Airline passenger news and views

You are right Catriona. There are women who are just their own worst enemies. I too heard the Jeremy Vine broadcast and was disgusted by the extreme attitude of the so called columnist from the Guardian who seemed to hate all men.

This is really sad but it does happen. I still open doors for people, not because they are invalids, weak minded or women but because that was how I was brought up. I also say thank you when someone does it for me.

OK, I probably grew up after the women's lib revolution but I am not unconscious of how to behave. If I am with my parents and one of their female friends comes in, I would probably stand up or at least shuffle in the appropriate manner.

I do not think that I would do it to a young women nor do I think it would be expected but there is nothing wrong with a bit of old fashion courtesy.

Almost separate from that, opening doors and helping reach things on high supermarket shelves etc is just common decency between human beings.

I too have been brought up to open doors and offer help to people. I would be shocked and embarrassed if this happened to me on a plane.

This is simply a case of someone with a bad attitude; luckily I have not come across too many people like this in my travels.

Unfortunately it appears that more and more people think that if you offer them help you must have an ulterior motive. When I recently travelled back from Spain a little girl sitting next to me looked bored and was getting restless. I offered her my 7 year old daughters pen and colouring book only to be told very rudely by her Mother that she did not want them, I thought I was doing a good deed!

Yes, there seems to be a problem doesn't there? My husband tried to help a 'struggling' lady with her over filled suitcase at an airport recently down some stairs, and he got his head bitten off, somehow it appeared that he was not being helpful, more suggesting that she was incapable. I am always happy for anyone to carry my bags!!

Has plain old respect just gone out the window? I think most women would appreciate a man helping them on an aircraft, lifting hand luggage and helping to pull those suitcases on wheels along those very difficult narrow aisles, I think boys along with girls should still be bought up to respect others, be it male or female, open doors, help older members of the public etc....our society will fail otherwise, and unfortunately it already is, we need to do more as parents to instil good values.

Oh dear, how awful it must be being a man these days. I am sorry that some women feel the need to behave in this way. It could be that they are trying to make a point about social equality but i suspect that many of them are just plain rude.

It appears that once again society has gone mad. Common courtesy costs nothing, but unfotunatley it seems that if it is offered then quite often it is thrown back in your face and if not offered then people complain!

As a middle aged women I would be more that grateful if somebody, whether it be a male of female, offered me help if needed it. I travelled with Ryan Air last year and unfortunately by the time we baorded the plane there were no seats together for myself and my daughter. However a man saw the distrees that my daughter was in and kindly offered to move seats, so we must not tar all people with the same brush!

I have never had my courtesy declined while on a flight, train etc, I do not believe this is a sign of the times. I think this is just plain damn rudeness here, she obviously has a chip on her shoulder.

I actually have a relative who hates being 'helped' by men simply because she is a woman. She is not overtly women's lib nor the campaigning type. She just feels that equality of ambition and opportunity means equality of responsibility. She and I have discussed this and she knows that I think her views are odd but she defends them and there it stands.

I do not think she would ever be gratuitously rude but, as they say, the world is made up of lots of different opinions.

I am really pleased to report, on a South-Eastern commuter train yesterday, I gave up my seat to an elderly man with a walking stick. OK, I had to stand for the rest of the journey but I felt pretty pleased with myself.

I saw him get on at London Bridge, got up and offered him the seat. No fuss, no problems, he said thank you and I felt good.

Would I do it again, too right I would. I got quite a buzz out of it.

I take great pleasure in helping anybody and its a shame that not everybody else finds it easy to give or easy to accept help, it certainly makes me a better person.

I once offered my seat to a lady who I presumed was pregnant, unfortunately for me she wasn't and she also wasn't best pleased, that I had thought her to be pregnant, so never again!

I am not sure if this is still topical but I saw another example of this at Gatwick a couple of weekends.

There is a lift that goes up to the airport executive lounges and a man and a woman approached from different directions. I was behind the pair of them when the lift arrived and the man stood back, put his hand into the door space and ushered the woman into the lift. It was a very simple and natural gesture.

She turned to him and said "what are you then, the lift operator?"

Absolutely bizarre. I wondered if it was a set up job but I just think she was a very rude woman with a bad problem.

I agree with Bill, I have never declined anybodys offer of help before because that would be deemed as rude and it is not the way I have been brought up.