WillCAD

I always sit in a window seat, so I'm always trapped by the middle and aisle seat occupants. And if any of them happen to be the patient type who won't even stand up to get their bags from the overhead until the rows in front of them start moving, then I'm stuck. I'm too tall to stand under the overhead without bending in half at the waist.

I often sit in a row toward the rear of the cabin, so I know I'm going to be one of the last off the plane anyway, and that relieves the pressure. I just arrange my in-seat/underseat carry-on items till the others in my row are out of their seats, then I grab my bag from the overhead and start marching.

Funny thing is, being a mildly obsessive/compulsive personality, I could easily grab my stuff and be off the plane before most people were even unbuckled, if I were in aisle seats in 1 or 2. But I hate bulkheads, and I hate aisles, so I kind of have to make my own bed and lie in it.

My last flight was the first time I've sat in a row near the front of the cabin in years. I was in 4A, but 4B was empty, and the guy in 4C was with his family who were across the aisle. I was able to stand up in the middle and pull my bag out of the overhead, and the guy in 4C got into the aisle with his family reasonably quickly, so I was off the plane in under 5 minutes. It usually takes me close to 15 from the back of the cabin.

But this whole issue is just one of many reasons why A) I always fly non-stop, and B) I feel that anyone who books a tight connection is a fool. Tight connections due to unexpected delays are out of your control, but intentionally booking a connection of less than 60 minutes is just dumb. Personally, if I couldn't fly non-stop, I wouldn't book a connection of less than 90 minutes.

Passive?