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Comment by ghaff | Hacker News Reader

I wonder when those stopped being commonly stuck in seatback pockets. They used to be pretty much as universal as the safety card. I don't know the last time that I've seen one. (I'm sure flight attendants have a stash but they're not automatically at the seat any longer as far as I can tell.)

Wonder if I still have any in my travel memorabilia I have going back many decades.

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I remember the bags. What I don't remember is hearing the sound of anyone using them, and I have crossed the Atlantic at least 50 times. And I would also say the flights have gotten quite a lot smoother since the DC-3 I flew on in the 70ies.

You'd be hard pressed to hear anything on a plane if it weren't happening right next to you. The background noise is very loud.

I once spent a transatlantic flight behind a poor lady who barfed every 5 to 10 minutes for 10 hours straight. Probably something she ate. Hope she’s alright.

Domestically, Jet blue still packs them. I think they’re better at avoiding turbulence these days.

I'm sure the reduced turbulence is a big reason. Both aircraft design and better information to avoid areas of turbulence. I just should know the timeframe and just never noticed. (Presumably some point between the 60s and 80s/90s.)

I believe it’s been within the past 20 years, likely as a result of the improved navigation and weather systems, rather than purely improvements to planes.

Source: have flown on older retrofitted planes without barf bags.

Hmm, I just flew American Airlines last weekend in a 737 and there was a barf bag in the seat. I've always found them when I looked.

As someone who gets sick often on flights, I'd like to know the same.

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