[devinmrn]

It's interesting how the expectation of privacy varies from person to person!

Since members of the general public are in close proximity I generally wouldn't consider an airplane cabin a place where I could have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

In places that are intentionally restricted from view by others, like my own home, a hotel room, etc. I'd have an expectation of privacy.

[CydeWeys]

People by and large keep to themselves on airplanes. If someone was recording you with their cell phone for the duration of the flight, I promise you, you wouldn't like it. The resultant footage wouldn't particularly be any different than if it was recorded by the seatback in front of you, though.

If I'm going to, say, a concert, or especially a taping of a TV show, I have a much higher expectation of ending up in some video footage. But people often sleep on planes. They're not expecting to be recorded.

[devinmrn]

I wouldn't like it and if I noticed I'd politely ask them to stop. However, (and I'm not a lawyer) I don't think it'd be illegal or even unethical. If someone was recording me napping on a plane I'd treat it the same way as if I was napping under a tree in a national park. It would be a non issue for me.

Privacy is something I control by not exposing sensitive information in areas where recording is a possibility.

I already take precautions when flying by not working on my laptop or having sensitive conversations with family or coworkers.

I generally don't consider information on where my gaze is looking, facial expressions, or if I'm awake or asleep sensitive information unless I'm in a private space like my home, a hotel room, or a bathroom.

[filmgirlcw]

You're not supposed to use your camera in customs areas in airports. Some airlines get really weird about people even taking photos on the plane (though that has relaxed a lot), so it might not be against FAA rules, but I think someone purposefully recording a sleeping person would still be frowned upon and would be one of those activities that could get a plane turned around if the passenger didn't desist when asked or delete the footage.

But aside from that, I'd posit that it's actually a very different thing to have a random passenger recording you (which is still gross) and the airline (which may be owned and operated by a foreign government, which is the case for most of the airlines in the Middle East and some in Asia), which has your name, your passport number, your birthdate, your address, and other very sensitive and identifying information on file.

One is creepy and uncool. The other could be flat-out surveillance. Especially since when you travel, the government data you give to the airlines isn't negotiable (meaning unless I'm flying domestic, I can't use a fake ID and name to travel (and even that would be against the law), I have to use my passport, my full name, my address, etc.

[CydeWeys]

Pretty sure someone could experience serious ramifications if they persisted recording you after being asked to stop. They might even be met by police at the destination and banned for life if they refused the commands from flight attendants after their inevitable involvement.

[devinmrn]

Flight attendants do seem to have a lot of discretion when it comes to instructing passengers and I know that failing to follow safety related instructions can lead to bans or police involvement.

I'm not sure if they'd be able to extend that to someone recording me although it likely varies by country. I think British law considers continued recording a form of harassment where the same protections don't exist in America.

If I was really really bothered by it for some reason I might raise it once. The cabin crew has the safety of the flight and other responsibilities to be concerned with.

[JohnFen]

> Privacy is something I control by not exposing sensitive information in areas where recording is a possibility.

The problem is that this attitude will ultimately mean that the only place where you might have any chance of privacy is in your own home. And even there, privacy is getting more and more rare.

[mnm1]

Where else do you have privacy in America? Can't think of a single other location other than one one's own property.

[filmgirlcw]

Sure -- but that also depends on your class of cabin, your flight length, all kinds of things.

I fly a lot for work (I'm already at 67k miles flown for 2019 -- that's actual miles not airline miles (so that 67k is lower than my status miles)) and for anything over 6 hours or so, I fly business (unless I get an upgrade on a short-haul) and have had 6 flights over 10 hours this year, where I tend to have a lay flat bed and attempt to sleep. So I DO sleep on flights. Quite a bit (my flight to/from Australia was great, largely because I slept 9 of the 14 hours the first leg and 7 of the 13 hours the second).

I'd be just as freaked out if someone was recording me sleeping on an airplane in a ticket I paid $10k for as if I was when a hotel employee knocked once and then barged into my room in Sao Paulo back in December while I was changing into my pajamas. (And I was plenty mad at the WTC Sheraton for that!)

[devinmrn]

If the $10k tickets provide a private area separated from the other passengers with a partition that prevents observation then I'd expect privacy from being recorded. Likewise in a hotel room, it's a solitary space separate from others and I'd expect privacy from being recorded or observed by employees entering my room. I'd share your same outrage!

However my experience stems from two long haul flights in economy and a handful of domestic flights in the same class. If someone was recording me while I was sleeping there I'd treat it the same as if I was napping under a tree in a national park. I wouldn't be concerned.

If there aren't measures in place to prevent other members of the public from observing then I expect recording is a possibility.

[filmgirlcw]

With respect -- a long haul flight in economy (or even premium economy) and a long haul in business class (not to mention first class on airlines that offer that) are VERY different experiences.

In many business class seats, they are designed so that you cannot even see the person adjacent to you unless you specifically put your head out of the curved herringbone shell -- and that's when you're sitting. If you're laying flat, your head is completely obscured by the seat.

Delta and Qatar have doors on some of their business class seats.

People walking through the cabin can observe people sleeping, of course -- but these products are literally designed for sleeping and privacy. It's one of the reasons they charge such a premium for those tickets.

[xfitm3]

The substantiating factor for me has two dimensions: scale and intent.