Inappropriately Woken on Overnight MH flight

[MEL_Traveller]

The red eye SQ221 SIN-SYD only has one F&B service 2hrs after takeoff with nothing prearrival.

Strange! The menu currently shows dinner and continental breakfast, which has been my experience. I wonder if you got a flight where the crew went off script?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Had this happen when we were flying with our then 4yr old on similar timed flight...Lights all suddenly turned on for the breakfast service about 3hrs before landing, equivalent to being woken up at 3am Sydney time..Poor kid made good use of the sick bag.

 

[wenglock.mok]

Strange! The menu currently shows dinner and continental breakfast, which has been my experience. I wonder if you got a flight where the crew went off script?

They only recently reverted back to serving a Continental Breakfast before arrival (I believe 01 June was the cutover date). Previously, they were on a reduced "COVID-era" service of dinner only for SQ221.

 

[Quickstatus]

No it was an advertised dinner only
I think a breakfast would not have gone astray but I think a significant number would have slept through /or preferred to sleep through.

(Flight 27May)



And over the next page:

 

[Mattg]

This would really annoy me.

Out of interest @Pushka, when you were asked what you wanted for breakfast, did you request not to be woken up if still sleeping? I often do this on overnight flights. (I'm not saying you should have to do this or that it's your fault the crew woke you up like that.)

 

[Quickstatus]

So we can safely assume that at least it is not a regular occurrence.

What to do to prevent it when inflight?

Do not disturb sign if there is one
Tell the CC
Anything else?

 

[Flyfrequently]

Just didn’t like the shaking bit.

Agree entirely @Pushka, also lucky CC didn't get a physical response back, often can happen when one is woken unexpectedly.
Perhaps a letter to MH asking their protocol for sleeping pax and register your uncomfortable experience?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

No it was an advertised dinner only
I think a breakfast would not have gone astray but I think a significant number would have slept through /or preferred to sleep through.

(Flight 27May)



And over the next page:

Urrgh covid excuse.

Seems to have been restored now on the future menus loaded for that flight… continental b/fast.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Agree entirely @Pushka, also lucky CC didn't get a physical response back, often can happen when one is woken unexpectedly.
Perhaps a letter to MH asking their protocol for sleeping pax and register your uncomfortable experience?

I read lots of comments on US-centric boards that say if they were woken by another passenger or crew because they were snoring they’d have a violent reaction and couldn’t be held accountable for causing injury.

If one of their children woke them up would they really have a violent reaction hitting the child?

Is it really a thing to have a physical reaction?

 

[Quickstatus]

Is it really a thing to have a physical reaction?

I've seen patients waking up from an anaesthetic very agitated, delirious, pulling out the drips and tubes, wrecking their dressings, and occasionally fighting and punching the nurses - especially the younger blokes.

Takes a while for them to realise.

 

[Pushka]

This would really annoy me.

Out of interest @Pushka, when you were asked what you wanted for breakfast, did you request not to be woken up if still sleeping? I often do this on overnight flights. (I'm not saying you should have to do this or that it's your fault the crew woke you up like that.)

This is how it rolled out. It was a 7 hour flight departing at 10.20 pm but left late at 11pm. Found out when given the menu that there was no dinner, the only meal being breakfast which was to be handed out two hours prior to arrival. So in five hours time. There were snacks available but not until much later in the flight. So after take off I decided just to go to sleep. I wasn't expecting to have orders taken for breakfast then, it was hardly a big deal meal and In five hours time. So I was fully lie flat. Bandana over eyes. Facing the window. Blanket on and bed pad on, seat belt over blanket as instructed. About an hour out I was woken the first time to ask what I wanted for breakfast. Not in the mood after being shaken awake so soon I said just coffee and yoghurt. Which I would have needed by that time. So stayed asleep until around 4.30am and was shaken awake again. So 30 minutes early. And was told sorry no hot drinks, seat belt sign is on. So got a tub of yoghurt and croissant, no spread and water. Wonderful. I am coming to believe that MAS use the seat belt sign as a convenience to not serve hot drinks. It happened on the way out too - there was absolutely no turbulence.

I should have said I didn't want breakfast, but then figured I'd need a drink and something to eat because of it being difficult to get something to eat for quite some time after with immigration etc to deal with and not having eaten anything since about 7pm pre flight.

So breakfast was served to all within about 30 minutes, then they turned off all the cabin lights again for the next two hours! The crew then had their own breakfast, about an hour before landing. Which would have been nice.

So what peeved me? I think it was the first shake wake up about an hour after departure. It was unnecessary. The cabin was only half full so catering shouldn't haven't been an issue. And it was most certainly completely unexpected. I was clearly asleep. They weren't serving dinner. The second thing that peeved me? Waking everyone early. Not serving a hot drink. Then turning the cabin lights off again two hours prior.

As far as being woken up suddenly, I think it's a matter of circumstances. If at home and there is a child, you expect to be woken so are subconsciously prepared for it. As @Quickstatus mentioned, there are also medical circumstances with other factors at play. I wouldn't awake with aggression as such, but certainly confusion and if it occurs at a rem stage of sleep then my reactions would be different than if it was at a lighter stage. In any event I was a bit confused and surprised. Not angry. Just befuddled.

I was on a train after a cruise and my alarm went off on my iPhone. The guy in front of me was obviously sound asleep. At the sound of my alarm I have never seen anyone jump out of their seat so violently. It was only 6pm but he had been clearly deeply asleep and very disturbed.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Medical circumstances aside which are perhaps slightly unique… I can understand someone being startled. But the vitriol on some US bulletin boards is that the ‘macho men’ would lash out violently and ‘can’t be held responsible’ for punching another passenger if they are disturbed.

Maybe it’s a US thing. And maybe posted by the folk who post in the Fox News comments section

 

[Pushka]

Medical circumstances aside which are perhaps slightly unique… I can understand someone being startled. But the vitriol on some US bulletin boards is that the ‘macho men’ would lash out violently and ‘can’t be held responsible’ for punching another passenger if they are disturbed.

Maybe it’s a US thing. And maybe posted by the folk who post in the Fox News comments section

I can understand, the way the guy on the train reacted, that there might be collateral damage as he lashed out and could have accidentally hit someone who might have been standing over him to wake him. But a deliberate punch at someone seems to have more behind it than the startle reflex.

 

[Quickstatus]

But a deliberate punch at someone seems to have more behind it than the startle reflex.

Oh punches /lashing out do get thrown by mostly young blokes waking up from an anaesthetic. It's not deliberate but a consequence of being disturbed when (as alluded to above) the brain is not back in gear.

Some young blokes perhaps are never in gear in the first place and something like this may cause them to be in the wrong gear - maybe that's what the USA comment was about. (I single out young blokes because invariably we observe it in them rather than the young ladies)

@Pushka, no dinner on a 7 hr?. That's worse than my SQ 7 hr with no breakfast. Was it a post covid residue? Oh dear, the service is really deteriorated.
.....

And I thought it was all about feeding the chooks and turning the lights out

 

[Quickstatus]

coming to believe that MAS use the seat belt sign as a convenience to not serve hot drinks. It happened on the way out too - there was absolutely no turbulence.

We had turbulence on the 221 SIN-SYD
The SB sign went on with the usual "return to your seats....". However the captain also said "cabin crew be very cautious" as the F&B service just started. I don't know whether the flight deck can estimate degree of turbulence whereas the SB sign is an all or nothing

 

[Pushka]

We had turbulence on the 221 SIN-SYD
The SB sign went on with the usual "return to your seats....". However the captain also said "cabin crew be very cautious" as the F&B service just started. I don't know whether the flight deck can estimate degree of turbulence whereas the SB sign is an all or nothing

That's the thing. When the seat belt sign was on we were free to use the toilets! Just as well as it was on for two thirds of a 7 hour flight! . I went at least twice when it was on. It was just hot drinks that was prevented.

Post automatically merged: Jun 3, 2023

Oh punches /lashing out do get thrown by mostly young blokes waking up from an anaesthetic. It's not deliberate but a consequence of being disturbed when (as alluded to above) the brain is not back in gear.

Some young blokes perhaps are never in gear in the first place and something like this may cause them to be in the wrong gear - maybe that's what the USA comment was about. (I single out young blokes because invariably we observe it in them rather than the young ladies)

@Pushka, no dinner on a 7 hr?. That's worse than my SQ 7 hr with no breakfast. Was it a post covid residue? Oh dear, the service is really deteriorated.
.....

And I thought it was all about feeding the chooks and turning the lights out

Correct. No dinner. Snacks - sangers - could be asked for later. The only meal was breakfast.

 

[muppet]

I read lots of comments on US-centric boards that say if they were woken by another passenger or crew because they were snoring they’d have a violent reaction and couldn’t be held accountable for causing injury.

…

Depends on how you are woken i would think … aggressively shaking or poking someone awake … well that’s on you if you cop a reaction. Softly trying to rouse someone, different story.

 

[muppet]

….

Is this shaking by crew members to clearly sleeping passengers, for non essential purposes, and over two hours before arrival, ok? …

No it’s not.

I’m pretty sure as a society people are now well aware not to touch other people unless absolutely necessary.

 

[drron]

Of course it's not OK. Definitely no MH for us.

As to the touch it depends on the situation. I had no problem when the JAL FA tucked me into bed flying LAX-NRT. I was lying down with my eyes closed. I made sure I didn't open them for a while.

 

[jase05]

Of course it's not OK. Definitely no MH for us.

We have flown on MH in J to/from Australia dozens of times and this has never happened to either of us so I’m not sure it’s a “MH thing”