Not because I am afraid of airplanes. I just hate being on the airplane. I HATE BEING IN THE MIDDLE SEAT. I hate it when people think both of the armrests are theirs. No. That's not how it works. KEEP YOUR ELBOWS IN YOUR AREA. STOP TOUCHING ME. in conclusion I hate airplanes.

I ALWAYS TAKE THE WINDOW VIEW.

I refuse to go on an airplane unless I get a window seat and sit by someone I know.

Hahaha, I used to hate travel by plane too. It's just a lot of waiting to board and then more waiting on the plane with only a drink and pretzels to look forward to, unless you're flying international... but I've gotten over it by mastering the technique of sleeping around strangers hahaha.

Being so close to strangers is unsettling. Window seat all the way!

Ugh yes agreed. I've got 4 international flights coming up and I don't know what seats I have yet so I'm going crazy. I prefer the window or aisle seat, but I don't want to pay extra to choose in advance. I just spent a weekend in NY (from TX, so a pretty lengthy domestic flight) and sat next to the most obnoxious family, I couldn't even sleep because they talked loudly AND ate the ENTIRE 5 HOURS. I was in the window seat and the mother was next to me and she was a pretty thin and petite lady, yet felt it necessary to stick half her leg and her arm into my space. I was furious.

I CAN RELATE TO THIS.

I always go for the isle seat, that way if the people you area stuck sitting with are awful you can easily get up and go for a walk or something. But even that isn't always great, I flew to Thailand (from NZ, like 12 hours) with emirates and found the isles so tiny that the trolley would hit your arm if it was on the armrest :(

Window seat + mp2-player = I don't care whatever happens next to me :) .

Window seat + ear plugs + sleep mask = wake me up when we get there.

flight anxiety + fricking airholes which make the plane bouncy + fat sweaty man who drools all over my shoulder while snoring = GET ME THE F OUTTA HERE

Luckily, I've been in either the aisle or the window so far. But my husband's last trip on a plane, he got the middle seat going to and from and hated it (for understandable reasons).

Being next to strangers doesn't irk me so much, so long as they are respectful of what little space you have. What I usually have a "problem" with on planes is that I do get air sick/get headaches, but I will usually take Dramamine and that knocks me out until the plane lands, so that problem is taken care of before it begins.

However, loud children piss me off. Now, I don't blame the parents and I can't really blame the kid. It's not like they're trying to irk you. You could be the best damn mom and dad in the world, but once the kid gets it in his/her head that they are somehow going to die, are shocked and/or airsick to the point of believing that planes are horrible entities sent to earth to make them miserable, or that they just really, really have to go potty and can't because they're at that point in the flight when everyone is supposed to stay buckled in their seat, to the kid, it is the end of the freaking world and there is nothing short of an act of God that will stop them from crying.

I am not pissed at the child. I am just pissed at the noise coming out of their mouth. There is a difference.

Then you just get the person who either sits in front of you and leans back so far that they are practically sitting in your lap, or the person behind you who continually kicks your seat out of boredom. These actions are unforgivable.

I was on a British Airways flight from London to Athens a few years ago. A toddler bawled for the entire flight and her parents did literally nothing. I do understand that what they were trying to accomplish by leaving her alone is a parenting technique, but I also thought it was thoughtless of them to practice it in a closed space full of people. It would have been appreciated by everyone else if they had at least attempted to calm her down. I definitely didn't blame the child but I still think her parents could have tried to do something other than pretend she wasn't squalling in her seat.

I've been lucky in that I can't recall being in a seat that wasn't the window or the aisle. I've sat in the emergency seat too and the leg room is a bit wasted on me because I'm short.

Maybe mum and dad figured they were powerless without duct tape...

In seriousness, though, from what you described, the parents in that particular situation should have at least tried before using the ignoring tactic. Most of the parents I've seen on planes have tried to read a book to them, give them a coloring book, or show them something on their iPad, or flash a toy, attempt to talk them down, just something to distract them. Some parents were successful... others could not pull their offspring out of the mindset that planes are evil and they felt horrible.