Window seat etiquette on flights

Since this was the summer, I can assume she did not see them, right?

You seem to be implying she could see them, in which case, wake the hell up and view a (I believe) impossible feat of nature.

 

I am also an aisle seat person, and I let my fellow passengers they can ask me to move at any time.

Well ...

I was ... but only on business travel now.

Mrs. jlee is an ardent window person. So now I’m a polite middle seat person on pleasure travel.

 

Sorry, it was more the sun rising over the Arctic. Constantly.

 

Window seat. I have developed a bad photosensitivity and am prone to migraines, so if I can control bright light in my immediate vicinity, I do it. Also, it's a good thing I'm 5' nothing and my feet don't even touch the ground in a commercial airliner, because I was once in the middle seat of a middle row on a trans-Atlantic flight.

 

As a kid, loved the window seat for the view. And planes weren't usually packed like rush-hour buses back then. Flying was an enjoyable experience and I looked forward to it.

But my claustrophobia got worse and worse the longer I was traveling for work, especially the "tunnel vision" feeling of being in a tube. As long as I could schedule my own travel, I would choose the biggest plane possible with an exit-row aisle seat or close to the front of the plane. I also have an issue with the drink carts, and always get up and disappear into the galley until they finish service.

Then Turner Travel got pissy and required us to book through them. One flight to Indy, they put me in 15B. Great. Except it was a 50-seater, which meant 15 was the last row in a plane where I couldn't stand up straight. I had two hours of panic attacks, especially when we landed and sat on the taxiway because our gate was blocked.

Even with my medication, I can't calm myself down enough to fight that "trapped" feeling. I'd get panicky just driving to the airport. I took the train from New York to Montreal to avoid another Embraer flight. And drove to Watkins Glen so I could do features on Cooperstown, the Bodines and Mike Stefanik rather than experience another tiny plane. I still had to endure the flights to Phoenix, LAX and Las Vegas, but usually that was a wide-body jet.

Still, I've had the unexpected breakdowns and takeoff delays that I can't control. Or worse, they switch equipment and I lose the seat I booked. And that's what triggers my panic attacks.

It has nothing to do with crashing. I know that I'm safe. I just want the damn experience to be as short and trouble-free as possible.

So I haven't been in a plane since 2012 and don't miss it at all. I know I'll probably have to fly at some point but I'd rather drive 3,000 miles where I can get out if my claustrophobia kicks in, instead of battling it for six hours with 250 of my closest acquaintances, all of whom have to stand up and fiddle with their carry-ons before the door even opens.

 

Bonus question:

What do you wear to fly? And why?

 

Aisle seat all day and twice on Sunday.

 

I rarely wear underwear and when I do, it's usually something unusual.

Sorry, requisite Stripes reference.

I wear a long sleeve shirt (because the plane might be cold), sweatpants for ultimate crotch dexterity, and crocs because my feet always expand and I don't wanna have to pop off my sneakers.

 

Shorts almost always and a loose shirt.

I know @Azrael abhors this kind of plane fashion but comfort > style in the air forevermore.

Although I would wear those blood-red shoes he posted a year or two ago. Those things are sharp.

 

Aren't they lovely?

Alden Cordovan Longwing In Dark Burgundy

 

The Clash think that's a cute idea.