International Inconvenience
I travel a lot for work, mostly intercontinental, so lost luggage, theft, seriously delayed flights, a plane struck by lightning, missed connections, I’ve had them all and always make certain I have a decent survival kit (personal and work) in my hand luggage these days.
My worst experiences have involved other passengers, to be honest. The worst was a couple of years ago when I was at the end of a very, very long haul from Argentina to Holland and I was doing a final leg from Amsterdam back to London.
I boarded the aircraft, and there was a small American child bouncing up and down excitedly in the middle seat, and his morbidly obese mother in my window seat, overflowing the armrests.
I was jetlagged and also slightly ill, having caught a dose of mild food poisoning in Mendoza before I left, so I was not very receptive. Anyway, I said to her, politely; “Excuse me, you’re in my seat.”
“Oh, it’s my little boy, he so loves to look at the airplanes.” “Yes, but you are in my seat, not him.”
“That’s so I can hold him up. Will you trade seats?” “I have been traveling for nearly 24 hours. I am not feeling well. I like to look out of the window at aircraft as well. If you don’t get out of my seat now, I’ll ask one of the cabin crew to make you get out.”
“Well, there’s no need to be rude!” “You started it.” Thank God it was only a 45-minute flight. She humphed and squirmed and harrumphed the whole way to London. Story credit: Reddit / (MisterShine)