another airline rule

[abcNKH]

I just don't understand airline rules. I don't understand how having your seat back is a safety issue during take-off and landing. I don't understand why a bottle of water is a threat. I don't understand why the seats can't be a bit wider. I don't understand why the price of a ticket more than doubles if you don't have enough advance notice. I don't understand why cabin passengers can't use the first class restrooms. But all of these things I accept as part of getting from here to there in a few hours rather than a few days.

Yesterday one of our flights was a little plane (2 seats on one side and 1 on the other - maybe 12 rows) on a short flight (35 minutes or so from take-off to landing). This flight was late afternoon, and the sun was shining right in the windows and it was really hot. The stewardess told us to keep the window shades up during take-off and landing. Quite a few of the passengers thought this was odd, no one had ever heard this request before. I ended up taking the safety card and covering the window just to keep from feeling like I was out in the AZ sun baking away.

Ms. J (being quite outspoken) asked the stewardess the reason on the way out of the plane and she said it was for safety reasons, so Ms. J asked 'like what?' The stewardess then seemed to stumble with the answer, stating that she needed to see out everyone's window. I didn't quite understand this since she is seated away from all the windows during take-off and landing.


My mom thought maybe the plane was solar-powered and needed the heat. My dad thought it was some sort of signal to would-be bad guys on the ground. One passenger thought it was so cameras could see into the plane, another thought the stewardess was a bit OCD, and another thought we were on candid-camera. We could not find it on the safety card along with the tray and seat rules.

It was a weird rule, but a lively topic for conversation among strangers for the short flight :)

[Hawkyfan99]

I don't understand how having your seat back is a safety issue during take-off and landing.

Sit in coach as a 6'4" tall person with a person having their seat back. Even just in normal flight, it hurts like a sumbitch when it pops your knees. And there's a lot of additional force during takeoff/landing cycles.

I don't understand why a bottle of water is a threat.

Liquid explosives, but I disagree with it. It's not an airline rule, though, that's an FAA/TSA issue.

I don't understand why the seats can't be a bit wider.

Minimum aisle width, and getting X number of seats across. Less seats to cover the cost of the trip, higher fares & higher oversell levels, to ensure that the flights are entirely full.

I don't understand why the price of a ticket more than doubles if you don't have enough advance notice.

To facilitate last minute travel availability (primarily for business travelers).

[Jokimoto]

There's a very simple reason why the Flight Attendant wanted the window shades up during takeoff. It so that if she were to look out the window and see Detective John "DieHard" MacLean speeding across the tarmac in pursuit of a terrorist who's driving a truck full of jet fuel and bent on meeting up w/Allah real real soon by smashing it into your plane broadside in a monstrous fireball then she can stand up and put her hands to her face and scream "Oh my fucking Gaawwwwwd!!!!" really loud and succeeding in startling the living hell out of everyone just before they explode.
That's why the shades have to be up.

[flygirl]

Your seat back has to be up and locked so that in the event of an aborted take off, or emergency landing the person behind you has the room they need to bend over with their heads on their knees. A bottle of water weighs a pound and can become a deadly projectile propelled by g-force during an emergency landing. (That's why all the cocktail glasses are plastic and the bottles are locked in that heavy cart) It's also true that the flight attendants are supposed to be able to see out of the plane while it's on the ground, but that's not universally (or even often) enforced. Can't help you with the rest. That's for the bean-counters to know and you to find out! ;)

[abcNKH]

A bottle of water weighs a pound and can become a deadly projectile propelled by g-force during an emergency landing. but they allow the water, you just have to buy it inside the security gate - seems quite silly to me - just like when they used to make you take a drink of it before allowing it thruIt's also true that the flight attendants are supposed to be able to see out of the plane while it's on the ground, but that's not universally (or even often) enforced. This was just so weird, this is the first that I have ever heard of this, the first that either of my parents have ever heard this, the first than the people in the seats around me have ever heard this. People were laughing at it, it just sounded, and still does sound, just a bit absurd...

[Raven]

The stewardess told us to keep the window shades up during take-off and landing... Ms. J (being quite outspoken) asked the stewardess the reason on the way out of the plane and she said it was for safety reasons, so Ms. J asked 'like what?' The stewardess then seemed to stumble with the answer, stating that she needed to see out everyone's window. I didn't quite understand this since she is seated away from all the windows during take-off and landing.

My mom thought maybe the plane was solar-powered and needed the heat. My dad thought it was some sort of signal to would-be bad guys on the ground. One passenger thought it was so cameras could see into the plane, another thought the stewardess was a bit OCD, and another thought we were on candid-camera. We could not find it on the safety card along with the tray and seat rules.

It was a weird rule, but a lively topic for conversation among strangers for the short flight :)

:lol: what a funny story - well told!

As for why... it's so they can see if there are any gremlins on the wings.

"Gremlins! Gremlins! I'm not imagining it, he's out there! Don't look, he's not out there now. He jumps away whenever anyone might see him, except me." Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, Twilight Zone

[Raven]

There's a very simple reason why the Flight Attendant wanted the window shades up during takeoff. It so that if she were to look out the window and see Detective John "DieHard" MacLean speeding across the tarmac in pursuit of a terrorist who's driving a truck full of jet fuel and bent on meeting up w/Allah real real soon by smashing it into your plane broadside in a monstrous fireball then she can stand up and put her hands to her face and scream "Oh my fucking Gaawwwwwd!!!!" really loud and succeeding in startling the living hell out of everyone just before they explode.
That's why the shades have to be up.
:lol: excellent answer!

[Jokimoto]

The movie version of that Twilight story is quite likely the best piece of acting William Shatner's ever done. Even better than his LSD-inspired, nicotine-fuelled poetic reading of Elton John's Rocket Man. :nod:

[ArcticPhoenix]

Sit in coach as a 6'4" tall person with a person having their seat back. Even just in normal flight, it hurts like a sumbitch when it pops your knees. And there's a lot of additional force during takeoff/landing cycles.



Liquid explosives, but I disagree with it. It's not an airline rule, though, that's an FAA/TSA issue.



Minimum aisle width, and getting X number of seats across. Less seats to cover the cost of the trip, higher fares & higher oversell levels, to ensure that the flights are entirely full.



To facilitate last minute travel availability (primarily for business travelers).


Pretty much everything that Hawky said. I have a slight issue with the bottle of water thing, and I see the reasoning behind banning it, but can't say I agree with it 100%.

Anyway, what Hawky said.

P.S. You can take water on the plane. You just can't take a bottle of water past security. Thought I'd specify that. ;)