MSPeconomist

In addition, if the occupants of the emergency exit row seats follow the directions, they will place the "door" which is the emergency window exit onto the seats rather than tossing it out the window and away from the aircraft.

jdrtravel

No. The government currently regulates all sorts of things in the air travel market and most (if not all) other markets, and I think this country and this industry are a long, long way off from being communist and regulation on pitch size would hardly put us there. smh, this is like a FT red scare.

C W

I agree with you and don't think that it is communist, I was only responding to MSPeconomist's comment in a relative sense.

Honestly I don't think discussing whether it is or isn't communist has any merit and would be happier to stick to the real substance of the matter. I probably should never have responded at all in hindsight.

jdrtravel

agreed.

The smallest state

Really???????

These people need extra time to board but they can de-board with everyone else, don't be so naïve.

MSPeconomist

Sorry for the diversion, but I was just making a tongue in cheek response to the suggestion that it would be "democratic" to force airlines to offer more space at cheap fares for customers who need it.

C W

I reread what I posted and see how you drew that conclusion. It was not my intention and was poorly worded on my part. I should have used egalitarian in place of democratic, the point was essentially that airline comfort is a commodity not an entitlement.

justhere

Ah yes, naivete. It's appears the shoe fits. Here's the thing, not everyone that preboards does so because they are slow. There are many reasons why someone might preboard.

Even if we are just to consider people who are slow, they generally sit in the first few rows. So why should someone in the first few rows just sit there like the second class citizen you believe them to be while someone in row 12 is holding everyone else up getting their bag out of the overhead, their other bag from under the seat, etc?

I would think it's just common courtesy to minimize the impact to fellow passengers. So if you are slow to disembark, regardless of able body or not, you should let others off first. I agree with that. However, there is no reason to punish someone because they are disabled and make them wait just because.

Additionally, what about if an able bodied person is sitting in the middle and window seat? Now they have to wait too because the preboarder is sitting in the aisle seat and because they are "slow", if they get out of their seat to let the other two passengers out, they are holding up the other passengers waiting to get off.

Maybe rethink that whole "naive" thing.

DiverDave

That is not how it is done for at least some of the regional jet fleet.

David

Open Jaw

I have travelled often with someone who is legally allowed to pre-board. I have even used it myself after an injury on both domestic and international flights. Each passenger requesting to pre-board normally gets a form listing the regulations for pre-boarding. One clearly states that exit rows are off limits.

I must also point out that some airlines and airports require all wheel chair users to board and exit the plane in a chair. Others, however, do not. When I injured my knee during a trip, I needed to use a chair on the flight home with two connections. After each flight landed, I normally walked to get off the plane and only used the chair in the airport because the distance between gates was long. Please remember some people with disabilities can walk on flat ground but cannot use stairs or uneven ramps. Moreover, their disability may not be noticeable to the public, but that doesn't mean the people are lying nor faking.

Having said all that, I, too, have seen perfectly healthy people scam their way on the plane first. That really makes me angry because truly disabled persons suffer due to the actions of dishonest people.

MSPeconomist

However, I remember during the road warrior training at the DL ATL DO, there was some emphasis on putting the door on the seat and not just tossing it away from the aircraft. Our instructor speculated that this was to avoid damage to the door rather than concern that it would be in the way and perhaps impede deployment of the slide from another door (window exits are overwing and don't have slides on any aircraft type AFAIK) or block passengers from getting away from the aircraft after exiting, but I wasn't convinced.

The smallest state

I kind of think common courtesy extends to the people who need a little more time as well.

This is exactly what I am implying. If you get on first, you should get off last. If you need a little extra time to get on, then getting off should be the same, remain seated until everyone is off and then you can gather your things. I am ticked at the scammers, not the people who are elderly, injured or with a medical condition.

justhere

That's what I said. And it goes both ways. Be courteous and understand that just because someone is disabled, they shouldn't have to be degraded and singled out and be "last off".

Why? I sometimes travel with someone who needs extra time to get on. They will sit in the first three rows of coach in an aisle seat depending on what is available. We always let those around us get off before us but we are considerate of anyone else in the same row and their need to exit the plane in a timely manner.

Once a row or two behind us has emptied out there is always an able-bodied person who was sitting in a window seat taking their time getting their bag out of the overhead. That creates enough of a gap for us to allow anyone else in our row out and for us to exit the plane without holding up anyone else.

The fact that you don't see that and think that someone who needed extra time to board should just sit there and wait, even though no one is passing in the aisle and no one is being delayed, speaks volumes.

Zorak

Consider that people who (legitimately) pre-board may need to make a connection just like everyone else, for which they also need to get to the gate earlier and pre-board again.

Scammers (whether pre-boarding, ESA, or whatever) annoy me too, but there probably isn't a good way to penalize them without adversely affecting those who really need to pre-board also. (Hmm, maybe "if you pre-board you may not put anything in the overhead bin, underseat personal items only" -- although that won't work for pre-boards who need the bulkhead seat)

DougSkymiles

...or require all people wanting to preboard to get special boarding pass from front counter or GA. That way DL could be assured that "those needing additional time or assistance in boarding" were not occupying emergency exits.