Buster just wanted to enjoy a plate of BBQ ribs with some delectable sides. On his flight. In the middle seat. Such a conscientious passenger…
Polite Middle Seat Man Enjoys BBQ Ribs Between Two Passengers On EasyJet Flight
I don’t know the name of the passenger, but Buster just seems to fit. Buster was flying out of Glasgow Airport and stopped at Frankie and Benny’s, a “New York Italian themed restaurant and bar offers something for everyone from traditional Scottish breakfasts and quintessentially America pancakes to tasty pizzas and ribs.”
Buster ordered ribs, to go:
Smoky Ultimate BBQ Ribs
Slow-cooked rack of tender pork ribs, comfort food!
BBQ sauce, grilled corn & skin-on fries
The grilled corn is topped in “mayo and Italian cheese.”
A delicious and fragrant dinner!
And then Buster decided to take his food onboard his flight. It appears he was flying easyJet.
Buster was assigned a middle seat and sat down between two passengers. After settling in, he opened his takeaway box and dug in, with the lovely aroma of barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, butter, and cheese wafting around him for everyone to enjoy.
No chance is the guy next to me eating a full rack of ribs plus sides on this plane gtf pic.twitter.com/hDD9u6MlPi
— Lanna Tolland (@lannatolland) February 20, 2023
Yum. What a smart man for understanding that the hot food on easyJet sells out fast. And I’m sure he must have brought onboard some napkins or moist towelettes and not wiped his hands on the seat (or his seat).
There’s nothing like the smell of someone else’s food onboard a flight to make you ambivalent.
(H/T: View From The Wing)
Don’t get me wrong, I’d take a plate of ribs any day, but it’s not the most prudent choice when you’re in a middle seat stuck with others in a metal tube.
Years ago there was a Popeyes in Terminal C at PHL and I was always surprised to see the number of people bringing boxes onboard. And yes the smell of grease wafted through the plane, though I was fortunate enough to never have someone eat it next to me. As said above, hopefully they brought plenty of napkins.
I’m chuckling because I just ordered something like those last night for my wife’s birthday and gave the fries to my daughter. I am sensing sarcasm in Matt’s tone. In defense of the guy, BBQ ribs and even Popeye’s chicken smells quite pleasant to me and due to the pressure of the aircraft, the smells will be toned down hence why airplane food is overseasoned. I flew United a year ago and they served this curry chicken that, IMO, was just as pungent as either of those things (but inedible. I apparently wasn’t the only one from what I observed about the meals being tossed when the FA came around.) At least this guy is enjoying his meal.
I feel for the guy. He’s stuck in the middle seat on a discount carrier, has this unattractive pot belly, and he’s catching some hate for this from someone. If it’s any consolation: These folks eat fast (obviously) and he’ll be happy and quiet the rest of the flight (except perhaps for flatulence.) Due to COVID, the cabins are better ventilated than in the past.
This is still better than those guys smoking in the hallway while Matt was trying to sleep on the train…
Having been a flight attendant for over 3 decades now, ribs are not very offense. It’s the tuna salad sandwiches, Italian subs and almost anything that comes with parmesan packets that the passenger opens and uses on-board that seem to have the most pungent odor on a plane. Btw, I eat ribs with a knife and fork, so seat placement is irrelevant, imho.
How is the fact that he was in a middle seat relevant to the story?
Even ruder eating between two folks instead of just one.
No f**king clue. Didn’t get that from the very beginning. And, they keep repeating it. Maybe the contributor had a bad experience while sitting in the middle on a flight? Nope? No clue.
I assumed it had something to do with people eating ribs with their hands and was used to make the reader imagine someone with arms bent, elbows up and outstretched, and scarfing into a rib…and invading upon the space of those seated next to the eater. I never handle ribs and eat ribs with utensils. The middle seat is irrelevant to the facts, but this isn’t a court case. It’s a social media post and those are all designed to elicit emotion.
That many ribs would take me 3 meals to eat. Andthe tiny piece of vegetable is smothered in high calorie sauce.
Western obesity in a box…
Wow! I’m a 68 year old Southern woman. I eat (REAL) Biscuits and Gravy or Chicken fried steak sandwiches for breakfast. I enjoy barbecue (with the requisite Cole slaw & baked beans) for lunch or dinner… whichever I eat on any given day. But, I also appreciate steak, fried chicken, or salmon. Of course side dishes are important: Brussel sprouts & bacon, Ford Hook Lima with butter and cinnamon, squash casserole (sour cream, a ton of cheddar cheese & onions), baked potatoe with the necessary butter, sour cream & bacon. I garden, I drink wine. I listen to the blues. I read. I weigh 116 pounds. Did you have a bad experience with barbecue? Havd trouble dropping a few pounds? Hmmm. Or simply Judgemental or Jealous? Just asking. And…. it is starting to annoy me. If you don’t like it. Don’t eat it. Barbecue accompaniments may be high in fat or calories. Barbecue is not. Run and insult the idiots who think turkey tastes like bacon!
I’m 5’8″ and weigh 123lbs. I’m also a flight attendant and have eaten countless “meat and a side” with buttery cornbread on countless planes. Your comment is not really relevant to the discussion. Even the best laid healthy eating plans can go away when an air travel is involved.
When flying BA eco longhaul, I always take food and drink. You would starve to death if the dehydration didn’t get you first. Ramsey’s in T5 at LHR does a roaring trade with BA passengers and take outs
Had a flight from JFK to MXP and a group of 12 people boarded all carrying bags of Buffalo Wild Wings with them. They were seated all over economy and as soon as the seat belt signs were off they started walking around the plane distributing napkins and then opening the boxes and sharing so everyone could get a bit of everything. The smell of the sauces and wings impregnated the entire plane. It was the most disgusting thing I ever seen. Plates being passed around, sauces spilling everywhere, etc… After they all ate that stuff the FAs had to come with huge trash bags to take all the trash they had. How classy!!!!
Lol “Buster.” What a fat slob.
Eh, a lot of airplane catered food smells downright foul, especially in coach. I’d much rather sit next to someone eating ribs than someone in the middle seat who ordered the fish dish.
Surprised fast food vendors don’t come up with specific cash and go meals in airline terminals. Something in a box with napkins & utensils on top; next layer is vegetable or side order; and bottom is the main meal. I’d place these special meal vendors in the cheap (Spirit, Allegiant, SW) wing of the airport. To keep the Eco crazies happy, the boxes would be made of recycled paper or old pizza boxes.
As I understand it, only open alcoholic beverages purchased in the terminal bar are prohibited from carry on for in flight consumption.
Yep. If ONLY vendors sold grab n go meals in the terminals and concourse designed to be eaten in the terminals or aircraft! Any airline, at least in the US based upon history, that is charging you for a non-alcoholic drink is likely doing the absolute minimum required by the FAA in all areas to operate. There’s a reason some airline tickets cost more than others. Air Tran and Value Jet NTSB crash investigations back this up.
Well the airlines used to serve a full meal with linen napkins knife and fork and spoon beverages and coffee and there was no need to bring food on board. I blame this on the airlines. The last time I traveled on an airline they wanted $4 for Coke. $4!!! I could have bought a six pack and brought it on the plane with me. If the airlines are going to put food services now in the hands of people then you have to expect this type of result from people. I want to a bar recently and order a bourbon on the rocks. There was no mention of this prior, but when I received the bill the bourbon was $12 as expected and then there was a $2 rocks charge. So this type of behavior by corporations and businesses of charging extra for everything is becoming the norm. I don’t want to pay $15 for a lousy sandwich and $4 for Coke And probably pretty soon they will be asking me if I want a napkin for a dollar. If I can bring some nice tasty ribs on board for the same price of a lousy sandwich why wouldn’t I. So don’t blame the customer, blame the airline. It’s just a way for them to make more profit on your flight.
However, when deregulation happened, low-cost, no-frills airlines could enter the market and charge $300 for a ticket that the airlines serving the food you seem to miss so much were charging $500. The only way for full-service airlines to compete was to follow suit and lower ticket prices, and follow suit with checked baggage charges and eliminating a complementary meal. It’s what the public asked for !! That’s when private jet companies like Net Jet and Delta’s Business Elite private jet service took hold. The reason air travel is available for the middle and even lower to middle class is because of these things. If you still want a meal, the cost of a first class ticket on most domestic flights is in line, cost-wise, with what a coach ticket (with a meal) would cost if deregulation had not happened. Would you be willing to pay $200+ more per flight for full-service? If so, buy an upgrade because that’s still less than what a coach ticket would cost without deregulation.
Well the airlines used to serve a full meal with linen napkins knife and fork and spoon beverages and coffee and there was no need to bring food on board. I blame this on the airlines. The last time I traveled on an airline they wanted $4 for Coke. $4!!! I could have bought a six pack and brought it on the plane with me. If the airlines are going to put food services now in the hands of people then you have to expect this type of result from people. I went to a bar recently and order a bourbon on the rocks. There was no mention of this prior, but when I received the bill the bourbon was $12 as expected and then there was a $2 rocks charge. So this type of behavior by corporations and businesses of charging extra for everything is becoming the norm. I don’t want to pay $15 for a lousy sandwich and $4 for Coke And probably pretty soon they will be asking me if I want a napkin for a dollar. If I can bring some nice tasty ribs on board for the same price of a lousy sandwich why wouldn’t I. So don’t blame the customer, blame the airline. It’s just a way for them to make more profit on your flight.
Swedish surstromming is banned on EU flights