Readers React: Airplane fights: a microcosm of what’s wrong with society

To the editor: Man’s inhumanity to man is playing out as a screaming match about cramped legroom on airplanes. (“Cramped seats and angry passengers lead to diverted flights,� Sept. 2)

We ordinary human beings are heartbreakingly tired of feeling impotent in the face of Wall Street’s greed, banking irresponsibility and the airlines’ focus on the bottom line instead of humans’ desire to sit comfortably on an airplane.

So, what makes front-page news? Diverted flights caused by fights over inadequate legroom and devices that block reclining seats? Surely you jest.

How about focusing on the story behind the story? We Americans have had enough and we can’t take it anymore. Impotence feels awful, and the frustration we feel will explode in countless ways, diverting not planes but our own souls and consciences from what we really are doing to one another: acting inhumanely to our fellow humans.

Gail Hollander Heim, Studio City

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To the editor: I fly on an airplane every week. Sometimes I am upset about things that happen on the flight.

But I am an adult. So I write a letter. Or I use a different airline. Or I purchase a better seat. I do not fight with other passengers. I do not disobey the flight crew. I do not hijack the airplane.

That behavior should never be tolerated, and those who exhibit it should be banned from air travel.

Greg Seyranian, Redondo Beach

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To the editor: As a frequent flier, I’ve never understood why the seats recline.

I hate having somebody in my space, and probably everybody feels that way. But once the person in front of you puts his seat back, you have no choice: You have to recline too. We are all so uncomfortable anyway, I think we would be better off just sitting up straight. Also, with the legroom so limited, once the seats in front of you are back, it is very difficult to leave your seat for the restroom.

Just make the seats so they don’t recline.

Mary Anne Cogbill, San Marino

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To the editor: “Cramped seats and cabin space are leading some to ask if airlines are squeezing their passengers too much.�

When you treat people like animals and create conditions in which they must compete for personal space and even safety, they will behave like animals.

Catherine Cate, Santa Ana