When I boarded my flight yesterday from Washington, DC, business travelers in seats 6B and 6C were already onboard, eyes closed (could both have fallen asleep that fast?) and knees stretched out. I tossed my newspaper and bottle of water onto seat 6A, and looked to store my carry on in the overhead bin above my seat.
Another carry on bag and leather brief cases were already there, not leaving enough room for mine. Passengers who were three rows behind me suggested an open spot above their seats. I placed my bag there, and jumped over the knees of the passengers next to me. For the duration of the flight, business traveler 6B kept his arms stretched out on both armrests with the exception of when I had no choice but to push one out of the way to access and return the tray stored in the armrest (saying, “excuse me” in a very low tone).
Like other business travelers would think, when it was time to deplane I imagined that I would have to wait for everyone to deplane before I could go back and get my bag at the end of the flight. And that’s when I discovered that 6B pulled both his carry on bag and briefcase out from the overhead bin above us, never acknowledging the circumstance he created.
“Thank you” to passenger 9C – a woman traveler – who kindly pulled my carry on bag and passed it forward to me.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
