Southwest Airlines took to social media to congratulate passengers who stay seated until it’s their row’s turn to deplane. By implication they’re criticizing those who stand up immediately once the plane pulls into the gate and the captain turns off the seat belt sign. This strikes me as misguided.
— Jeremy Danner (@Jeremy_Danner) December 2, 2022
It may seem more ‘civilized’ to wait patiently in your seat, rather than everyone rushing into the aisles. However,
- If everyone waits to get up, it takes longer to deplane the aircraft. That’s because when you get up in the aisle, you remove your bags from the overhead bin. Each passenger not getting their bag until the row ahead has gotten up means several extra seconds per passenger to deplane. It takes longer to turn an aircraft that way, leading to delays – bad for passengers, and especially bad for the airline which needs to schedule longer sit times and winds up with less efficient aircraft utilization and higher costs.
- When you’re in a coach seat on a several hours-long flight (remember – Southwest flies transcons and to Hawaii!) it’s totally reasonable to stand up and get out of that seat as quickly as possible. Why be forced to sit any longer than necessary?
- If the passenger in the aisle gets up, then the passenger in the middle has more space – something they’ve been denied throughout the flight. It’s rude to keep the middle seat passenger hemmed when they don’t have to be.
It was a common early pandemic procedure for some airlines to instruct passengers to remain seated and stand only by row, so that fewer people would be taking items out of overhead bins at once, in order to reduce congestion in the aisles. That meant more time on the plane on most airlines when the engines and APU were off, which meant (depending on aircraft) that HEPA air filtration wasn’t occurring. And in the case of many European airlines it meant waiting longer on the plane in order to crowd into buses after arriving at a hard stand.
There’s no real obligation to cram into the aisles immediately (though try to make room for the passenger in the middle seat to stretch out). But it’s not reasonable to criticize passengers for getting up to stretch, and to get their carry on bags down in order to deplane efficiently.
Let’s be honest, most people who stand up immediately are just impatient and trying to leave before others.
It’s simply rude to get out of your seat and move up the aisle before it’s your row’s turn. This isn’t ‘Nam. There are rules.
I have no problem with people standing up in the aisle, but they’d better be ready to go when a gap opens up.
It’s those people who rush backwards 8 rows for their rollaboard and then just block the aisle waiting for the slowpokes ahead of them to slowly get up and get into the aisle (and get their jackets, and then separately their rolling bag, then extend the handle, then thread their laptop bag onto the handle and realize the wheel is caught on something) that kills me. I could have been off the plane before they even got their second bag down!
If airlines made being trapped in a metal can for hours on end a more pleasant experience maybe I wouldn’t feel like I needed to GTFO. But since it isn’t, and since I know I can clear your row before you even scoot your butt past the second armrest, you have no reason to be mad at me for deplaning ahead of you.
Also: it’s much more efficient to store your bag in the OH bin across from your seat. You can stand up, grab it and go, all in one move. I actually love it when I’m “forced” into this situation.
And please stop thinking that pack on your back isn’t hitting anyone, because it totally is. And so is your clip-on neck pillow.
This has to be one of the worst “articles” of the internet today. It’s obvious the author is one of those impatient fliers who immediately gets up and starts trying to force himself down the aisle when the plane lands. He probably wrote this article out of spite, when a more rational passenger told him off for being so selvish. In fact whenever I see someone trying to get off and cut down the aisle I try to always stand up and block them to let the passengers in front of me have to courtesy of deboarding at their turn.
I remember when flying was fun and now it sucks. People used to be somewhat nicer too.
If you want to fix the deplaning process don’t let fat slobs take a stack of carry-ons on and jam one whole over head compartment full.
Have someone at the gate enforce carry-on rules.
Those old people that pre board leave their seats until everyone else gets off either. It’s bullshit how they are wheeled down the ramp only to pop up and bounce to their seats and then want off first. I’m old, so I can say this.
Maybe put all the snot nose little shits in the back too.
I think there are two parts of this that may need separating. 1. Stand in place – long flights, makes sense IF your legs need an extra stretch and your not being rude and putting your “below the belt” items in your neighbors face. Not everyone needs this at the same exact moment. 2. Let’s be honest, because as a travel expert you should know this, everyone standing up upon landing is jockeying to get up, get their bags, not carrying that they and their bags are now in their seat neighbors face, get into to the aisle, and cut Infront of others to get off 2 minutes faster. That’s an a-hole mentality and the travel expert author sound like one of those people and is trying to justify his ride & entitled behavior.
I recently traveled in Peru. They were organized and civilized on the flights. I took many domestic flights during my stay.
The flight attendants asked people to stay seated until their row was called.
People could stand up and stretch but not grab their luggage and try to push ahead. It was quick, orderly and fair. In addition to that they knew who had tight connections. Their names were announced and they got off first.
Being well over 6′ and being in my late 50s, my knees hurt after sitting for 2 or 3 hours. So I don’t have an issue with people standing up and stretching, just be careful swinging backpacks and luggage. Same when boarding, keep your backpack and purses from hitting me in the head, walk with it directly in front and not on one shoulder.
Standing up doesn’t slow anything down, because the people behind you are supposed to let you go first. Just don’t shove ahead of the rows closer to the exit(s). Some folks need to get the kinks out to be able to go when it’s time. If you want to wait until everyone else deplanes, let the people behind you know so they don’t wait for you.
I stand up because after I get my bag down I need to put away my glasses, my book, my medication and put my coat on, and I won’t have to hold up the people behind me if I’m ready to go.
I don’t have an issue with people standing up, getting their bags and then waiting until it’s your rows turn. But yes, once you have your bags down, get back in your row.
I’ve been on a flight where I had to put my carry ons in a bin a few rows behind me, and even when it was my rows turn, I couldn’t get back there because the aisle was crammed with people. I ended up missing my connecting flight because of it.
The passenger across the aisle from me was telling these people to get back in their rows until it was their turn and a big yelling match broke out, it was so stupid. Yes, stand up, just don’t be in the aisle.
You brought up a real good point. Best of both worlds,ready to go, but yet out of the way.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgAbWVmsxqP/?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=
No one said, do not stand up and get your bags down. If that’s all they were doing would be one thing, but we all know 6 ppl per row cannot stand with luggage in the aisle. However, if you are those people who rush forward knocking over the row in front of you. Your RUDE and INCONSIDERATE. Have some Airplane etiquette and remain at your row until your time to deplane. If there is a break in the line as there usually is, then kindly fall in 1-2 at a time. Not the whole damn rear of the plane running over the ones who just now are able to get to the overhead bin.
I stand up to get into the aisle for the sole purpose of stopping idiots who want move forward of their row.
I was on a flight and as soon the plane as the landed a woman from the very back of the plane rushed forward so she was first in line.
I usually just wait for everyone else to empty out. I am a window seat person also, so I’m not in the way of anybody.
Kalon S – I also will wait until most if not all others have deplaned. I can not think of a time where it was necessary for me to join the mad rush in order to “save” a few minutes when deplaning. Herd mentality on display – Pavlov would be proud…