MissJoeyDFW

Someone tried to do this weekend on an American flight from Denver to Dallas. I sit in an aisle seat and the second the bell goes off I pop out of the seat and collect my things. I was standing in the aisle, the guy across from me was also standing with his bag. I was slightly behind/beside him but still next to my seat. I noticed that someone was pushing on me. I finally turned around to give them the look and it was two women who demanded I move aside so they can get off the plane. I am on row 26, rows 3 and 4 in the front are just now leaving the plane. I don't even respond to her and turn around. I get pushed on a couple of more times so I manage to cross step in front of the carry on bag the guy next to me has in the aisle. He pushes his bag over to take the space I have created.

Now they are going to have to push on him or his bag which they choose not to do. Then as the row in front of me starts to leave and I am about 2 seconds away from stepping forward these two women shout out "she held up the line, can you believe she held up the line?", I assume it was about me. Me and the 25 rows ahead of me have held up the line ladies! But still I don't engage or say a single word during the entire one-sided exchange. I don't want to be that person who has the police called because you have words with someone on a plane.

Then of course you know the end to this story, we all arrived at baggage claim at the same time and my checked bag floated to the top and I left before they did.

belfordrocks

I have another etiquette question about deplaning

So I'm in Y on a US domestic flight, seated in row 30, but the only available overhead space was above row 26. I put my bags above 26 and take my aisle seat in row 30. When we land, I get up and there is nobody in the aisle in front of me at the time, so I walk to the row 26 overhead to get my bag, then wait to deplane standing next to row 26. Some guy turns around and tells me "you cut in line, that's bad etiquette". I say to him I'm getting my bag from this locker, I'm not going to walk back to row 30 afterwards to wait just because I sat there. And that was the end of that.

Was I being unreasonable or was he (or both)?

StartinSanDiego

I think that could go either way. Mostly, if my bags are ahead of me, I stay in my row, wait my turn and grab them on the way out.

If they end up BEHIND me, it's a harder call... do I run grab them before the aisle fills, or wait until everybody has past and I can go backwards and get them? Usually, there's small gaps of space in the aisle, and I can either work my way back, row by row, or dart back and grab my bag while people are organizing their own luggage further down. It's only a minute or two extra, not worth aggravating others.

zitsky

I think what you did was fine. If you had all your stuff and were the first to stand up, I don't think it's rude.

vanillabean

You cannot cut in line where there is no line.

sethb

Do you get out of the aisle to grab them, or do you block and delay all the passengers behind you (they don't count because you can't see them, right?) while you take your bags out?

evergrn

I'm in the middle of economy, we arrive at the gate, and I immediately stood up in the aisle as I always do to relieve my back. But this lady on the row behind mine apparently has to get off the plane before everyone else. She forces her way past me, and she's carrying this huge pillow that shoves into everyone she squeezes by. As she pushes her way up past others, she's saying she has a tight connection, the next flight leaves in 30min. But she only makes it up a few rows before she's hopelessly stuck behind too much crowd that she has to give up. Thing is, the flight arrived at the gate 30 minutes before scheduled arrival. And she's telling people her next flight leaves in 30min (I don't think anyone called her out on it, though).

Velocipediste

I hadn't flown in several years and was recently surprised at how lackadaisical passengers were in exiting the aircraft. This applied to four segments, at both a hub and leaf airports.

What I expected: The seat belt sign would ding off, aisle passengers would jump up and retrieve their bags, and wait in the aisle. If a gap opened up, they'd move forward, possibly past middle and window pax that are slow to get their stuff together. It was a 33 row single aisle aircraft so I did expect some portion of the rear to remain seated for a little bit.

What happened: I watched a wave slowly move back through the aircraft. As row N is starting to make their way out the aisle, row N+1 would be standing and getting their bags down. Row N+2 and back would remain seated - even the aisle pax in N+2! This ultimately created plenty of gaps in the people exiting the aircraft.

I was a "window" nearly in the last row. I expected my "aisle" to get up immediately upon the ding, allowing the "middle" to move over to the aisle seat. This would give me space to get my bag out from under the seat and take care of a few tasks. In the end, because there was more gap than passengers, I got to walk off the aircraft so fast I was concerned I might trip on an errant object.

ThompsonBr

I find it bad etiquette to fill the aisle with your bag as this prevents others from being able to get up and ready to depart. It seems really easy to prep your bag when you put it up such that you can grab it and go as soon as you can start moving forward. The two seconds that takes, gives someone else the opportunity to be ready and set to deplane, which is >2 seconds.

Just my opinion, but I have a tendency to over analyze . . .

synthkeys

Don't we all! Flyertalk wouldn't be what it is without those tendencies

ThompsonBr

Had the people in row 25 started deplaning and therefore row 26 passengers were just sitting and waiting? if so, then no.
If not, then IMO, yes, I don't jump up at the ding. when the deplaning process gets near my row, I will stand up and get ready for an immediate exit as the space in front of me opens. I expect that anyone in the rows behind me will allow for this as I allow the rows in front of me, as long as they are prepared for an immediate exit.
Otherwise, you are jumping in front of others.

WillCAD

I thought I might have a tendency to over-analyse, so I logged my behavior, movement, and daily activities in 15-minute blocks for a week, and charted the results in a spreadsheet and Google map, but the results were inconclusive.

SkyBuck

"Jumping up at the ding" is the flip side of the gate lice phenomenon. No point in getting up until the jet bridge is connected and the door is open, at the very least. The exception to this is if you're in the first row and/or your bags are behind you.

Badenoch

I'm always in an aisle seat and if you don't get up at the ding then the space beside your seat will be instantly filled by someone who does. Seatbelt light off, stand up, retrieve bag from overhead, place it on my seat and wait until the queue moves forward. Let people in aisles before you go ahead if they are standing and ready, move into any empty space that is created, stare with resignation at the dummies who stand there and fiddle with their bags, put on their coats or otherwise block passage.

rickg523

As has been expressed before, some of us need to stand up after sitting in an economy seat for a couple of hours. (We're also the people who you might see strolling down the aisle once in a while.)
But, most disembarking ime has been pretty orderly. Aisles get up at the bell, some pull their bags, some don't until their ready to move. But Aisle 8 doesn't go until Middle and Window 7 have gotten out, pulled their bags and moved forward. The exception is always those in middles and windows who aren't ready. Eye contact to make sure they know you're going to move past is standard.
Of course, every few flights have someone "special" on it. But, after all, it's a public conveyance. What do expect? Overall and in general, getting off the plane is uneventful and ordinary.