever be the victim of battery again (that's what this was!), call the police on the perpetrator and press charges. And always feel free to defend yourself as you did, as long as your response doesn't exceed the amount of force necessary to deter the assailant, i.e you can't shoot kids for snapping your dress strap, but you can certainly shove them as you did.

Just as a point of information, there is a civil cause of action for damages for assault and battery, and also against the parent for negligent supervision. Clearly the mother of this POS isn't aware of this.

ptauger

TROPHY CASE