Same here, I feel there is an unspoken rule of etiquette to allow the passengers in the row ahead of you to collect their things and deplane. If you can get your stuff without slowing them down then it seems as though everything goes smoother and people get off faster than if you don't push up into rows and become in someones way.

I have difficulty urinating on moving vehicles (planes, trains, buses) and can hold out for up to an 8 hour flight--but sometimes I have to go, so once the plane has landed I would like to get off ASAP (but still try to adhere to the normal exiting protocols (row by row, starting at the front)--others may have less control and may try to get off immediately.

OK - I now see the first allowable exemption to the normal front-to-back disembarking process. One will now be allowed to disembark first under these circumstances. Those qualified shall be identified by a large yellow fireman's hat labelled "Gotta Pee!!!". All passengers shall be instructed to let those wearing such hats to disembark first.

What about those who need to go... the other way?

The common standard where?

The common standard in the UK is that if you can stand up and want off quickly, you do, and that some people will let people go in front of them, some won't.

Not sure there has to be an etiquette or standard, just politeness.

The one thing I'd say is polite is that if you are in the aisle you don't sit there for ages if the people in the window/middle want to get out quickly, but equally if you're middle or window you need to wait for aisle, not try climbing over. The passengers concerned talking to one another about their priorities is the best way.

Neil

SOL

How does that work during an emergency? Every man for himself?

1. The guy who sits on the aisle in Row 1 has to get off.

2. The guy who sits at the window seat in the last row has to get off.

3. Everyone else has to get off.

SO??

I can't imagine an emergency evacuation to be anything *but* that. Adrenaline takes over and convention will go out of the window.

In any case, during an evacuation on a typical narrowbody you've got rear x2, middle x4 and front x2, not just the one door at the front. (Does anyone feel a bit "cornered" in a rear-engined narrowbody where you're in the rear section and there are no rear doors, e.g. Fokker 70 and 100? I do.)

Neil

They make brown helmets too.

Everyone gets off eventually so whats the problem? As a previous poster says it is purely down to manners. So the person in front holds you up for what 20 seconds or so....then you have to wait for hours at passport control/immigration so what was the rush all about in the first place?

On a side note though - we have a 1 hour connection time on our next flight so sure hope everyone deplanes fast or we may be blustering past politely of course!!!

Which goes first? Brown or Yellow? Or do they go simultaneously?

Not sure who should go first but in my experience bad things usually happen when they try and go together....

Depends on the airport layout. Some, like GVA, have a small number of passport desks, so being number 1 or number 156 off an EZY A319 makes a huge difference.

The answer is to sit up front if you want off quickly, but that's by no means guaranteed.

Neil

In terms of efficiency, this is probably the fastest way to empty a plane. But judging by the reaction of 99% of the posters, it's never going to happen because front to back is totally ingrained into our flying psyche. And at the end of the day, efficiency is probably overrated, given that people travel with families, colleagues, etc.

On the other hand, I will admit that the last few times I have had an aisle seat just behind the exit rows, I have been surprised by the number of people in window and aisle seats who took a LONG time to get their stuff down from the overhead bins. There were multiple instances when the whole aisle up to the front (10 or 15 rows on a 737 or A320) was empty, but no one was moving because one or two people were blocking it in order to get their stuff down and get organized. Maybe it's this behavior (also frowned upon by most posters) that precipitated the OP.

And as other have pointed out, this is only an issue if you have a gate. If you're on a bus, everyone has to wait for everyone else, so let's be civil and patient (which you should be in any case).