An American Airlines passenger wants to know if they were violating norms (“AITA?”) by scooting past other customers on the plane that were moving slowly when he had to connect in Dallas.
He flew through DFW airport with a planned 70 minute connection, but small delays cut that down so that his connecting flight was already boarding. And as deplaning dragged on, he saw his limited connecting time shrinking. He was in a seat near the front of coach – row 9 – so he figured if he ran he’d make it. So as soon as the seatbelt sign turned off, he:
- Unbuckled immediately.
- Grabbed his backpack with both straps in one hand
- Stood up first, walked to the front, and became first in line to deplane.
Often flight attendants make announcements to let passengers with tight connections off first. That didn’t happen here. But he still made it to the gate as the last passenger on his connecting flight – because he cut the line to get off the aircraft.
Some flyers believe that the best thing to do when your plane lands is to remain seated until it’s your turn to get off of the aircraft. They shake their heads, wondering why people stand up when they can’t really go anywhere until the doors of the aircraft open, and everyone ahead of them gets off first?
DFW Airport Skytrain
This view is 100% wrong. You may not get anywhere (much) more quickly, but you might be more comfortable and crucially by using all the available space in the aircraft you’re helping other passengers be more comfortable, too.
There are three reasons to get up right away – why it benefits you and most importantly benefits your fellow passengers.
- Getting ready to deplane, including getting things out of the overhead bin, speeds up the process. That means getting everyone off the aircraft a couple of minutes faster. And that means more people make tight connections (which is polite to your fellow travelers). It also means allowing those couple of minutes for cleaners to get on board and clean the aircraft (polite to the cleaners, letting them do their job, and polite to the next passengers on the plane). It helps with the airline’s operation, too, which makes them more efficient and holds down costs and ultimately fares.
- It’s polite to the middle seat passenger who’s been stuck in place for hours when the person in the aisle seat gets up into the aisle. When you no longer have to have seat belts fastened, you want to take advantage of all of the space in the aircraft. The aisle seat passenger gets into the aisle, the middle seat passenger now has the space of the aisle seat to spread into, and the window seat passenger has a bit more elbow room as well. Why wouldn’t you use all of the space in the aircraft for comfort?
- You’ve been stuck in an uncomfortable seat for hours, why not stand as soon as you can? Especially in an era of less-padded slimline seats, it’s time to give your back a rest.
There’s really little benefit to remaining seated until it’s your row’s turn to deplane. But what about jumping ahead of other passengers in the aisle to get off even more quickly?
The world’s best deplaner can make it from the rear of the aircraft to the front before other passengers even get up.
Wait your turn is a basic norm. You might think the passenger in this video is causing others to stay on the aircraft longer by jumping to the front, and that it’s unfair. But he’s getting off the plane quickly! If everyone got off quickly, everyone would be on the plane for less time. Fast deplaning also keeps flights running on time, allowing airlines to turn aircraft more quickly. And quick turns, along with on-time operations, keep costs down and fares low.
That doesn’t mean you should shove ahead of other passengers. You should not. But if other passengers are taking their time getting up, and there’s an opening where you won’t block anyone else or slow them down, by all means go ahead of them. That keeps the disembarkation process moving, and gets everyone else off the plane quicker.
And when you’re trying to make a connection it’s everyone for themselves. After all, there may not be any seats on the next flight… or even the one after that.
There’s difference between cutting in front of others (unless you’re trying to make a connection) versus going ahead of someone sitting there or standing in the seating area playing around their phone.
Reddit’s doing the heavy lifting for ya these days, isn’t it, Gary? Bah!
I take landing as a time to relax. As people bang into each other in the aisles, I’m comfortably sitting in my now-empty row, catching up quietly on phone calls and emails. When everyone rumbles out on the row that’s behind me, that’s time to move.
I understand the point here, Gary but I’ll admit. I don’t get why every other passenger whether connecting or local needs to work together to fix AA’s operational problems or their lack of a system to wait 5 minutes for a connecting passenger. Asking 170 people to change the usual deboarding chaos for even more chaos (or usually, they’re just not yelling loud enough about their own tight connection so the one entitled person in the back that did yell comes shoving to the front to make their 50 minute connection to Tucson…) so 2 people can make a connection that AA probably knew they wouldn’t make statistically on a bad day…?
For a local vs connecting passenger, is there a huge difference in arriving 45 minutes late when the local passenger planned a meeting well in advance that they now will miss unless they leave, as expected, vs the person that might miss their connection? The FA announcement about sitting if you’re local sure is meant to shame those that thought they bought an on time arrival and planned something upon arrival.
I feel for the individuals missing their connection but I think it’s the airline’s problem at this point. Both local and connecting people bought an expectation and the airline did not deliver it. It annoys me when a FA tries to shame local passengers for planning a relatively on-time arrival to the airline’s financial benefit of getting a connecting passenger on their way.
Weather is a different story but that’s often not the case.
I’ve had this happen where someone really wasn’t up post-ding first but still demands to walk by you with no room in front of you. It’s kind of rude when they use elbows and language to shove their way to the front from row 15.
Airlines claim to make more money off tight connection times. How is it everyone else’s problem when the airline didn’t make their promise happen?
@1990 – reddit may have been the source for the context of this post, but the advice Gary provided is too refined and high-brow for reddit (a community of 99% losers).
Gary is 100% correct and I follow all advice provided.
@PENILE — Is that you, @Erect? Welcome back, sir…
“Airlines claim to make more money off tight connection times.” Huh? I’ve heard airlines can improve the bottom line by turning a plane around quickly, but never that. I’ll gladly take the heat for being 10 minutes late to a meeting if it means a connecting pax does miss their flight, particularly if that causes them to loose a day. But, we all have different levels of compassion for strangers.
Channeling my inner George Clooney/Up in the Air here, but we also need to shame a lot of other selfish behaviors:
People who walk two abreast (or more) while walking slowly: move to the right or pass on the left. The ones who fumble with their multi-piece luggage in the aisle- either wait for a bigger gap to get your stuff or practice at home before you come to the airport. Also, attention four-wheeled luggage people: don’t hold your four-wheeled roller out to the side at arm’s length. Worst of all: the ones who stand on the left side of moving sidewalks: those folks deserve to be subject to increased “random” security checks.
It’s called banking your hub and Yes. Executives say all the time that a tight connection creates a higher fare since it makes a for a lower travel time.
Glad you’re happy to cancel your own plans for the airline. I’m just noting that I think the social blame is directed at the wrong group. If the airline created a connection that is too tight, it isn’t up to local passengers or those with somewhat less connections to sacrifice their own plans to make up for either the airline or the passengers’ planning.
Row 9 passenger can and should have alerted a flight attendant of their tight connection, advocating for yourself is always the best policy. Row 9 passenger could also purchased a first class ticket in order to sit as close as possible to the front of the plane. I loathe when other passengers are supposed to cater their actions to someone they dont know and only have in common that one that particular day, they are on the same flight.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Bonus points if you can do it so quickly that it doesn’t affect anyone.
@1990 — I thought the same thing about @PENILE as I was going down the comments, ha!
I always sit in an aisle seat, and always stand while waiting. My back insists on it.
@L737 — Either that or one of his several other similar online personas.
By the way, first new episode started strong with cameos of both the Hypnotoad and Hedonismbot. Phew!
@L737 — “Woo, I’m not fittin’ in an airplane seat..” (that one felt literally designed for us at VFTW)
@1990 — Fits the nomenclature for sure. And ha-haa yup, the season was a success after the first two minutes! Was very pleased. That one was a “fitting” one, dropped you an Easter egg as well in the Strata Elite thread.
@1990 – “several … online personas”?
My man, I’ve been doing this for a decade. I’m at hundreds of personas on both this website and One Mile at a Time.
Live and Let’s Fly once admonished me for my trolling, then I lambasted him by saying his blog is so unpopular and irrelevant that it’s not even worth being trolled.
Gary Leff likes trolls (said years ago on a podcast). My trolling has also been educational to Gary Leff himself. To give a very specific example, I assumed the persona of an equity partner at Kirkland, the law firm. Gary Leff thought a Kirkland partner was “upper middle class.” No way. Kirkland partners pull in an average annual income of $9.2 million (publicly disclosed AmLaw data) plus many more millions through private equity investment opportunities that are not available to the general public (but are made available to them by their clients).
My college roommate is a Kirkland partner. Too bad I didn’t make it, even though I’m just as suave and handsome and intellectually capable as he; so I’m reduced to internet trolling.
Every time I fly, with extremely rare exception, there is a connecting flight involved. Minimum connecting times vary by airport and even more rare is my connection at a nearby gate. Delays happen sadly and that means the possibility of missing my flight. I will get out of my seat as soon as it is possible and it does not matter one single bit what anybody thinks. I am aware that most people feel as if they are more important than any other passenger. But to all those who get their shorts in a twist, enjoy the squirm. I will laugh all the way to my connecting flight.
Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of giving priority deplaning to people with tight connections, and I’ve got several solid reasons why. First off, it messes with the efficiency of getting off the plane. Airlines already have a system in place, usually front to back or whatever works best for that aircraft, and letting a few folks cut the line just slows things down for everyone. It’s also not exactly fair. Everyone on board has somewhere to be, and just because someone booked a risky connection doesn’t mean the rest of us should be delayed to help them make it. Then there’s the logistical headache. Flight attendants would have to track who’s who, verify connection times mid-air, and make announcements that just add more chaos to an already stressful moment. If there’s an easy way to get off the plane first, some passengers will take advantage of it and falsely claim tight connections just to get ahead. Plus, the time saved is usually pretty minimal anyway. If your gate is halfway across the airport and you need a tram or a bus, those extra 60 seconds of early deplaning won’t save you. Airlines have better ways to help people with real connection issues, such as golf carts, holding the connecting flight, or fast-lane passes at security. At the end of the day, it comes down to personal responsibility. If your itinerary includes a 30-minute connection, that’s on you, not the rest of the cabin. Giving people special treatment just encourages poor planning and adds more stress to the process.
@PENILE — Are you @Mike Hunt, too?
Golden Age of Air Travel devolves to a city bus.
@1990 – I have only had one user name on this blog except for a single occasion when I made a parody handle. Not sure if Gary does IP logging, but if so, he will know this is true.
@Mike Hunt — Same here, brother. Just havin’ some fun with @PENILE.
Gary – agree with this but is today “repeat” day? Just landed and saw yet another shill for the Citi Strata card and then this many times repeated topics as well. Not enough real news to hit your quota or just haven’t had a chance to browse Reddit?
@Retired Gambler — So, I’m not the only one seeing these patterns, eh. Well, it’s his site, so he can do as he wishes, but, as far as shills go, VFTW is still far better than the rest (TPG couldn’t handle comments…)
Yep, he was the AH. Good for him that it worked out but he should have planned for more time between flights. That is what I do if I have to connect at a dodgy airport. Something he could have done taking the same flight would be to buy the highest class ticket available so he could easily get off first. I have seen a lot of people get up fast after the seatbelt sign goes up and with him being back a bit, he must have rudely pushed past other people. I have had people try to do that with me. Mostly I block them, which I can do, being a big guy. Of course, if it is a big guy with an attitude, I let them go. I will let someone go if they ask politely but rude doesn’t fly with me. He had choices and he chose to be rude.
the seatbelt sign goes out
OK, he booked a 70 minute connection. That’s shorter than I’d like, but 30 minutes above minimum for AA at DFW. I’d gladly let him through. Still, to all of you who wouldn’t, please wear name tags with your above names on them, so I won’t mistakingly let you through.