From the Department of Give Me a Break…
You'll never look at, or reach into, an airline seat-back pocket the same after reading this.
Besides being a repository for magazines, newspapers, books, iPods and air-sickness bags, seatback pockets get stuffed with all kinds of disgusting trash, from toenail clippings to mushy meals.
One reason frequent fliers and flight attendants perceive an increase in offensive behavior may be the decline in air service -- customers seek retaliation for late flights, snippy workers, lost baggage and unavailable upgrades.
"Increasingly, passengers are certain that the airlines are not on their side and actually don't care anything about them," said Irwin Sarason, a University of Washington psychologist in Seattle who has studied passenger behavior. "In that kind of environment, it isn't too surprising that people will not exercise the restraints they normally would."
…
The detritus problem is exacerbated by the fact that most airplanes are only lightly cleaned between each flight. Airlines say planes get a more thorough cleaning overnight and a "deep cleaning" scheduled about every 30 days. In many cases, seat-back pockets aren't thoroughly checked until overnight cleaning crews work over a cabin. "Flight attendants will clean things they see sticking out of seat pockets in between flights, but the deep-down cleaning is reserved for later," says Philip Gee, a US Airways Group Inc. spokesman. At several airlines, including Southwest Airlines Co., flight attendants handle most of the cleanup between flights. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines have cleaning crews pick up trash, fold blankets and replenish supplies between flights. United says its crews brush off seats and replace headsets, too, between flights.
[From The Middle Seat - WSJ.com, by Scott McCartney]
That's bad enough, disgusting even, but this complaint made me laugh. Eric Kaldenberg is obviously not a member of the Mile High Club:
Eric Kaldenberg, a Phoenix regional sales manager, was on a flight home from Las Vegas in March with a passionate couple in first class who were anything but discreet.
"It was pretty disgusting," Mr. Kaldenberg said. He says he and other first-class passengers complained to flight attendants, but no action was taken. He wrote to US Airways, which offered a form-letter apology and voucher for a discount on a future ticket, along with a suggestion that he could have asked to be reseated if the couple bothered him. "I regret your discomfort when observing inappropriate behavior of another passenger," US Airways' Customer Relations office said in the letter. His second complaint drew an apologetic phone call from a customer-service supervisor, he says. US Airways' Mr. Gee says the suggestion that Mr. Kaldenberg should be reseated "probably wasn't the correct response." The flight attendant involved "should have talked to the couple," he said.
How prudish is this guy? Complaining at the time of the activity wasn't enough, nor was writing an angry letter once he got home. He complained a third time, and probably contacted Scott McCartney so that Kaldenberg's sexual revulsion could be put on record at the Wall Street Journal.
The pornography business is a multi-billion dollar sector of the economy because so many folks do want to watch other people get it on. I mean, what is this guy's problem - did fluids get splashed onto his face? I can't say I've ever been offended by watching two happy people make out, even if the petting got a little heavy. Maybe I'm just sympathetic because D & I almost got arrested in a park near the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan: we were kissing, passionately, with our clothes on, and a disapproving soccer mom called the police on her cellphone to report our "lewd" conduct. Feh.
