Minor things that bother you

[formulanone]

Browsers that save a login or password improperly, recalling the saved login id and password as literal asterisks and/or dots.

Sorry: for******** is not a valid account name, and you're a chucklehead for using -------- as your password.

Thanks, Marriott.

[kphoger]

Um... no one been in a yard where there are chickens, or taken sex ed in school?  Laying an egg is not pooping.

In birds such as chickens, the intestine (excretory tract) and oviduct (reproductive tract) both empty out into the aptly named "vent".  While the egg is descending into the vent, the cloaca also descends and blocks off the excretory tract.

So, no, technically the egg doesn't come from the intestine, nor can a hen expel waste and lay eggs at the same time.  But both eggs and feces come out the same hole, and this is why farm-fresh eggs often have specks of feces on the shells.

[hbelkins]

The numbers on phone keyboards and calculator keyboards are reversed.

[ZLoth]

The numbers on phone keyboards and calculator keyboards are reversed.

• https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119296&page=1
• https://thenextweb.com/news/heres-why-telephones-and-calculators-use-different-numeric-keypads
• https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question641.htm

[gonealookin]

I don't like seeing the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign left illuminated for an entire flight regardless of the flight cruising at altitude in smooth, clear weather conditions.  I noticed this happening on a Hawaiian Airlines flight a couple weeks ago from Sacramento to Kahului, which is over 5 hours in the air.  When passengers see that they consider it a "Boy who cried Wolf" warning, ignore it and get out of their seat at their leisure.  The sign should only be illuminated during takeoff/climb, descent/landing and when atmospheric conditions create turbulence or suggest that it could be ahead.

I doubt it's a Hawaiian Airlines policy to do that, as on the return Hawaiian flight to the mainland the warning light was turned on and off in the way I suggest there.  I have seen the warning light left lit on some other airlines' flights as well.

In the case of the Phoenix to Honolulu flight yesterday where a number of people were injured during a turbulence event, I wonder if that was a factor.  The airplane was approaching Hawaii and there was bad weather in the area, so having the warning light lit at that time would have been justified.  However, if the warning had been lit ever since the plane left Phoenix, it wouldn't be surprising at all if the passengers were ignoring it.

[skluth]

Clear Air Turbulence is one of the toughest things for many passengers to understand. CAT is a common problem around mountains (e.g., the Hawaiian chain) but also can occur in the middle of the ocean. It looks clear and beautiful out the window. That doesn't mean there's nothing out there. The worst thing is you can't see it unless there is something showing the turbulence like lenticular clouds. There's a good chance that CAT was in the pilot's weather flight brief. The pilot isn't turning off the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign because if someone is injured in CAT because the sign is off and CAT was in the brief, the pilot can be held responsible.

[J N Winkler]

I don't like seeing the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign left illuminated for an entire flight regardless of the flight cruising at altitude in smooth, clear weather conditions.  I noticed this happening on a Hawaiian Airlines flight a couple weeks ago from Sacramento to Kahului, which is over 5 hours in the air.  When passengers see that they consider it a "Boy who cried Wolf" warning, ignore it and get out of their seat at their leisure.  The sign should only be illuminated during takeoff/climb, descent/landing and when atmospheric conditions create turbulence or suggest that it could be ahead.

It often feels like the pilots have an "out of sight, out of mind" problem that leads to passengers being treated like inanimate freight.  I've found it very hit-and-miss whether I have ear pain as the plane descends for a landing, and I've been told that much of the variability comes from pilot behavior in adjusting cabin pressurization.

[gonealookin]

I understand the issue of clear air turbulence and always keep my seat belt fastened unless I need to get out of my seat for a couple minutes for the obvious reason.  My criticism is that the "Fasten Seat Belt" light should be an order, not a recommendation, and it's not reasonable to order passengers not to get up for an entire multi-hour flight unless the whole flight is in rough conditions.  I get a captain's CYA mentality on the subject but leaving it lit begs for it to be ignored.

I have a similar criticism of Nevada DOT around here for leaving the Chains Required lights flashing for hours after the road has been cleared and is down to bare wet pavement.  This happens particularly on Nevada 207 between Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe, a curvy climb and descent over the mountains.  Drivers see those lights flashing, find that road conditions are perfectly good even at the summit and learn to disregard the warning.  Then there's a time when conditions are bad, the lights are flashing but based on the prior experience drivers assume they can make it without chains or snow tires.  And that's when the fleet of tow trucks has to head up there.

[formulanone]

I don't like seeing the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign left illuminated for an entire flight regardless of the flight cruising at altitude in smooth, clear weather conditions.  I noticed this happening on a Hawaiian Airlines flight a couple weeks ago from Sacramento to Kahului, which is over 5 hours in the air.  When passengers see that they consider it a "Boy who cried Wolf" warning, ignore it and get out of their seat at their leisure.  The sign should only be illuminated during takeoff/climb, descent/landing and when atmospheric conditions create turbulence or suggest that it could be ahead.

I doubt it's a Hawaiian Airlines policy to do that, as on the return Hawaiian flight to the mainland the warning light was turned on and off in the way I suggest there.  I have seen the warning light left lit on some other airlines' flights as well.

In the case of the Phoenix to Honolulu flight yesterday where a number of people were injured during a turbulence event, I wonder if that was a factor.  The airplane was approaching Hawaii and there was bad weather in the area, so having the warning light lit at that time would have been justified.  However, if the warning had been lit ever since the plane left Phoenix, it wouldn't be surprising at all if the passengers were ignoring it.

Typically, I think they just forget to turn it off. My misguided suspicion is that the flight crew was tired that day, and therefore didn't have to serve anything (which sucks on the days where you have a smooth flight). Probably more likely on a 45-60 minute haul, when you might only have 20-30 minutes of possible cabin service time.

Supposedly, the flight crew can't stop you from using the lavatory or moving around the cabin, unless the phases of flight are takeoff and landing (at 10,000 feet below ground level). There might be an exception for genuine cases of declared "extreme turbulence", which is very rare unless people become physically injured. Pilots have to fill out a whole lot of paperwork in that case, so they're reluctant to use the term in an official capacity.

I leave my seatbelt buckled the entire time, except when getting up to use the lav or getting something from the overhead. Or if I can't reach something from my bag, for those oddball exit seats with tons of legroom.

[CtrlAltDel]

I've found it very hit-and-miss whether I have ear pain as the plane descends for a landing, and I've been told that much of the variability comes from pilot behavior in adjusting cabin pressurization.

My understanding is that the process is largely automatic. I believe the pilots set the altitude of the destination airport on a little device on the instrument panel, and that's pretty much that.

[JoePCool14]

In a similar vein to the seatbelt sign, when flight attendants force all windows to be dimmed on modern aircraft like the B787 or upcoming Air Bus A350. I'm okay with giving passengers some sleep time, but it's unfair to have it locked down for the entire flight.

For the record, I haven't been on a 787 as of yet. But I've heard about it through trip reports on YouTube.

[SectorZ]

I don't like seeing the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign left illuminated for an entire flight regardless of the flight cruising at altitude in smooth, clear weather conditions.  I noticed this happening on a Hawaiian Airlines flight a couple weeks ago from Sacramento to Kahului, which is over 5 hours in the air.  When passengers see that they consider it a "Boy who cried Wolf" warning, ignore it and get out of their seat at their leisure.  The sign should only be illuminated during takeoff/climb, descent/landing and when atmospheric conditions create turbulence or suggest that it could be ahead.

It often feels like the pilots have an "out of sight, out of mind" problem that leads to passengers being treated like inanimate freight.  I've found it very hit-and-miss whether I have ear pain as the plane descends for a landing, and I've been told that much of the variability comes from pilot behavior in adjusting cabin pressurization.

Wouldn't they be subject to the same conditions though, if so?

[vdeane]

For the record, I haven't been on a 787 as of yet. But I've heard about it through trip reports on YouTube.

The only 787 I can think of having been on is this one.

[jakeroot]

In a similar vein to the seatbelt sign, when flight attendants force all windows to be dimmed on modern aircraft like the B787 or upcoming Air Bus A350. I'm okay with giving passengers some sleep time, but it's unfair to have it locked down for the entire flight.

For the record, I haven't been on a 787 as of yet. But I've heard about it through trip reports on YouTube.

I experienced this flying from Seattle to Tokyo (JAL 787). The flight is entirely daylight, so the cabin crew will dim the windows midway through the flight for about four hours so that people can catch up on sleep. It's actually really important because flights like the one I was on results in some crazy long days...the last thing I need in a 32-hour day is more daylight lol (when I landed in Tokyo at 16:30, it would have been 02:30 back in Seattle ... time kind of stands still flying east to west).

Passengers were not locked out from un-dimming their windows, but it was insanely bright anytime someone did, and they usually dimmed it again right after.

[1995hoo]

^^^^

Similar thing happens going the other way. Leaving JFK on an overnight flight to London (flying east towards the solar terminator), British Airways crews make an announcement asking everyone to close the window shades because it will get bright outside very quickly and even one open window will make it very hard for people to sleep.

I would have liked to have experienced what it was like to take a late fall or winter Concorde flight when you took off at night in London and caught the solar terminator such that you got to see the sun rising in the west.

[kirbykart]

For the record, I haven't been on a 787 as of yet. But I've heard about it through trip reports on YouTube.

The only 787 I can think of having been on is this one.

Same.

[JoePCool14]

In a similar vein to the seatbelt sign, when flight attendants force all windows to be dimmed on modern aircraft like the B787 or upcoming Air Bus A350. I'm okay with giving passengers some sleep time, but it's unfair to have it locked down for the entire flight.

For the record, I haven't been on a 787 as of yet. But I've heard about it through trip reports on YouTube.

I experienced this flying from Seattle to Tokyo (JAL 787). The flight is entirely daylight, so the cabin crew will dim the windows midway through the flight for about four hours so that people can catch up on sleep. It's actually really important because flights like the one I was on results in some crazy long days...the last thing I need in a 32-hour day is more daylight lol (when I landed in Tokyo at 16:30, it would have been 02:30 back in Seattle ... time kind of stands still flying east to west).

Passengers were not locked out from un-dimming their windows, but it was insanely bright anytime someone did, and they usually dimmed it again right after.

Yes, I completely understand that. But if I'm on a 15-hour flight, hypothetically, it's unfair to lock down the windows for that entire time. If people need to sleep that desperately for that long, use eye shades.

[JoePCool14]

For the record, I haven't been on a 787 as of yet. But I've heard about it through trip reports on YouTube.

The only 787 I can think of having been on is this one.

Same.

Oh no, it's an Albany expression...

[kphoger]

Pop-up windows that never time out.  By golly, if I haven't clicked on it in two minutes, it's probably because I don't care about it.  In fact, I've specifically decided it's so worthless that it doesn't deserve the respect of a mouse-click.  Just go away.

[MultiMillionMiler]

The windows being misaligned with the seats is my main issue with them when flying. Do they do that deliberately for some reason? On my flight to Charlotte, the windows were almost exactly between the seat rows.

[kphoger]

The windows being misaligned with the seats is my main issue with them when flying. Do they do that deliberately for some reason? On my flight to Charlotte, the windows were almost exactly between the seat rows.

The airline determines how much distance to put between the rows based on how much capacity they want, not based on where the windows are.  One airline's legroom will differ from another airline's by a couple of inches per row aboard the same aircraft, which adds up.  In fact, first class probably isn't even the same size between the two airlines.

[formulanone]

The windows being misaligned with the seats is my main issue with them when flying. Do they do that deliberately for some reason? On my flight to Charlotte, the windows were almost exactly between the seat rows.

The airline determines how much distance to put between the rows based on how much capacity they want, not based on where the windows are.  One airline's legroom will differ from another airline's by a couple of inches per row aboard the same aircraft, which adds up.

Frankly, this annoys me as well. Even a closed window shade offers an addition inch to tilt my sleepy head, whereas a pillar between the windows isn't as comfortable.

Sometimes, they have to put some A/C ductwork or wiring, and a window gets omitted, so they're noisier or colder places to sit. I check out seatguru.com if I'm on an unfamiliar airline or aircraft type. 

In fact, first class probably isn't even the same size between the two airlines.

Even between airlines, they offer different sizes of First Clast cabin. For example, Delta uses 3 rows of 4 seats for the Airbus A319, which American uses 2 rows in the same aircraft type. And of course, Southwest only offers a single cabin, so seat spacing on their 737 is naturally different than two-cabin 737s.

While we're on the subject of minor things and airplane windows:

[CtrlAltDel]

The windows being misaligned with the seats is my main issue with them when flying. Do they do that deliberately for some reason? On my flight to Charlotte, the windows were almost exactly between the seat rows.

The airline determines how much distance to put between the rows based on how much capacity they want, not based on where the windows are.  One airline's legroom will differ from another airline's by a couple of inches per row aboard the same aircraft, which adds up.  In fact, first class probably isn't even the same size between the two airlines.

And just to complete the thought, the only limit is FAA regulations and testing, which require that plane be "evacuable," at least under ideal circumstances, in 90 seconds.

[kphoger]

In fact, first class probably isn't even the same size between the two airlines.

Even between airlines, they offer different sizes of First Clast cabin. For example, Delta uses 3 rows of 4 seats for the Airbus A319, which American uses 2 rows in the same aircraft type. And of course, Southwest only offers a single cabin, so seat spacing on their 737 is naturally different than two-cabin 737s.

I even think there are cases of a single airline having multiple arrangements on a single aircraft model.

[MultiMillionMiler]

While we're on the subject of airlines, let me share my insane story flying from JFK to Charlotte. We left at 12:15 pm for a 2:30 pm flight, since I live about 20 miles from JFK. When 2:30 came at the airport, first there was a pilot who was delayed due to maintenance issues on another flight so we had to wait until a new pilot arrived. So 2:30 already turned into 3:30 by the time we boarded. Next, after taxiing out, we were told that because of bad weather in the D.C. area, we were going to be on a new route to Charlotte via Cleveland, which would take twice as long, so we were going to have to go back to the gate to get more fuel for the extra 300+ miles added. This took 2 hours to get the extra fuel. Next, we taxi out to the runway, only to here that we are back on our original path due to the weather dissipating. We finally took off at 6:10 instead of 3:30. But since we are back on our original route, the flight only has a little over an hour left (541 miles)..WRONG! About 100 miles from landing, we are told that there are now thunderstorms over charlotte, so we had to wait again as we did figure 8s over and over in a holding pattern for 40 minutes. We finally landed at 8:10-8:15. 8 hours from start to finish, for a 1 hour flight. 4-5 hours on the plane itself, most of which was taking a tour of the airport on the tarmac due to zigzagging back and forth which ended up being for nothing anyway! And on top of all this, the windows literally being almost between the rows of seats!! Unbelievable.