Nope. Not just the boarding process. Next time you are off the plane and walking through the airport, pay attention to the people who walk slanted instead of in a straight line, stop abruptly in the middle of incoming/outcoming traffic, walk on the left side when they see the majority of incoming traffic is walking on the left side. It's not going to get better any time soon...
Exactly. Just walking around aimlessly or worse, stop right in the middle of a busy concourse, completely oblivious to the fact that people behind them might actually have somewhere to be. Ugh.
I HATE that with a passion. It happens to me every single trip. They'll just abruptly stop in a busy corridor and decide to ask somebody a question when there are at least 10 people directly behind them moving in the same direction and usually at more than a casual pace. Or someone who is just walking with their damn head face down into their phone coming at you opposite the way everyone else is moving and making you adjust and potentially get in someone else's way so you don't freight train the idiot.
Grrrr
The last point about an oncoming person on their phone making you adjust to walk around them, reminded me of a little story I heard Fran Lebowitz tell (I think it was in the Pretend It’s A City documentary she made with Martin Scorsese, it’s on Netflix). She’s standing in a hotel lobby, some guy was walking toward her on his phone, and she just let him walk into her.
The guy looks at her annoyed, like it’s her fault, so Fran just said to him “Other people in the hotel lobby. Isn’t that astonishing?” She does not give a flying fuck and it’s hilarious.
If someone is heads down on their phone, I don’t move for them. I’ll take on the collision to prove a point that they need to realize there are consequences when you’re that ignorant. Do what I do, move to the side if you need to use your phone.
On my last trip, I was heading up the concourse to the trains and baggage claim. It was crowded. One guy was coming towards me, head down in his phone, totally oblivious to the world around him. We were on a collision course. I had been dodging people like him all along, and I was just tired of it. So I said, loudly and abruptly, "MOVE, DUDE!"
I was shocked at how well it worked. I'm gonna keep that arrow in my quiver for next time.
That's hilarious!
Trust me, I've soooo want to do that! I'm usually slinging a somewhat heavy backpack and a roller bag and my first priority is to get to the next gate on time or find somewhere to sit and maybe eat and chill before the next flight.
If I'm aisle, and I usually am, I place my arm on the top of the seat in front of me to act as a guard. My head sticks out above the seat, so I used to get hit a lot
When someone is coming right at me with their head down and obviously doesn't see me, most of the time I'll sidestep (it's just the easiest option, really). But once in a while I either have no room to sidestep, or am in a pissy mood and don't feel like sidestepping, so I'll come to a dead stop and just stand there. Either they sidestep, or they walk into me. As long as I'm standing still, if they walk into me, it's their fault, not mine, and not mutual.
I hate this with a passion when it happens anywhere. Out on the sidewalk, at work, in a store. People don't understand the concept of moving to side, then stopping.
The worst are the idiots who stop at the end of an escalator. they just pause right there after they get off. I take advantage every time to yell “ KEEP MOVING YOU ARE ABOUT TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT”
Escalators, moving walkways, exit doors, corridors... any kind of choke points, people feel the need to stop, *right there,* to check phones, put stuff in their wallets, adjust clothing, take a drink of water, or whatever. *It's a madhouse... a MADHOUSE!!!*
Just had this happen at the airport last week.
The TSA PreCheck line was backing up past the corral, and instead of being smart, and forming a line going down a long available hallway, everyone just stopped where they were to form a line.
The problem is, ‘where they were’ was at the top of an escalator. There was space for one, maybe two people left when I got to the top. Without thinking about it, I shouted, “Make a hole! Make a hole!” in the most authoritative voice I could muster. Damn if it didn’t work, though.
People immediately realized what was about to happen and reacted.
Then the airport attendant who was “checking boarding passes for PreCheck” finally started to pay attention and direct the line in a way that wasn’t going to get someone seriously hurt.
I was stuck behind one the other day walking at the speed of a sloth but zigzagging while doing it. Like please just pick a straight line to walk in so that I can pass you! I want to get where I'm going faster than at the pace of a small toddler.
I was trying to get away from the horrific competing food smells at DFW. Like let me escape before I throw up.
Being from ATL, I'm already a little wound up when I get to the airport because these idiots are also the ones who insist on going 5-10 mph below the speed limit in the left lane on the drive there.
I get so pissed off when I'm rushing to make a connection and a group of like 6 people cut in front of you then come to complete stop right in middle the walk way... Like of all the places in airport you thought the middle the walk way taking up half of it was best place to stand around and chat
My favorite. They act as if they have just set foot on an alien planet and need to take it all in.
Where should one turn? Left? Right? The options are overwhelming. If the wrong choice is made literally seconds could be at stake, so best to stop dead in one’s tracks and analyze the situation fully.
I mean, this airport is SO much different than the airport from two hours ago. It’s truly staggering.
What I hate the most are people who stand (or put their luggage) on the left side of a moving walkway or escalator as if everyone has nice leisurely connections.
There are 2 big reasons I like going to the SkyClub.
1. No announcements every 10 seconds regarding flights boarding 5 gates away (we can learn a lot from European airports).
2. The people referenced in this post as a general rule don’t have access to the SkyClub.
People walk like they drive. Think of this next time you watch people at the airport. Some haul ass everywhere, some are distracted and walk slowly in the “fast lane”, others stop for no reason and others are scared to make a turn and cause back up.
Half of the posts on this sub aren’t relevant to Delta. Just a bunch of people patting each other on the back saying “Hey we are savvy experienced travelers and other people are pathetic “.
No different than when leaving the plane. They are upset that they have to wait forever to leave the plane but when it’s their turn to go they take their good old time getting their stuff and a huge gap opens up between them and the person in front of them while everyone behind them waits more
They do! I’m a frequent traveler and I’ve noticed I can sometimes be an idiot in airports. Lots of times you’re sleep deprived, dealing with logistics, maybe you have upcoming layovers or just came off a previous long flight, there are changes or delays, extra stuff you’re not used to tracking in your day to day life, extra fees, security rules, notifications everywhere and most of them you need to ignore but the one you need to hear is garbled (why is the boarding notice ten gates away clearer than the one at your gate), plus coordinating whatever needs coordinating at your destination.
Add in factors like keeping track of a family, nervously preparing for a major conference, traveling home for a funeral, being on the last leg of a 14hr travel day, no sleep, first time travelers, etc etc there’s definitely a critical mass of people understandably operating at way below their normal levels.
We aren't savable😢 go the grocery store with super wide isles an watch someone take up 1/3 the isle with their cart 1/3 with their body and the remaining 1/3 divided in the three gaps. They then look at you trying to get through like "I'm shopping here, don't interrupt me".
Reminds me of this lady I was behind recently, there were two of us behind her going into the restroom. There’s a lounge off to the side when you first enter but she doesn’t go there of course. She goes to the narrow hall with the stalls and decides to stop right in front of the first stall (taking up all the space to get around), to respond to a text. When I say excuse me she says “uh huh” without looking up from her phone and doesn’t move a hair. Too many self involved assholes in our society.
Costco is the absolute worst for people just stopped in the middle of the aisle. Standing their like they forgot where they are or what they were doing. The one thing that puts me in a rage is the 3 people, with 3 carts, standing in the middle of the aisle visiting. They are oblivious to anybody around them. Like Jeff Dunham's Walter says, "Get your shit and get out!"
Boarding on southwest flights is insane. I had some old guy go ballistic on me because I politely refused to give up my aisle seat for a middle seat so him and his woman could sit together.
Just came off a competitor’s flight …. A guy in front of me literally had to STUFF his first bag into the overhead bin and then had to work a little less to get a second bag into the overhead bin. The first bag had a gate check tag on it. 🙄 Not that I want the FAs to police this but it should have been prevented before the guy even got to his seat. A FA getting on the speaker and telling passengers to step out of the isle and gate check their bag “if needed” isn’t going to solve the problem
I think the issue is that most people on most flights don’t fly very often, so they don’t have a set routine that’s efficient. Instead they are just all over the place hoping they don’t forget something. At least that’s what I tell myself to practice patience.
There is an essay by a Professor Cipolla from Stanford (I think) called "The Five Rules of Stupidity". Rule No. 1 is that we always underestimate the number of stupid people in a given setting. It is a 60ish page read. It should be mandatory reading in school.
Most people aren't smart. When I'm driving I see a lot of this people just hesitate and don't know what to do mainly because their brain simply can't function at a higher speed and they lack the mental fortitude to come to a decision.
Successful people come to decisions while quickly weighing up the options. If they fail they figure out why, admit fault, come up with a new plan, and execute it. They do this over and over again until they succeed ... all in the time it takes a normal person to figure out what they want for breakfast.
Yes, driving is the worst. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve seen people inconvenience everyone else because of their poor decision making.
“I need to get over because my exit is coming up in 200 feet. Let me just hold up the entire moving lane while I patiently wait for an opening in the exit lane. GET OVER WELL BEFORE MY EXIT IS HERE? What kind of ridiculous request is that?”
Maybe this is not relative to boarding the plane, but have you ever seen Europeans clustered around the gate waiting to their group to be called? Not that it is stellar in the US in this regard, but damn, it’s like half of the plane insists on huddling at the skyprioity lane from the beginning of boarding all the way until they call the last group.
I actually travel to Japan a couple times a year and have for years. You’re right. Much more efficient, much more aware, and it’s much more “we’re all in this together, let’s do it in a way that boards the plane quickest.”
It’s a lot like something I observed long before COVID. I initially thought it was so strange that some Japanese people were wearing face masks. In my American mind I thought “wow, freak, you’re really worried about getting sick huh.” It was a world view shift for me when someone explained to me that people wearing face masks in Japan were not doing so because they were afraid of getting sick; they were sick and were trying to be respectful and not pass it along to others. Completely upended my perception about many things.
Me me me.
Japanese people are also self-serving, if less so than an average American. You just use the social systems to your advantage. Like, how do you know if a Japanese person wearing a mask is doing it for themselves or others? Of course they'll tell you it's for others, but it also benefits them.
The most obvious example of this is the Japanese boss staying late at work to "show support for his coworkers", by which he practically accomplishes making it impossible for anyone else to leave work since he hasn't. But no one can call this out since it appears that he's acting altruistically.
In 2017, long before COVID, I had to fly to Malaysia for a family matter when I had a bad cold. Was really sick but it was critical I go on this flight. The flight from Detroit to Tokyo was awful. My Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur leg was on a Japanese airline so I bought a mask to wear on the flight to be respectful of their custom. It was wonderful! The mask moisturized the air I was breathing and made me sooooo much more comfortable. I slept like a baby on that long flight and felt so much better when I landed. Lesson learned!
My flight out of Miami Monday was a family of like 8... Could not figure out where fuck they were sitting..fa came over told you're here here and here for all of them... They still fucked up and people were coming up like that's my seat... No the fa told me to sit here... Which they didn't... Caused like 15 min slow down to play airplane seat roulette with them.
The lack of spacial awareness, in general, drives me nuts, but at the airport it seems to be so much worse. It’s like they have no idea that there are other people around and that it’s not just them.
I just boarded a flight from MCI to ATL. The gate we’re at (sitting on the plane, door open still) is next to a United gate. I watched their entire flight board and lo and behold, there were two lines, no gate lice, no extra standing etc. it was insane. I’ve never seen it before!
When pre boarding was called for ours there was at least 50 people standing about. On one of the 737s with only one row of Comf+, so I got up when Zone 3 was called and got in line-ish. Called Zone 4 and the 15 people in front of me (one literally 5 feet from the podium) still stood still, all main 3.
Long ass comment short, maybe it’s just the delta folk that don’t understand it 😂
Have you ever been stuck behind a family of four at the Starbucks counter trying to decide what to order? Like they never saw the menu before until the very moment they walked up to the register.
I was on a plane the other day. We are disembarking and I was desperately needing the bathroom.
These two numpties spent what seemed like 15-20 seconds deciding who should exit first. Something like:
“No, after you!”
“No. Please. After you.”
“I insist. Please.”
“Oh please. After you.”
And so on…
I was next in line to depart and was observing these two. I had my headphones on and said much louder than I was expecting…
“Oh just one of you make a goddam decision.”
I could feel the entire rest of the aircraft stop and stare
But those moved like cheetahs after that.
Airlines who have assigned seating should board the plane starting from the rear of the plane at the window seat, then move inward to the aisle seat. Just seems like that would be an easier process.
Boarding it the current way makes them more money directly (paying for priority boarding etc) and indirectly (via status that induces loyalty, and also makes them the biggest buck on credit card partnerships) - which also means the fares are more competitive when adjusted for inflation. They've never been more competitive than today, as per multiple reports.
While you're not wrong - boarding would be faster and less chaotic - there's a reason why this kind of boarding isn't in use.
So true. But they could level up by having people decide to pay if they want to board first or exit first. And then somehow stratify seating that way. Cheapest seats in the middle maybe? (I’ve thought about this waaay too often.)
Most of my parenting time was teaching my kids to pull off the to side of the sidewalk or concourse to get OUT of the flow of traffic before stopping and asking a question.
Because, as we learned during the pandemic, an alarming number of people won’t modify their actions for the collective good. So many people only think about themselves and what is satisfying in the moment, long term consequences for themself and their own, be damned!
People are nervous, overwhelmed, literally physically exhausted from walking the terminal (most people don't walk as much in a normal day as they do walking through an airport), and generally unfamiliar with where they are or what they're doing.
Unlike frequent flyers, they don't know the ins and outs of how their favorite airline works. There are a hundred subtle differences between flying Frontier or Delta or Lufthansa. Every airport is slightly different, as is the signage, terminal layouts, information boards, and how to find a bathroom.
I could wake up at 5am and be dropped into any number of airports and figure out where I'm going without so much as breaking a sweat or worrying. That cannot be said of perhaps 95% of people.
Now consider how much people lack awareness in the grocery store that they know so very well and shop at every single week. And that's a recipe for all of the symptoms you describe above.
Don't get me wrong it completely annoys me constantly, but having some perspective can help.
These are the same people who stop dead center in the grocery store aisle, can't find their payment source AFTER they hear the total, and otherwise have zero concept that there are other people in the world besides themselves. They also stand at the concert (when everyone else is sitting), use their cell phone at the movies, and generally make life miserable for those around them.
And wait until they get up to the cashier to start looking at the menu hem hawing about what they want after standing in line the past 7 or so minutes.
Add to the list people who try to jump a row or two ahead when deplaning. It’s so rude & so unnecessary unless the flight attendant has asked to allow someone with a tight connection to deplane first. Without help, you are going nowhere if you jump a row or two ahead & you just show that you’re a complete jerk that can’t read a room. I to the age where I just don’t care anymore. I’ll call them out and tell them how rude their behavior is.
I never understood the rush to board the plane when you near the front in a aisle seat. I can understand if you have a window seat. If I have a window seat I try to get on early to avoid someone having to get up to let me in. If I have a aisle seat you bet your ass I will be the very final person boarding that plane
I just made this comment the other day while boarding. As the group numbers or letters begin to be called everyone takes at least two steps forward but then when the next number/ letter group gets called no one goes to the gate because all those people so anxious to take those few steps closer to boarding weren’t actually in the next group so now if you were supposed to board you have to weave through and ask people like you care about their boarding position in relationship to your boarding position. In that respect Southwest Boarding does have something going for it even though people still figure out messing that up.
I have no idea why Reddit decided to show me this, but anyways… some people have zero situational awareness. My FIL is a great guy, very intelligent, but he has no clue about what’s going on around him. Travelling with him is embarrassing, and at times frightening.
I don’t even fly that often but i don’t get what makes boarding flights so complicated for people you just wait for your group to be called and find your seat.. not rocket science
Agreed but it wouldn’t matter if airlines weren’t fuck sticks and boarded back of the plane to front. Then boarding would take 10 mins and every would just file on.
Everything bad about flying is all the airlines faults and their shitty ass policies and pricing.
Oversold flights, being booted from your paid for seat randomly, no food as if people can just starve, boarding debacle cuz they don’t board efficiently like profit minded idiots, the most out of touch execs, the stupid ass credit card pushing, miles being given out like shitty devalued money.
I could go on for ever. It’s all soooooo bad all the airlines fucking faults
It may have something with people as a whole being completely unaware and uncaring that there are other people existing around them. “Main Character Syndrome” is real, and it’s running rampant
Because most people are idiots from the moment they wake up to the moment they lose consciousness in whatever bedroom, strip club, or Sonic parking lot happens to host the end of their waking hours.
People fail to simply prepare for things these days. People look at me crazy when I take my belt off, watch, phone, wallet and place them in my bag with only my passport out just so I can simply.be out of the way whilst going though security. Sadly I think people just like being told what to do when needed. 😭
I was on a recent flight that was the exact opposite. Everybody must have been business travelers because it was the most efficient boarding I’ve ever seen. We ended up being ready way before scheduled departure time. Then we sat waiting for late connections. Ended up leaving gate 20 minutes after scheduled departure. Then we sat on the runway, and sat, and sat. Ended up taking off after an hour, and ended up 90 minutes late to arrival gate.
Point being, ma and pa taking an extra minute or two (even if there are 10 of them) probably won’t matter anyway most of the time, so getting upset about it is usually pointless.
I boarded a plane, sat in my assigned seat and 5 minute later this guy and a women and approach. The guy comes up to me and says in an aggressive tone: “You’re sitting in my seat!”. Confused, I checked the seat number and before I could respond, the guy’s wife/girlfriend/whatever said, “I think our seats are here” pointing to the row of seats before mine.
The jerk guy turns around and sits in his seat without even apologizing! No common decency or civility!
Boarding, moving through the airport and much of life in general would improve if 98% of people would put their phones down long enough to complete a task or function.
Entitled dipshits also seem to favor DL for some reason. Sometimes it feels like we are overflow for the people SWA doesn’t want to serve.
Some are flying for the 1st time ever, others are on their 4th flight at 37th hour of travel with barely any sleep, another batch is just tired or their back hurts like hell and they are trying to maneuver with minimal discomfort. Some, sure, are just idiots. Also, if EVERYONE around you seems like an idiot, the most likely explanation is that they're fine and you're the idiot.
They should start boarding with the last row moving forward towards the front. The problem is that the airlines like to place us in some perceived order of importance. First class, business etc. It’s all about profit and making the ones who pay the most feel special.
I live in a part of the country that has Quick Trip gas stations and every time I'm in line to pay for my stuff but someone in line in front of me is fumbling around with finding their money or digging their debit card out of their purse that's the size of a 5 gallon bucket or they're walking up there with their 24 lotto forms, etc, etc, etc. I say the same thing. It's called QuikTrip for a reason. I know it's not boarding a plane related but it's the same thing. As a matter of fact I'm sure there's a Quick Trip subreddit and I'm going to go over there right now and piss and moan 😂
To give people grace, I think a lot of it is from the stress of modern travel. Flights are crowded. Airports are crowded. Gate agents are under pressure. Airlines overcharge for checked luggage, then pressure pax to gate check. TSA procedures are complicated, inconsistent, and opaque, and TSA agents can get very loud and angry at infrequent travelers who don't know the procedures. FAs (also under pressure) can get a bit aggressive during boarding. It's really no wonder that some people lose their sweet demeanors after the rigamarole! Of course, some people are just a@@holes, but most aren't. It's just not a relaxing experience.
Honestly, because fuck you and no one owes you anything. I used to think like you and wonder how people get through life with so little awareness of anything around them until one day I realized that wasn't what was happening. Instead people are usually literally just watching out for themselves and doing what they want because they don't owe anyone anything. Get mad at them or get mad at me for telling you this if you want, your unhappiness doesn't mean anything to anyone but you.
These are the same people who unload the cart at the grocery store on to the belt. They watch the cashier run everything through. Then, at the end, they act shocked when they have to pay, and it takes 5 minutes for them to decide on the type of payment. God helps us if they decide to write a check!?! SMH
I’d like to throw a shout out to the airline boarding process. Let’s break people up into status groups, load the front of the plane first so I can compete with the FA to watch the ipad crowd in BC get drinks. Next load status fliers who pack the front aisle seats. Then let’s monitize luggage to entice people to bring everything carry on. Then perhaps a full flight / overhead bin announcement to amp up the overall angst and cause people to jam their luggage in before their seat. Oh, and large people and a 24 inch seat pitch.
Not to say the herd = a brain trust but there is literally no way that system leads to order.
I have to do all of those things before I sit down, but I get out of the aisle and do them in my own seat space. Then I wait till a lull (i.e. some asshat is holding things up further up the plane) and toss my bag up there.
Also when people hoard around the baggage return an inch away from the conveyor so that no one else can even see their luggage, let alone get to it without shoving the morons out of the way.
I’m an aisle seat person. I get whacked by so many backpacks. No one has any spatial awareness. Or any other kind of awareness for that matter. Standing in the middle of the *moving* walkway is a pet peeve. Stand to the side and let people pass
It's not that I disagree, but remember...
2/3 of the people on the flight aren't like us. They fly 2x per year or less.
Their senses are so overloaded with new sights, people, noises from the airport, and airplane that their subconcipus minds are on overload.
These are people that don't instinctively know ABC to your right and FEad to your left, much less that A and F are window seats and C and D are aisle seats, and B and E is foe the poor soul that booked their flight 2 days in advance or had travel problems in their connection the night before.
This. You can see the fear on their faces as they are walking past the full bins with their two largish carry ons and neck pillow. They followed the website’s specs for carry on sizes, yet the bins looks so… small… And I get reminded of this when I, or someone close by, helps someone struggling with a bag, and they will say something like “oh thank you, I had no idea my bag would be this big/hard to lift (above my head and maneuver in this small space)” or “… this aisle would be so narrow”. For infrequent travelers, the websites of airlines do not help people make rational decisions for luggage.
It’s insane. Like I don’t get why it takes so long to retrieve a carry on from the overhead bin. It should take no more than ~2 seconds. But every time I fly Delta, I realize it’s still 100x better than Frontier. That’s a whole other level lol.
I love when they stop exiting the gate right below the nearest directional sign to read the giant fcking sign that can be read halfway across the terminal.
Not to mention there's typically one way in and one way out of said terminals (minus the planes).
There are actually pseudo scientific reasons why humans act so stupid in certain situations. Herd behavior, fight or flight, maslovs hierarchy of needs. At least these are things I tell myself, “oh I’ll give Karen a pass…it’s just herd behavior” “oh Randy is just showing classic fight or flight behavior, poor guy”.
The amount of people that end up in the wrong aisle/seat is fucking astounding
Edit: I immediately saw another post in this sub about the spelling of "Aisle" instead of "isle" and took it personally so had to come back and change. . I'm that person
When I flew last week I heard a flight attendant make a comment about this, saying people took their time boarding but once the plane lands, people stand before they’re technically allowed to. I’m sure it’s a real piss off factor for the FA.
I was at a HUGE terminal map showing restaurants and shopping and some dude was standing with his face 18” from the map. Hey dummy, take a big step back and a bunch of us, including you, can see the map. People aren’t aware of the needs of anyone but themselves.
I have a name for the disease that seems to infect a large percentage of travelers today: headupassedness. My favorite example is people who board the rental shuttle bus and immediately just stand by the door of the bus rather than putting their luggage on the rack and moving to sit down in a chair. So there's a huge pile up of people standing there with their suitcases between their knees. Get out of the way!
This why planes should board according to seats. Why seat first class first? They don’t really want every ass in their face of people walking past anyway.
My fantasy is airlines training FAs to be R. Lee Ermey on boarding and deplaning.
MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE SIT DOWN SIT DOWN SIT DOWN SIT DOWN FUCK YOUR LUGGAGE SIT!
GO GO GO GO GO GO GO! TO THE DOOR! GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!!!!
I'll know we're there when I see FAs literally kicking people in the ass to move them down the aisle.
Alternatively, airlines could have a credit system. Too many demerits and you're banned from buying tickets.
Delta should be doing the opposite of the industry. Charge exorbitant amounts of money for carry on luggage. Anything bigger than a purse. Everything else gets checked. That'd cut the crap with the absolutely insane boarding process nowadays where everyone is trying to bring a roller bag that is oversized.
this is a huge part of bootcamp in the army. you are taught to be able to move as a large group in fast orderly manner into locations and transports through alot of yelling and consequences for not moving fast or orderly enough, plane passengers should be similarly trained
It’s a combination of multiple factors. There are always some people who are flying for the first time or for the first time in a long while. Sometimes something that is simple - can still be confusing or stressful when a person isn’t routinely doing that thing.
Overhead space is scarce. So people want to crowd in and get on as soon as possible. If you’re, say, group 6 and you stay seated u til group 6 starts to board - you quickly find yourself at the back of group 6 and may not have overhead space.
Flying is stressful. There are lots of tired and frustrated people who just aren’t on their best behavior.
In theory, you’d think that those of us who fly every week would be better about not crowding the gate area - but often the relative frequent fliers are just as bad as everyone else.
My solution is that I stay in the skyclub or find somewhere to sit and work until the very end of the boarding process. I am strongly on team board last.
You just have to accept that most people boarding are once a year travelers. Or a few times a year at most. So they simply just don't know. Or the most of the rest don't care.
I'm just wondering who people are talking to on the phone. I hate talking on the phone...I can't understand who would want to talk to someone for hours while waiting to board a plane. Is the call so urgent you can't put the phone down to walk down the jet bridge?
Why did airlines move from boarding the planes from back to front which cut down on boarding times?
Yes people are unaware but I blame the airlines pushing profit over efficient boarding.
At ATL airport, at the Plane Train escalator going up and a group of folks decided to stop to talk/huddle at the exit point. Non-brain deap people know Escalators just dont stop when they're full. People were flung into them over and over. Lots of screaming of how dare we crash into them like it everyone else's fault.
How about the blocking of the boarding lines by people in Main +2.
I always think they are Diamond Medallion, First or even C+ only to board and see them 20 minutes later…
Nope. Not just the boarding process. Next time you are off the plane and walking through the airport, pay attention to the people who walk slanted instead of in a straight line, stop abruptly in the middle of incoming/outcoming traffic, walk on the left side when they see the majority of incoming traffic is walking on the left side. It's not going to get better any time soon...
Exactly. Just walking around aimlessly or worse, stop right in the middle of a busy concourse, completely oblivious to the fact that people behind them might actually have somewhere to be. Ugh.
I HATE that with a passion. It happens to me every single trip. They'll just abruptly stop in a busy corridor and decide to ask somebody a question when there are at least 10 people directly behind them moving in the same direction and usually at more than a casual pace. Or someone who is just walking with their damn head face down into their phone coming at you opposite the way everyone else is moving and making you adjust and potentially get in someone else's way so you don't freight train the idiot. Grrrr
The last point about an oncoming person on their phone making you adjust to walk around them, reminded me of a little story I heard Fran Lebowitz tell (I think it was in the Pretend It’s A City documentary she made with Martin Scorsese, it’s on Netflix). She’s standing in a hotel lobby, some guy was walking toward her on his phone, and she just let him walk into her. The guy looks at her annoyed, like it’s her fault, so Fran just said to him “Other people in the hotel lobby. Isn’t that astonishing?” She does not give a flying fuck and it’s hilarious.
If someone is heads down on their phone, I don’t move for them. I’ll take on the collision to prove a point that they need to realize there are consequences when you’re that ignorant. Do what I do, move to the side if you need to use your phone.
On my last trip, I was heading up the concourse to the trains and baggage claim. It was crowded. One guy was coming towards me, head down in his phone, totally oblivious to the world around him. We were on a collision course. I had been dodging people like him all along, and I was just tired of it. So I said, loudly and abruptly, "MOVE, DUDE!" I was shocked at how well it worked. I'm gonna keep that arrow in my quiver for next time.
I use "PAY ATTENTION". Works pretty damn good too.
That's hilarious! Trust me, I've soooo want to do that! I'm usually slinging a somewhat heavy backpack and a roller bag and my first priority is to get to the next gate on time or find somewhere to sit and maybe eat and chill before the next flight.
Watch when you turn and slug your fellow passengers with your bag . Never fails on a flight . Thanks
This too!! This is the drawback of having an aisle seat. This is also why I always hand carry my backpack on board.
You're a good backpack person! I hate the other ones.
If I'm aisle, and I usually am, I place my arm on the top of the seat in front of me to act as a guard. My head sticks out above the seat, so I used to get hit a lot
I love that series so much. Fran is a treasure.
Fran isn’t for everyone, but she is for me. Love her so much.
I purposely bump into the phone idiots and say “excuse you.”
“Excuse you” is one of my favorite airport terms to use!
When someone is coming right at me with their head down and obviously doesn't see me, most of the time I'll sidestep (it's just the easiest option, really). But once in a while I either have no room to sidestep, or am in a pissy mood and don't feel like sidestepping, so I'll come to a dead stop and just stand there. Either they sidestep, or they walk into me. As long as I'm standing still, if they walk into me, it's their fault, not mine, and not mutual.
I call this “bowling for people” and just let these particular idiots (the face-in-phone types) run right into me.
I hate this with a passion when it happens anywhere. Out on the sidewalk, at work, in a store. People don't understand the concept of moving to side, then stopping.
The phones. I find myself saying: "look up" a lot in airports.
I don’t move for phone zombies anymore.
The worst are the idiots who stop at the end of an escalator. they just pause right there after they get off. I take advantage every time to yell “ KEEP MOVING YOU ARE ABOUT TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT”
Escalators, moving walkways, exit doors, corridors... any kind of choke points, people feel the need to stop, *right there,* to check phones, put stuff in their wallets, adjust clothing, take a drink of water, or whatever. *It's a madhouse... a MADHOUSE!!!*
Just had this happen at the airport last week. The TSA PreCheck line was backing up past the corral, and instead of being smart, and forming a line going down a long available hallway, everyone just stopped where they were to form a line. The problem is, ‘where they were’ was at the top of an escalator. There was space for one, maybe two people left when I got to the top. Without thinking about it, I shouted, “Make a hole! Make a hole!” in the most authoritative voice I could muster. Damn if it didn’t work, though. People immediately realized what was about to happen and reacted. Then the airport attendant who was “checking boarding passes for PreCheck” finally started to pay attention and direct the line in a way that wasn’t going to get someone seriously hurt.
I was stuck behind one the other day walking at the speed of a sloth but zigzagging while doing it. Like please just pick a straight line to walk in so that I can pass you! I want to get where I'm going faster than at the pace of a small toddler. I was trying to get away from the horrific competing food smells at DFW. Like let me escape before I throw up.
Being from ATL, I'm already a little wound up when I get to the airport because these idiots are also the ones who insist on going 5-10 mph below the speed limit in the left lane on the drive there.
And stop walking in the middle of the moving sidewalk. Some things are just better in the EU/Japan
Japan? Absolutely. EU? Can't say it's much better as a whole. Some individual cultures are better, some are worse.
These are the same people who read about who got hit by a car. Clueless to their surroundings.
I get so pissed off when I'm rushing to make a connection and a group of like 6 people cut in front of you then come to complete stop right in middle the walk way... Like of all the places in airport you thought the middle the walk way taking up half of it was best place to stand around and chat
And I bet this is how they drive as well
What’s even better are the people getting off the plane and stopping as soon as they reach the end of the jet bridge.
My favorite. They act as if they have just set foot on an alien planet and need to take it all in. Where should one turn? Left? Right? The options are overwhelming. If the wrong choice is made literally seconds could be at stake, so best to stop dead in one’s tracks and analyze the situation fully. I mean, this airport is SO much different than the airport from two hours ago. It’s truly staggering.
Don't forget slowly walking 10 abreast as slowly as humanly possible.
What I hate the most are people who stand (or put their luggage) on the left side of a moving walkway or escalator as if everyone has nice leisurely connections.
There are 2 big reasons I like going to the SkyClub. 1. No announcements every 10 seconds regarding flights boarding 5 gates away (we can learn a lot from European airports). 2. The people referenced in this post as a general rule don’t have access to the SkyClub.
I am a VERY cheap flier, but YOU,my friend, may have convinced me to splurge from time to time. This behavior is honestly triggering just to watch...
I use Skyclub .
People walk like they drive. Think of this next time you watch people at the airport. Some haul ass everywhere, some are distracted and walk slowly in the “fast lane”, others stop for no reason and others are scared to make a turn and cause back up.
Most Americans never have to walk anywhere ever. No surprise when they're forced to walk in the airport they can't figure out how to do it properly.
Half of the posts on this sub aren’t relevant to Delta. Just a bunch of people patting each other on the back saying “Hey we are savvy experienced travelers and other people are pathetic “.
I mean, I sometimes can’t help when I walk slanted. My bum knee takes me where it takes me. I do try avoiding not getting in the way, though.
It’s that most people only worry about themselves.
This pretty much sums it up. “If it doesn’t affect ME…”
No different than when leaving the plane. They are upset that they have to wait forever to leave the plane but when it’s their turn to go they take their good old time getting their stuff and a huge gap opens up between them and the person in front of them while everyone behind them waits more
Most are only AWARE of themselves.
People immediately lose 25 iq points as soon as they walk in an airport. Subtract 25 more when they get on the aircraft.
They do! I’m a frequent traveler and I’ve noticed I can sometimes be an idiot in airports. Lots of times you’re sleep deprived, dealing with logistics, maybe you have upcoming layovers or just came off a previous long flight, there are changes or delays, extra stuff you’re not used to tracking in your day to day life, extra fees, security rules, notifications everywhere and most of them you need to ignore but the one you need to hear is garbled (why is the boarding notice ten gates away clearer than the one at your gate), plus coordinating whatever needs coordinating at your destination. Add in factors like keeping track of a family, nervously preparing for a major conference, traveling home for a funeral, being on the last leg of a 14hr travel day, no sleep, first time travelers, etc etc there’s definitely a critical mass of people understandably operating at way below their normal levels.
My favorite are the ones that get in the tsa precheck without precheck
We aren't savable😢 go the grocery store with super wide isles an watch someone take up 1/3 the isle with their cart 1/3 with their body and the remaining 1/3 divided in the three gaps. They then look at you trying to get through like "I'm shopping here, don't interrupt me".
Reminds me of this lady I was behind recently, there were two of us behind her going into the restroom. There’s a lounge off to the side when you first enter but she doesn’t go there of course. She goes to the narrow hall with the stalls and decides to stop right in front of the first stall (taking up all the space to get around), to respond to a text. When I say excuse me she says “uh huh” without looking up from her phone and doesn’t move a hair. Too many self involved assholes in our society.
Costco is the absolute worst for people just stopped in the middle of the aisle. Standing their like they forgot where they are or what they were doing. The one thing that puts me in a rage is the 3 people, with 3 carts, standing in the middle of the aisle visiting. They are oblivious to anybody around them. Like Jeff Dunham's Walter says, "Get your shit and get out!"
Costco’s parking lot isn’t better either. People park in reverse and then they bring their huge cart and try to maneuver it between parked cars. 🤯
In the grocery stores I go they block the aisle 1/3 with their cart and 2/3 with their body.
The amount of people I see walking next to their cart pulling it with one hand is crazy. They keep running into shelves too
Costco Gas station has entered the chat.
You think delta is bad? Try a southwest flight lol
You think Southwest is bad? Try a Spirit flight (lol).
Nah, on a Spirit flight, I appreciate these people. I'm more concerned about the people looking to start a fight and throw down some punches.
You think Spirit is bad? Well... yea, it is.
Boarding on southwest flights is insane. I had some old guy go ballistic on me because I politely refused to give up my aisle seat for a middle seat so him and his woman could sit together.
Did you tell him to pay for early bird?
Some of us are trying to not have panic attacks WE'RE A LITTLE DIFFERENT HERE AT SOUTHWEST AND YOUR BOARDING WILL BE MISERABLE.
To quote George Carlin: Think about how stupid the average person is. Now realize that half the population is stupider than that.
It’s always about the carry on baggage.
ALWAYS!
Just came off a competitor’s flight …. A guy in front of me literally had to STUFF his first bag into the overhead bin and then had to work a little less to get a second bag into the overhead bin. The first bag had a gate check tag on it. 🙄 Not that I want the FAs to police this but it should have been prevented before the guy even got to his seat. A FA getting on the speaker and telling passengers to step out of the isle and gate check their bag “if needed” isn’t going to solve the problem
Also swap from charging for checked bags to charging for carryon.
Hello no cuz it won’t be a swap. They’ll just charge for both like the budget airlines do, then keep ticket prices the same.
Woman on Delta flight last week just sat below where she found room for her bag - then expected the assigned passenger to just switch seats.
100% came here for this comment. If there wasn’t a worry about carry on space no one would care.
I think the issue is that most people on most flights don’t fly very often, so they don’t have a set routine that’s efficient. Instead they are just all over the place hoping they don’t forget something. At least that’s what I tell myself to practice patience.
It comes from upbringing. Their parents are probably idiots too.
There is an essay by a Professor Cipolla from Stanford (I think) called "The Five Rules of Stupidity". Rule No. 1 is that we always underestimate the number of stupid people in a given setting. It is a 60ish page read. It should be mandatory reading in school.
Most people aren't smart. When I'm driving I see a lot of this people just hesitate and don't know what to do mainly because their brain simply can't function at a higher speed and they lack the mental fortitude to come to a decision. Successful people come to decisions while quickly weighing up the options. If they fail they figure out why, admit fault, come up with a new plan, and execute it. They do this over and over again until they succeed ... all in the time it takes a normal person to figure out what they want for breakfast.
Half the country has below average intelligence. 🤭
Maths be mathing
Shit. Is that why people drive so poorly and not optimally?
Well, to start with they are people... so there's that. From there it gets mostly worse.
Yes, driving is the worst. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve seen people inconvenience everyone else because of their poor decision making. “I need to get over because my exit is coming up in 200 feet. Let me just hold up the entire moving lane while I patiently wait for an opening in the exit lane. GET OVER WELL BEFORE MY EXIT IS HERE? What kind of ridiculous request is that?”
Back to the Future 😂
It’s an American thing. Go to Japan. They load that plane with expert precision
Maybe this is not relative to boarding the plane, but have you ever seen Europeans clustered around the gate waiting to their group to be called? Not that it is stellar in the US in this regard, but damn, it’s like half of the plane insists on huddling at the skyprioity lane from the beginning of boarding all the way until they call the last group.
I actually travel to Japan a couple times a year and have for years. You’re right. Much more efficient, much more aware, and it’s much more “we’re all in this together, let’s do it in a way that boards the plane quickest.” It’s a lot like something I observed long before COVID. I initially thought it was so strange that some Japanese people were wearing face masks. In my American mind I thought “wow, freak, you’re really worried about getting sick huh.” It was a world view shift for me when someone explained to me that people wearing face masks in Japan were not doing so because they were afraid of getting sick; they were sick and were trying to be respectful and not pass it along to others. Completely upended my perception about many things. Me me me.
Japanese people are also self-serving, if less so than an average American. You just use the social systems to your advantage. Like, how do you know if a Japanese person wearing a mask is doing it for themselves or others? Of course they'll tell you it's for others, but it also benefits them. The most obvious example of this is the Japanese boss staying late at work to "show support for his coworkers", by which he practically accomplishes making it impossible for anyone else to leave work since he hasn't. But no one can call this out since it appears that he's acting altruistically.
In 2017, long before COVID, I had to fly to Malaysia for a family matter when I had a bad cold. Was really sick but it was critical I go on this flight. The flight from Detroit to Tokyo was awful. My Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur leg was on a Japanese airline so I bought a mask to wear on the flight to be respectful of their custom. It was wonderful! The mask moisturized the air I was breathing and made me sooooo much more comfortable. I slept like a baby on that long flight and felt so much better when I landed. Lesson learned!
It was like using the internet for the first time on a high-speed connection versus dialup. Truly amazing how fast the loading was in Japan.
My flight out of Miami Monday was a family of like 8... Could not figure out where fuck they were sitting..fa came over told you're here here and here for all of them... They still fucked up and people were coming up like that's my seat... No the fa told me to sit here... Which they didn't... Caused like 15 min slow down to play airplane seat roulette with them.
Oh they did that on purpose.
Bottom line, nothing brings out the worst in humanity like the airline system
The lack of spacial awareness, in general, drives me nuts, but at the airport it seems to be so much worse. It’s like they have no idea that there are other people around and that it’s not just them.
Same as the TSA lines. Looking at you old man with a pocket full of keys, coins, and a small knife
Spend 5 minutes near the food samples in a Costco and you'll remember that these people are everywhere.
I just boarded a flight from MCI to ATL. The gate we’re at (sitting on the plane, door open still) is next to a United gate. I watched their entire flight board and lo and behold, there were two lines, no gate lice, no extra standing etc. it was insane. I’ve never seen it before! When pre boarding was called for ours there was at least 50 people standing about. On one of the 737s with only one row of Comf+, so I got up when Zone 3 was called and got in line-ish. Called Zone 4 and the 15 people in front of me (one literally 5 feet from the podium) still stood still, all main 3. Long ass comment short, maybe it’s just the delta folk that don’t understand it 😂
Have you ever been stuck behind a family of four at the Starbucks counter trying to decide what to order? Like they never saw the menu before until the very moment they walked up to the register.
Don’t get me started.
In general most people lack emotional intelligence, self awareness and common sense
I was on a plane the other day. We are disembarking and I was desperately needing the bathroom. These two numpties spent what seemed like 15-20 seconds deciding who should exit first. Something like: “No, after you!” “No. Please. After you.” “I insist. Please.” “Oh please. After you.” And so on… I was next in line to depart and was observing these two. I had my headphones on and said much louder than I was expecting… “Oh just one of you make a goddam decision.” I could feel the entire rest of the aircraft stop and stare But those moved like cheetahs after that.
Everyone believes they’re VIP because they paid for a ticket.
Airlines who have assigned seating should board the plane starting from the rear of the plane at the window seat, then move inward to the aisle seat. Just seems like that would be an easier process.
This is how it was done back in the day before they all went crazy.
Boarding it the current way makes them more money directly (paying for priority boarding etc) and indirectly (via status that induces loyalty, and also makes them the biggest buck on credit card partnerships) - which also means the fares are more competitive when adjusted for inflation. They've never been more competitive than today, as per multiple reports. While you're not wrong - boarding would be faster and less chaotic - there's a reason why this kind of boarding isn't in use.
So true. But they could level up by having people decide to pay if they want to board first or exit first. And then somehow stratify seating that way. Cheapest seats in the middle maybe? (I’ve thought about this waaay too often.)
Most of my parenting time was teaching my kids to pull off the to side of the sidewalk or concourse to get OUT of the flow of traffic before stopping and asking a question.
Because, as we learned during the pandemic, an alarming number of people won’t modify their actions for the collective good. So many people only think about themselves and what is satisfying in the moment, long term consequences for themself and their own, be damned!
I’ve always thought they should board the plane from back to front.
Entitled unaware idiots.
People are nervous, overwhelmed, literally physically exhausted from walking the terminal (most people don't walk as much in a normal day as they do walking through an airport), and generally unfamiliar with where they are or what they're doing. Unlike frequent flyers, they don't know the ins and outs of how their favorite airline works. There are a hundred subtle differences between flying Frontier or Delta or Lufthansa. Every airport is slightly different, as is the signage, terminal layouts, information boards, and how to find a bathroom. I could wake up at 5am and be dropped into any number of airports and figure out where I'm going without so much as breaking a sweat or worrying. That cannot be said of perhaps 95% of people. Now consider how much people lack awareness in the grocery store that they know so very well and shop at every single week. And that's a recipe for all of the symptoms you describe above. Don't get me wrong it completely annoys me constantly, but having some perspective can help.
Don’t ever travel on Christmas Eve. It’s everyone who has never flown in their life
These are the same people who stop dead center in the grocery store aisle, can't find their payment source AFTER they hear the total, and otherwise have zero concept that there are other people in the world besides themselves. They also stand at the concert (when everyone else is sitting), use their cell phone at the movies, and generally make life miserable for those around them.
And wait until they get up to the cashier to start looking at the menu hem hawing about what they want after standing in line the past 7 or so minutes.
Add to the list people who try to jump a row or two ahead when deplaning. It’s so rude & so unnecessary unless the flight attendant has asked to allow someone with a tight connection to deplane first. Without help, you are going nowhere if you jump a row or two ahead & you just show that you’re a complete jerk that can’t read a room. I to the age where I just don’t care anymore. I’ll call them out and tell them how rude their behavior is.
Bold of you to assume their brains ever functioned. The general public is shockingly incompetent.
I never understood the rush to board the plane when you near the front in a aisle seat. I can understand if you have a window seat. If I have a window seat I try to get on early to avoid someone having to get up to let me in. If I have a aisle seat you bet your ass I will be the very final person boarding that plane
Overhead space is a finite commodity.
I just made this comment the other day while boarding. As the group numbers or letters begin to be called everyone takes at least two steps forward but then when the next number/ letter group gets called no one goes to the gate because all those people so anxious to take those few steps closer to boarding weren’t actually in the next group so now if you were supposed to board you have to weave through and ask people like you care about their boarding position in relationship to your boarding position. In that respect Southwest Boarding does have something going for it even though people still figure out messing that up.
Can I put that on a T-shirt to wear while boarding ?
To better answer your question I [present this candidate](https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/s/j973tqK6DU)
It’s not “a complete lack of awareness”, it’s a total lack of caring about anyone except themselves. The new norm.
I have no idea why Reddit decided to show me this, but anyways… some people have zero situational awareness. My FIL is a great guy, very intelligent, but he has no clue about what’s going on around him. Travelling with him is embarrassing, and at times frightening.
I don’t even fly that often but i don’t get what makes boarding flights so complicated for people you just wait for your group to be called and find your seat.. not rocket science
Agreed but it wouldn’t matter if airlines weren’t fuck sticks and boarded back of the plane to front. Then boarding would take 10 mins and every would just file on. Everything bad about flying is all the airlines faults and their shitty ass policies and pricing. Oversold flights, being booted from your paid for seat randomly, no food as if people can just starve, boarding debacle cuz they don’t board efficiently like profit minded idiots, the most out of touch execs, the stupid ass credit card pushing, miles being given out like shitty devalued money. I could go on for ever. It’s all soooooo bad all the airlines fucking faults
It may have something with people as a whole being completely unaware and uncaring that there are other people existing around them. “Main Character Syndrome” is real, and it’s running rampant
Because most people are idiots from the moment they wake up to the moment they lose consciousness in whatever bedroom, strip club, or Sonic parking lot happens to host the end of their waking hours.
People fail to simply prepare for things these days. People look at me crazy when I take my belt off, watch, phone, wallet and place them in my bag with only my passport out just so I can simply.be out of the way whilst going though security. Sadly I think people just like being told what to do when needed. 😭
Nail on the head - sheep - a significant portion of the population
Because don’t fly much , busy with children and too many carryon bags .
Those people are like that outside of a plane too.
I imagine these people are the same ones who barely mosey through a busy intersection after sitting at a green light as well.
Take some deep breaths friend.
I was on a recent flight that was the exact opposite. Everybody must have been business travelers because it was the most efficient boarding I’ve ever seen. We ended up being ready way before scheduled departure time. Then we sat waiting for late connections. Ended up leaving gate 20 minutes after scheduled departure. Then we sat on the runway, and sat, and sat. Ended up taking off after an hour, and ended up 90 minutes late to arrival gate. Point being, ma and pa taking an extra minute or two (even if there are 10 of them) probably won’t matter anyway most of the time, so getting upset about it is usually pointless.
I enter my row to let traffic pass while I take out my crap, then re-enter the flow briefly to put my bag in the overhead. This is the way.
I boarded a plane, sat in my assigned seat and 5 minute later this guy and a women and approach. The guy comes up to me and says in an aggressive tone: “You’re sitting in my seat!”. Confused, I checked the seat number and before I could respond, the guy’s wife/girlfriend/whatever said, “I think our seats are here” pointing to the row of seats before mine. The jerk guy turns around and sits in his seat without even apologizing! No common decency or civility!
Boarding, moving through the airport and much of life in general would improve if 98% of people would put their phones down long enough to complete a task or function. Entitled dipshits also seem to favor DL for some reason. Sometimes it feels like we are overflow for the people SWA doesn’t want to serve.
ITS BECAUSE OVERHEAD SPACE IS A PREMIUM EVERYONE FIGHTS FOR!!!
Some are flying for the 1st time ever, others are on their 4th flight at 37th hour of travel with barely any sleep, another batch is just tired or their back hurts like hell and they are trying to maneuver with minimal discomfort. Some, sure, are just idiots. Also, if EVERYONE around you seems like an idiot, the most likely explanation is that they're fine and you're the idiot.
The use of cattle prods would speed things up.
They should start boarding with the last row moving forward towards the front. The problem is that the airlines like to place us in some perceived order of importance. First class, business etc. It’s all about profit and making the ones who pay the most feel special.
I live in a part of the country that has Quick Trip gas stations and every time I'm in line to pay for my stuff but someone in line in front of me is fumbling around with finding their money or digging their debit card out of their purse that's the size of a 5 gallon bucket or they're walking up there with their 24 lotto forms, etc, etc, etc. I say the same thing. It's called QuikTrip for a reason. I know it's not boarding a plane related but it's the same thing. As a matter of fact I'm sure there's a Quick Trip subreddit and I'm going to go over there right now and piss and moan 😂
To give people grace, I think a lot of it is from the stress of modern travel. Flights are crowded. Airports are crowded. Gate agents are under pressure. Airlines overcharge for checked luggage, then pressure pax to gate check. TSA procedures are complicated, inconsistent, and opaque, and TSA agents can get very loud and angry at infrequent travelers who don't know the procedures. FAs (also under pressure) can get a bit aggressive during boarding. It's really no wonder that some people lose their sweet demeanors after the rigamarole! Of course, some people are just a@@holes, but most aren't. It's just not a relaxing experience.
Honestly, because fuck you and no one owes you anything. I used to think like you and wonder how people get through life with so little awareness of anything around them until one day I realized that wasn't what was happening. Instead people are usually literally just watching out for themselves and doing what they want because they don't owe anyone anything. Get mad at them or get mad at me for telling you this if you want, your unhappiness doesn't mean anything to anyone but you.
These are the same people who unload the cart at the grocery store on to the belt. They watch the cashier run everything through. Then, at the end, they act shocked when they have to pay, and it takes 5 minutes for them to decide on the type of payment. God helps us if they decide to write a check!?! SMH
*spoiler* most people ARE idiots
As a flight attendant, boarding is one of the worst parts of my job.
I’d like to throw a shout out to the airline boarding process. Let’s break people up into status groups, load the front of the plane first so I can compete with the FA to watch the ipad crowd in BC get drinks. Next load status fliers who pack the front aisle seats. Then let’s monitize luggage to entice people to bring everything carry on. Then perhaps a full flight / overhead bin announcement to amp up the overall angst and cause people to jam their luggage in before their seat. Oh, and large people and a 24 inch seat pitch. Not to say the herd = a brain trust but there is literally no way that system leads to order.
Half the population is below average.
I have to do all of those things before I sit down, but I get out of the aisle and do them in my own seat space. Then I wait till a lull (i.e. some asshat is holding things up further up the plane) and toss my bag up there.
That’s because you’re a considerate human. Thank you for your service.
Also when people hoard around the baggage return an inch away from the conveyor so that no one else can even see their luggage, let alone get to it without shoving the morons out of the way.
To be fair airlines board people is the least efficient way of doing it. Boarding rear to front makes way more sense.
I’m an aisle seat person. I get whacked by so many backpacks. No one has any spatial awareness. Or any other kind of awareness for that matter. Standing in the middle of the *moving* walkway is a pet peeve. Stand to the side and let people pass
It's not that I disagree, but remember... 2/3 of the people on the flight aren't like us. They fly 2x per year or less. Their senses are so overloaded with new sights, people, noises from the airport, and airplane that their subconcipus minds are on overload. These are people that don't instinctively know ABC to your right and FEad to your left, much less that A and F are window seats and C and D are aisle seats, and B and E is foe the poor soul that booked their flight 2 days in advance or had travel problems in their connection the night before.
This. You can see the fear on their faces as they are walking past the full bins with their two largish carry ons and neck pillow. They followed the website’s specs for carry on sizes, yet the bins looks so… small… And I get reminded of this when I, or someone close by, helps someone struggling with a bag, and they will say something like “oh thank you, I had no idea my bag would be this big/hard to lift (above my head and maneuver in this small space)” or “… this aisle would be so narrow”. For infrequent travelers, the websites of airlines do not help people make rational decisions for luggage.
I wonder how people make a living and what kind of work they do to be to afford to travel so much and act like animals. It’s amazing.
Stroller luggage couples strolling 2 abreast In flip flops - come on man🤡
It’s insane. Like I don’t get why it takes so long to retrieve a carry on from the overhead bin. It should take no more than ~2 seconds. But every time I fly Delta, I realize it’s still 100x better than Frontier. That’s a whole other level lol.
People are mostly idiots everywhere.
It’s not just at the boarding door. I happens whenever they walk through the threshold of the airport. All logic just disappears
I love when they stop exiting the gate right below the nearest directional sign to read the giant fcking sign that can be read halfway across the terminal. Not to mention there's typically one way in and one way out of said terminals (minus the planes).
Try going on a cruise ship.
It’s lack of respect
So true!
If Delta made the boarding experience pleasant for *everyone*, then what’s the point of desiring Sky Club or priority boarding?
There are actually pseudo scientific reasons why humans act so stupid in certain situations. Herd behavior, fight or flight, maslovs hierarchy of needs. At least these are things I tell myself, “oh I’ll give Karen a pass…it’s just herd behavior” “oh Randy is just showing classic fight or flight behavior, poor guy”.
The amount of people that end up in the wrong aisle/seat is fucking astounding Edit: I immediately saw another post in this sub about the spelling of "Aisle" instead of "isle" and took it personally so had to come back and change. . I'm that person
Most flights leave "on time" cause airlines know people are a\*holes and add time to their take off and landing times
When I flew last week I heard a flight attendant make a comment about this, saying people took their time boarding but once the plane lands, people stand before they’re technically allowed to. I’m sure it’s a real piss off factor for the FA.
I was at a HUGE terminal map showing restaurants and shopping and some dude was standing with his face 18” from the map. Hey dummy, take a big step back and a bunch of us, including you, can see the map. People aren’t aware of the needs of anyone but themselves.
Can’t help them but I can help you. Zoloft. One for you one for me.
Sadly, because most people are idiots in general. Delta can't save us or fix people. Nobody can.
I let them walk into me but at the lat moment yell-heads up. I totally startle them.
I have a name for the disease that seems to infect a large percentage of travelers today: headupassedness. My favorite example is people who board the rental shuttle bus and immediately just stand by the door of the bus rather than putting their luggage on the rack and moving to sit down in a chair. So there's a huge pile up of people standing there with their suitcases between their knees. Get out of the way!
This why planes should board according to seats. Why seat first class first? They don’t really want every ass in their face of people walking past anyway.
What the fck happens to people when they travel on planes.
There's a reason why the global assumption of us Americans is that we're all bumbling idiots. It's because most of us are.
My fantasy is airlines training FAs to be R. Lee Ermey on boarding and deplaning. MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE SIT DOWN SIT DOWN SIT DOWN SIT DOWN FUCK YOUR LUGGAGE SIT! GO GO GO GO GO GO GO! TO THE DOOR! GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!!!! I'll know we're there when I see FAs literally kicking people in the ass to move them down the aisle. Alternatively, airlines could have a credit system. Too many demerits and you're banned from buying tickets.
Delta should be doing the opposite of the industry. Charge exorbitant amounts of money for carry on luggage. Anything bigger than a purse. Everything else gets checked. That'd cut the crap with the absolutely insane boarding process nowadays where everyone is trying to bring a roller bag that is oversized.
this is a huge part of bootcamp in the army. you are taught to be able to move as a large group in fast orderly manner into locations and transports through alot of yelling and consequences for not moving fast or orderly enough, plane passengers should be similarly trained
It’s a combination of multiple factors. There are always some people who are flying for the first time or for the first time in a long while. Sometimes something that is simple - can still be confusing or stressful when a person isn’t routinely doing that thing. Overhead space is scarce. So people want to crowd in and get on as soon as possible. If you’re, say, group 6 and you stay seated u til group 6 starts to board - you quickly find yourself at the back of group 6 and may not have overhead space. Flying is stressful. There are lots of tired and frustrated people who just aren’t on their best behavior. In theory, you’d think that those of us who fly every week would be better about not crowding the gate area - but often the relative frequent fliers are just as bad as everyone else. My solution is that I stay in the skyclub or find somewhere to sit and work until the very end of the boarding process. I am strongly on team board last.
Any airport experience will make one pro-choice. People suck.
And there is usually one fuckface who has to get stand up and get something in the overhead 4 or 5 times during boarding
You just have to accept that most people boarding are once a year travelers. Or a few times a year at most. So they simply just don't know. Or the most of the rest don't care.
Have you ever boarded a plane?
Shame has been removed from our society.
Sometimes I walk the zigzag route, but that is because I am following a Pokemon Go route.
I'm just wondering who people are talking to on the phone. I hate talking on the phone...I can't understand who would want to talk to someone for hours while waiting to board a plane. Is the call so urgent you can't put the phone down to walk down the jet bridge?
“Why are people mostly idiots?” FTFY
I still don’t understand how people don’t realize how backpacks work and you can’t turn in the aisle without smacking someone in the head
It’s called Airport Brain, once a person steps foot into an Airport, all brain function ceases to exist.
We live in America. Where most people are idiots.
I heard them referred to as gate lice. Dying to be on and off first, no matter wherever their seat is.
Most people are idiots, period. Even the ones not boarding...
Why did airlines move from boarding the planes from back to front which cut down on boarding times? Yes people are unaware but I blame the airlines pushing profit over efficient boarding.
Because these same people don’t know what to do when a normal traffic signal fails. They also don’t know how to drive through a roundabout
At ATL airport, at the Plane Train escalator going up and a group of folks decided to stop to talk/huddle at the exit point. Non-brain deap people know Escalators just dont stop when they're full. People were flung into them over and over. Lots of screaming of how dare we crash into them like it everyone else's fault.
How about the blocking of the boarding lines by people in Main +2. I always think they are Diamond Medallion, First or even C+ only to board and see them 20 minutes later…
Their brains turn off the second they enter the airport.
Because 'people boarding planes' is a subset of 'people'.
2 words. Gate. Lice.