Humans are strange creatures. We create elaborate rituals out of the most mundane actions, and impart those rituals with great significance. One I’m trying to make sense of is seasoned travelers and first-timers alike tapping planes as they board. Why do people do this?
A quick pat on the fuselage serves to calm the nerves I guess. You don’t have control over much when you board the plane – you’re in the hands of the aircraft’s mechanical condition, the actions of the pilot, and fate. But this is one thing you can control, so if you do this to tell yourself it’s going to be alright. The flipside is, somehow, that if you don’t do it then you won’t be? It’s magical thinking, with obviously no science attached.
I guess for some it’s a ritual that anthropomorphizes the aircraft. You’re greeting the plane. Or you’re treating it as a pet, “stroking a horse before riding.” You’re also personalizing the journey, mixing yourself with the aircraft and thinking of yourself as one. Or you’re just connecting to the wonder – you’re about to sit in a chair in the sky and move at 500 miles per hour, how can you not want to touch such an amazing machine?
I see people do this occasionally, but online people seem obsessed with the ritual so I’m trying to make sense of it. Is this something you do?
@irishdaily I start first!!! I always have to touch the plane ✈️ before I board #plane . @yogameetstravel ✈️ #irishdaily #tiktokoftheday #flight #fyp #airport ♬ original sound – Irish Daily
@jplech #airplane #plane #savinglives #superstitions ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger
I guess it’s better than throwing coins in the engine for good luck.
(Un)Lucky Air flight 8L9960 cancelled as passenger throws “good fortune” coins into aircraft’s engine https://t.co/JpynmjOX1e pic.twitter.com/W6W7E1toTC
— Aviation24.be (@aviation24_be) February 25, 2019
Still, isn’t tapping the plane kind of gross? Remember when most airlines were handing out sanitizing wipes as you boarded the plane, because they knew you wanted your hands and personal space to be clean? And yet here you are touching the dirty outside of the aircraft! I’ve never seen anyone wash their hands right after tapping. Then they probably eat the Biscoff cookie they’re given in the air, touching the cookie with dirty plane hands. Maybe not such a great idea!
O.M.G. I’ve NEVER told anyone I do that!!! I didn’t know it was popular!
Guilty.
That said, I’ve never had a ride go down, so maybe it does work!
Slow news day!
I have started doing this as a ritual.
I don’t believe that it protects me or anything, but it does give me a connection to the bird in some way for that instant.
There’s dirty surfaces everywhere, and I’m not a germaphobe. My immune system has become stronger because I don’t carry copious amounts of sanitizer or wipe my hands down every fifteen seconds.
If the plane needs my good wishes to stay aloft then I have some serious problems. Still, I suppose it’s like the ridiculous thing where people applaud the pilot for not crashing the airplane: unnecessary and weird but we’re only human.
Anxious passengers tapping the plane’s fuselage before entering the aircraft is similar to a worried and nervous pilot kicking the tires before taking off.
I’m gonna guess that the fuselage of a jet aircraft is one of the more sanitary surfaces after spending a couple hours at 500 mph and the intensity of sunlight.
I’m guessing westerners touch the plane just to have some sort of connection to the machine. with most new cars, you generally just touch the handle to unlock and open the door. It’s not exactly like they get to do much else w/ the exterior of the aircraft other than the few inches they can contact it from a jetway.
Slow news day, huh?
Yep, I always knock on the fuselage with a “boom diddy boom boom…boom boom” and then a slap, like a slap on the backside of a horse before you mount it, to show whose is the boss! I’m listening for any strange vibrations or rattles as well!!n Yes it’s a foolish ritual, but as you say, it does give a sense of well-being. Afterwards I use one of the sanitizing wipes to remove any residue from the palm or knuckles of my hand. I often get a special welcome from the boarding crew when I go through my ritual. It is a fun thing for me to do and it doesn’t hold up the boarding process at all.
I like to touch the Oneworld logo as I board. No superstition, just like to do it.
wow i thought it was just me. no superstition just get to say i touched the plane
I like the feel of the steel shell and feeling connected with the surface that bears the brunt of the cold and wind during flight.