u/paloaltonightwalker

OK, not the same man... but it's always a guy.

About half of my flights are FC, and when they are, this man is seemingly always sitting next to me:

Immediately takes laptop out when he sits. Ignores first FA instruction to stow it. On the second or third FA comment, he pretends to put it away, and then immediately takes it out again when FAs are out of view. Oftentimes, the FAs see it and ignore it after instructing him multiple times. He's typing away during takeoff.

The laptop bothers me less than the entitlement and noncompliance with crew instructions.

Why have these rules if there are no consequences for noncompliance? Passengers who don't follow instructions would be unsafe during an emergency. Threaten to suspend their ability to fly Delta if they disregard direction from the crew. Let's put some enforcement teeth back into safety regulations. Otherwise they are meaningless.

I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding basic armrest etiquette.

I had this happen recently: Middle seat passenger puts armrest up. They are a petite person but keep intruding in my space. I ask that that we put the armrest down. She tells me that both armrests belong to the middle passenger and she wants them up.

My understanding is that the middle passenger is the one who can put their arms on both armrests... but the decision as to whether the armrest is in the up or down position would need to be a mutual decision between both passengers. Am I wrong? Any thoughts?