Every generation has its own slang. What was uncool in the 50s was grungy in the 60s, a bummer in the 70s, something that could barf you out in the 80s, wack in the 90s, and I think you get the picture.
I don’t remember aviation enthusiasts have very many slang words, although the term Skypesos has been used for about 15 years and gate lice has been around for even longer. And then, all of a sudden, in the course of less than a year, there’s now been 3 different new terms among aviation enthusiasts.
Rawdogging
A newer TikTok trend, in-flight rawdogging (a.k.a. raw dogging or raw-dogging) means going through an entire flight without any form of entertainment or distraction: no phone, no TV, no books, no music. I decided to give it a try last summer – you know, for science. I promise it’s as boring as it sounds.
Flying naked
Spoilers – flying naked doesn’t mean flying with no clothes on. Here are more details about it. And as dull as rawdogging is, flying naked sounds as silly as can possibly be.
And now? Seat squatting
Which brings us to the latest trend in aviation: seat squatting.
Seat squatting involves travelers occupying seats that weren’t assigned to them. In other words, they take unoccupied seats on a plane, even though their boarding pass says what seat is actually “theirs.”
So you might have Seat 23A and they’ve been assigned 23B, but when you get to your row, they’re in 23A and refuse to move. Or a couple, separated into seats 17B and 21E because they didn’t pay for seat assignments, who just decide to sit next to each other anyway. And then have the gall to tell the person who comes up and (rightfully) says, “You’re in my seat,” to go back to 21E.
It’s a mixture of having huge cojones, a penchant for bullying, and a complete lack of civility. Good times.
What to do?
Of course, some people who’ve been the victim of seat squatters just do what they’re told and spend their flight in a middle seat towards the back of the plane. Maybe they don’t want to make waves. Maybe they don’t want to get beat up. Who knows.
Others have verbally fought back, while being as polite as can be (“Excuse me, you’re in my seat. See, here’s my boarding pass.”) to significantly more assertive. Depending on how stubborn the squatter is, that may or may not work.
Which leaves you with asking the flight attendant to intervene. Which shouldn’t have to be part of their job description, but that’s what the world is coming to.
It’s a crummy situation, all brought by people who don’t give a crap about anyone else.
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