The original story line of this episode saw Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) sitting next to a guy who died on the plane. It was based on a real life experience of producer Joan Van Horn. The story was thought to be too dark so was replaced with the story line that went to air.
This was one of actor Larry Charles's (who had an uncredited role as the stinky man exiting the plane's washroom) 4 appearances on Seinfeld. He is best known as a staff writer for Seinfeld for its first 5 seasons, contributing some of the show's darkest and most absurd story-lines.
George's line, "But ya are, Blanche. Ya are in shackles," refers to the 1962 film "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," where Bette Davis' character says to Joan Crawford's, "But ya are, Blanche. Ya are in a wheelchair."
Although Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are flying a fictional airline, the plane exteriors shown in the episode belong to Southwest Airlines' planes.