(Source: TikTok video)
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I love that video (and enjoyed the paper) but even the modified Steffen is bullshit. People will inevitably sit in the wrong row (sometimes on purpose, sometimes because they didn’t pay attention what number started that block of seats and can’t tell if “13” in between two rows is the first or second, they looked at the wrong ticket, etc) and it still falls apart for the reason people want to get on a plane sooner than later: Overhead bins are too small for the amount of luggage on a plane and people are monsters who put ALL their bags up there before sitting down.
My understanding is that, in practice, the best model tends to be what Southwest used to do (before everyone figured out how to abuse it). You board by number/group and just sit wherever the fuck you want to. Families group up and as long as you are in teh first half or so you are all but guaranteed your preferred seat type (window/aisle).
Combine that with no large bags (under seat or checked. nothing in between) and you would have a REALLY effective model that all passengers hate.
Tl;dw it’s not just profits
They really need to load back to front, then unload front to back, if it was organized it would go so much better. Like announce when each group can stand and get bags and when each can leave.
Airlines: “Wait, but I thought if you unload front to back you get a UTI”
But how can they sell priority boarding then? Just think for one minute about the poor airline companies! /s
It’s the same everywhere with humans, rushing to be everywhere to save 5 seconds. Which usually ends up in congestion and then it taking longer anyway. Just be patient guys, wait for the people in front of you.
Do not bring tiktok content here too. We had ENOUGH of tiktok.
It’s worse than drinking hydrochloric acid.
Funnily enough, TikTok and the like are probably a huge part of having not much patience, I believe.
Consuming non-stop content that is only a few seconds long can’t be good in the long run. (And yes I sound like an old man yelling at the cloud…)
Don’t do that. Don’t be the dickhead who stands and blocks everyone. You’re not going to move faster, but you will inconvenience everyone around you. It’s so stupid. Just be a normal human and wait your turn patiently so others can get their things. The door out is people-sized, and you’ll not extrude others by a few seconds, so sit the fuck down. It’s not about you.
e: it not about moving off, because that’s not how this works. Just fucking sit and wait like an adult.
I am insanely confused by this comment. So it slows down deboarding for some people to be already standing with their things ready to move forward, and speeds things up for literally everyone to first have to stand and then get their things? Seems like a fraction of the plane being ready when the doors open would inevitably speed things up a little. Sidenote: the real dickheads imo are the ones who get up and then move up to the front of the plane. They are effectively skipping line to get off and it’s such a dick move. I want to strangle people who do that.
But back to the post, what OP and I seem to notice is just how damned slow people are. If I have a window seat and a bag overhead, it still probably takes me under 15 seconds to go from seated to having my bag and moving. I watch people toward the front take FOREVER to do the same thing. Then they have a bunch of kids and that magnifies the issue even more.
The moment the seatbelt sign goes off, a bunch of people always stand in the aisle, even though the exit door won’t open for several minutes and even though several of them are a dozen rows from their belongings.
They can’t deboard yet, and are only making themselves an impediment, so those in forward rows can’t even try to access the bins. In this photo, like on most flights, the majority of people in the forward seats can’t stand, because the aisle is filled with people who can’t deboard yet, likely because the door hasn’t opened yet.
This saves the bargers at best 30 seconds at the expense of everyone else forward in the plane, and it’s very rude.
The problem is obviously that the people moved forward, not that they’re standing… Standing/stretching makes total sense from every angle. It confuses me greatly how many people in the thread are mad that people stand up.
I haaate when people from way back get in line in the aisle-way and it’s not their turn. So because the rest of us are patiently waiting, we get screwed? Quit cutting!
Yes. Learn to queue. It’s not hard, and it’s much more efficient – we all get there faster if you’re not barging
Don’t do that. Don’t be the dickhead who stands and blocks everyone.
Sir/ma’am, this is the internet. We can write long comments but no one is going to listen to us irl.
For what it’s worth, I agree with the sentiment of your post.
Seeing the crowd of people squeeze off the Airplane like a tube of toothpaste only to all congregate around baggage claim is the same energy as passing aggressively on the street only for you to pull up next to them at the redlight.
I used to fly for work a LOT. At one point it was 2x a week for a year.
I have never once had my bags make it to baggage claim before me, even being the last person off the plane.
You couldn’t get away with just doing a carry on? It would have to be a 2+ week trip for me going through the hell of checking a bag.
I’m guessing the work travel involved merchandise they couldn’t put in a carryon, either due to size or other factors.
of course. bottled water salesman.
Or knives.
I’m with you. Shitty ass airlines sometimes will force you to check your bag, and I even recently had them do this when the overhead bins remained half empty. Infuriating!
i used to fly a lot back in the 90s. rarely had to wait for bags, even when taking the cattle car (old swa).
Happened to me at STT. I think they ended up on a dedicated baggage flight or something, because they didn’t come off my plane. Thought they’d been lost and started freaking out, turns out they’d been there for a while already and had been set aside. Wish I’d been on the flight without the layover. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Honestly i just want to stand after a long flight. I do not fit well in the seats, my shoulders are significantly wider than the seats. If I end up in a middle seat I have to roll my shoulders in. If I’m in an aisle or window seat I have to lean away from the other person. Not comfy
This only includes the people with a carry-on though.
This ignores:
- People with only a carry on.
- People with tight connecting flights they need to get to.
When I travel solo, it’s with one shoulder bag I usually just shove under my seat, don’t even need the overhead. I’m instantly ready, but everyone is in my waaaay.
I’ve noticed more and more people taking sooo much stuff with them on board too. Like they think they are pioneers and need a covered wagons worth of provisions to weather the trip from ATL to LAX.
I suppose some of that can be blamed on the airlines for steep baggage fees but holy crap do people try and take way too much junk with them everywhere they go. So they all take 10 min to unpack.
It’s the fucking trolley warriors…they take as much stuff as possible inside the cabin, to avoid checking baggage.
Of course the time they save at the baggage belt, they waste for themselves and everybody else when disembarking the plane.But it’s not just saving time, I want my stuff to make it to my destination too, and too often it doesn’t if you check it.
Or like that one time where I put my shampoo and conditioner in baggies so they wouldn’t spill over my luggage, and TSA took them out to test the liquid, THEN PUT THE DE-LIDDED CONTAINERS BACK IN THE SUITCASE WITHOUT THE BAG.
Wasted all my shampoo and conditioner, and I had to do laundry in the shower on vacation because there wasn’t a washer available.
Did you ask the hotel? If you are nice they might wash it for free
I’ve travelled for work all my life, I’ve flied idk, hundreds of times, my luggage got lost exactly one time, when I got a connection in Switzerland, they left it on the tarmac. Luckily it was my toolbox, not my personal bag.
Another time my luggage lost me, meaning they loaded it on an earlier flight and then cancelled mine, so my luggage got to destination and I didn’t. That was on a flight from Miami to New York.
Blame the airlines for that. Some are still allowing free carry on, but charging $75 for a checked bag. This is entirely a problem created from airline greed.
Vote with your wallet (wherever possible)
Vote with your wallet (wherever possible)
The last large airline to NOT charge for checked bags in the USA, Southwest airlines, has switched to charging for bags.
Oddly the ones that have the best outcome for the deplaning scenario from this bad situation of paid checked bags are the ones that also charge for carry ons like Spirit or Frontier in the USA. So there is an incentive to NOT bring a carry on because you’ll be charged for it and instead just pay to check a bag (which has more capacity).
When did that change occur? I took a flight in July with SW and first bag was still free.
And then they run out of overhead room, so they check your bag for free anyway.
So they miss out on the revenue, slow things down, and add logistical complexity to a process that is already notorious for losing track of critical items.
The other consideration it has is on net luggage weight. Yeah, they’re still checking bags for “free” but they’re smaller and lighter - saving fuel by increasing efficiency. And that’s also a good thing from a pollution point!
They only run out of overhead room because dickbags put a carry-on and their personal item in the bin. Your personal item goes under the seat.
Every time I’ve checked my bags I’ve been called a moron because my bags are going to get lost.
And sadly those people are not wrong, I’ve had my luggage lost twice, and they don’t pay you back for that.
I’ve had my luggage lost twice, and they don’t pay you back for that.
Excuse me?
Most likely, they pay something like $5/lb of lost luggage, which is not nearly enough
I was lucky to eventually get the lost bags instead of a useless payment when my bags were lost
Travel insurance? Regulation? Out of any insurance worth paying for, I think travel insurance is like top of the line. Anything goes wrong while travelling (stolen stuff, lost/delayed baggage/damaged rental car/cancelled flights/etc.) gives me a decent payback. I pay like 120 USD/yr.
Regarding regulations: At least in the EU/EEA we have some decent regulations requiring airlines to reimburse you if they lose or delay your baggage.
Next time I will fly anywhere, I’ll make sure to get that travel insurance, thanks for a hint
Same. But usually I opt to sit at the back. Sometimes I get a seat to myself and if not, one of the rows is reserved for medical and always free, so they let me have that. Then on landing, it’s just a matter of laying back and catching up on my phone as the cattle crams itself into awful positions and just stands there staring at their comfy seats. But if the rear door is open, I’m straight off.
If you can’t be first, you want to be last. This is the golden rule of embarking/disemmbarking an aircraft.
Today you are, wait till you are a little older or sustain a life changing injury. Should there be a class on flying etiquette-absolutely. But capitalism has changed the entire experience of what flying is making it a literal hellhole except for a few people in the front of the plane… Damn I couldn’t get a better description of the USA today now if they only let everyone have firearms after say 4 hours into a flight 😂
it’s with one shoulder bag I usually just shove under my seat,
That isn’t an option for those afflicted with long legs.
I put it under the seat during takeoff/landing, then move it under my legs the rest of the flight. Frees up space for your feet while providing additional support under your legs.
As long as you aren’t packing that bag to the seams, consider just sliding your feet under the bag.
I tend to be a “1.5 bagger” in that I have a small duffel/backpack in the overhead and my backpack/messenger bag for inflight stuff. And the latter gives me easy access to my steam deck or my kobo but is also more than small enough I can just slide my legs under and get a significant amount of legroom. ALSO has the benefit of making me lean back in my seat which means I don’t care if the person in front of me “reclines”
A buddy of mine is 6’5" and he is just in hell no matter what. Like, anything short of one of the enhanced legroom rows is gonna suck whether he has a bag under the seat or not.
You have the long stride advantage so it evens out
taps head
I would simply have a comically short torso
I flew back from Mexico to Seattle on Friday of last week. Somehow managed to stand up with my bag and walk directly to the front of the plane before any other joker even finished shuffling their asses in their seats. I was able to get to baggage before the conveyor started…
and for all my good luck, I was dealt a cock-slap to the cock: they forgot my luggage in the crew luggage bin on the plane since it was on the heavy side. I waited over an hour for my luggage. They ended up just sending it to my home the next day.
FML.
Listen, I’ve had to lift and carry 6ft2 elderly into and out of their seat and then the airplane specific wheelchair needed to have clearance to board the plane. It takes a minute. Not everybody is you, some people need help and others need a little extra time. Calm the fuck down.
Could you please calm down?
“wheelchair” it’s a torture trolley.
We always used to just sit until everyone else was off the plane except crew of course, since it took that long to get my husband’s power wheelchair from the baggage compartment to the gate anyway. Then I’d check they hadn’t damaged it too much to drive, and lift him into it from the torture trolley. Or into the manual chair if they really had broken the electric one. Otherwise it was good for schlepping stuff.
God, these days we don’t even try, it’s gotten less and less accessible because airlines are exempt from the ADA.
You aren’t in traffic. You are traffic.
Just stop flying altogether, we’re in the middle of a worsening climate crisis. We can’t afford ourselves to fly anymore.
Indeed
https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/life-after-oil/2016/02/11/how-far-can-we-get-without-flying
Hour for hour, there’s no better way to warm the planet than to fly in a plane.
I’ll probably catch shit for this, but I’m going to say it anyway: the normalization of casual air travel was a mistake. I think there is a time and place for it, but it isn’t something that should be done lightly.
That’s why I fly business only. If I can’t afford for business class I don’t fly, simple as that.
Friendly reminder that if we all fly more than 6 times in our lives, our planet is fucked and cannot be recovered
Yep, another reason why I don’t fly unless it is really needed (maybe once every 5 years, even less than that).
Being in Europe is an advantage as we can travel by train and don’t have to go far away to feels like holidays (between France, Italy and Switzerland you have an extensive train network and tons of things do discover. This can easily be extended to other country)
To all the people telling OP they’re wrong, you don’t fly enough. The issue isn’t evenly distributed. It’s not like cars in traffic or whatever.
Airlines put the expensive seats in the front. The people who can afford them are usually much older, either traveling retirees or very late career white collar workers who have significant status. They’re the first ones holding up everyone because they take forever to find all the assorted shit (personal item, oversized roller bag, neck pillow, laptop they stuck somewhere weird, ipad, lost earbud, etc) they’ve stuck all over the place, which the gate agent/FAs wouldn’t admonish them for because of their aforementioned status. But they’re first class, so the peasants behind them can wait in the bread line.
After they get off (on watching you glare), depending on airline, it’s the faction of people who are old and not rich, or don’t fly often and aren’t used to all the ritual. They’ll have placed their bag in an overhead that’s 12 rows behind them and demand everyone stop and crowd surf it up or else they’ll just sit there blocking the line.
After them come the young vacation families, you know, the ones who had the screaming baby for the last 6 hours. They couldn’t be bothered to pay for seat selection to save money so one parent is with one kid three rows ahead but needs to coral the kids behind them because the other parent was playing on a Nintendo switch for the whole flight and didn’t try to organize all the kids toys, now lost to entropy, and so the marital spat and bawling (louder now) children begin.
Then there’s you. You fly a lot so you have nothing more than two pairs of underwear and a toothbrush, all safely hidden from the TSA in your prison wallet and ready to go without so much as a nanosecond of notice, along with your phone and airpods to combat the screaming child in front of you. You got 31B, way in the back, after trying to game united’s seat assignment system by checking in only after all but the exit row seats were taken, but someone missed their flight and here you are.
Generally the legacy airlines will have the most old people, but the vast majority of people on them are very used to flying, because they know better than to book a budget airline. It’ll be slow yet ordered.
The budget airlines like united and frontier will be the opposite, lots of young spry 20 somethings, but lots of vacation families that couldn’t afford Delta… I won’t sugar coat it, it’s gonna be a shit storm. The FAs have been contractually required to keep everyone at the very edge of their sanity through the enforcement of a variety of draconian company policies, so things are primed for chaos. Lots of shoving and yelling. Everyone’s reviewing the Wikipedia “list of crimes of passion” to see if this qualifies.
Then there’s spirit. Half the people on the flight will be coming down off of something they got on the dark web by the time you arrive at the gate. You’ve already seen at least a liter of blood spilled from various fist fights. Everyone was already up and crushing each other in the aisle long before the captain even briefed the approach. The FAs have already locked themselves in the lavs by now and the captain (an FFO) has barricaded the flight deck door with charts and duct tape and is aiming his questionably modded P320 at he door. Welcome to the new season of Hunger Games - Spam Can. You’re on your own, good luck and good hunting.
Where’s Chapter 2? 🤓
this is accurate except for the bit about United - who the fuck flies United? don’t people know that they break guitars?
you should write a book
May the odds ever be in your favour!
that was beautiful
One other thing is that the people should allow other people who are already ready to walk out pass them before standing and taking out their carry-on. Most times I’ve seen all passanger wait for each row taking out their carry-ons sequentially instead of 10 taking them out at the same time. If everyone would be me with a carry-on it’d take around 5-10m since I only take the aisle when I’m ready to leave and/or there is another person taking out their carry-on in front or behind me.
So the correct way to do it is for people like you to skip the line? People who get up and move forward make me want to go postal. They exude “fuck everyone” energy and they think the fact that I stayed seated a few extra seconds is their invitation to skip line. Fuck that.
What fucking line? What are you queueing for? Is there a Bruno Mars concert at the other end of the jetway or something?
If I’m ready to get off the plane and there’s room for me to leave me seat, I’m getting off the plane. I’m not waiting to consult with you to make sure it’s “my turn” to enter the fucking airport.
So you’re one of the selfish dickheads. Cool.
The selfish dickheads are the ones who get their panties in a wad when people get off the plane before them
You undoubtedly also skip lines at counters because you’re special
Waiting in line to purchase something is entirely different from exiting a plane and I’m disappointed that I have to point that out to you.
It’s not skipping the line, it’s waiting longer until there’s a time where you don’t hold it up and allow others to pass.
I am so confused by this thread and this comment might take the cake. It just feels like we’re all speaking different languages and none of them have anything to do with the original post. People are slow was the point. But the whole thread is people changing the subject in ways that make me say “… what ?”. Did I accidentally ingest hard drugs this morning or what?
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I just don’t (entirely) agree about vacation families. Just like the airlines made their bad with paid checked luggage causing more cabin luggage, they did the same with paid seating. Most families wouldn’t care where they sit - so long as they’re together.
I male sure we always sit together, but for some, additional 200-500 USD/EUR for the whole trip is significant and may account for a good portion of the holiday budget.
Now one may say that then they shouldn’t fly, but why? Again - airlines made this problem.
Why stress yourself like that? 😆
Just wait in your seat a few minutes longer, you even have an internet connection now. And the best part is, you then don’t have to walk together with that crowd, and then your baggage is probably also already on the belt when you’re there to pick it up.
Take it from somebody who flies a lot:
Theorycrafting about the best way to load/unload a plane is pointless.
Bring water in a sealable bottle on your plane. Bring some headphones and make sure they are charged. Make sure if halfway through the flight you even feel a little like you need to pee, do it in flight.
When the plane lands keep your headphones popped in, and chill out until you’re off the plane.
The main reason I like a window seat is because it means I don’t have anyone freaking out beside me that I haven’t stood up as soon as the plane stops rolling. I’m just gonna sit here and read thanks.
No, you wouldn’t. You’re not special. Chill.
I flew to an industry event on a Southwest flight full of many people roughly my age, who worked my job, or related jobs. Deplaning was extremely fast once the door opened.
Maybe part of that is everyone being able bodied, and traveling without children, but I also didn’t see anyone that waited to get their items in order until the last minute, anyone that had to travel towards the back of the plane to get their carry on, or anyone who halfway entered the aisle, blocking it just enough that people couldn’t move past - which are all things I have seen on most other flights I’ve taken.
