What's the rush to board the plane?
 

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question (I'm new to FT) but I see a lot of threads talking about how passengers rush to board the plane, getting in elite lines (when they're not elite) or boarding with the A group when they are holding a B card. I've experienced this on my own flights as well, when passengers are pushing to get on before me.

In cases of assigned seating, I don't understand why people are in such a hurry.

Is it simply because of the limited storage space for carryon items? And if your bag won't fit in the overhead, isn't a gate check almost as fast? Personally, I've never had a flight leave when I was still waiting in line to get on.

Am I missing something?

I have often thought about this myself and have come to the conclusion that it is mostly motivated by need to overhead storage space. Of course, it gets worst in the winter months with the heavy winter coats and Christmas presents.

two thoughts
 

As the other poster pointed out, the storage space issue comes up.
If there is no place to stow my items and the FA has to check it, I have to dig in my bag and pull out my delicate optics and electronics, and it is just a little hassle I would rather not contend with if I didn't have to. But I don't feel strongly enough about it to jump a line ahead of my turn.

I used to fly Southwest, and it seemed that you had to be really aggressive to get a decent seat, so maybe I got trained to be anxious to get on the plane quickly. Sometimes I get airsick and it is better to be in the aisle so I can make a quick run for the lav if need be. Not everyone understands why a petite person can't just sit in a middle seat. Believe me, I am not a naturally pushy person. If I am in a rush to get somewhere, there is a probably a good reason you want to stand well back.

storage
 

Yes - storage is important - as well as the location of the storage (hopefully closer to where you sit).

And duplicate seats is also an issue. while this has changed quite a bit with the automated boarding machines, I can't tell you how often I have had a good seat assigned only to either find somebody sitting there when I got on the plane or somebody come up later and say that they had my seat. And in this case, possession is 99%.

I think a lot of it is psychological, too. The gate area is shared space for everyone. In your "own" seat, you're in your "own" space. People want that. While the privacy and ownership are more an illusion than real, perception is everything.

The other points raised have some validity, but since people with no carry-ons or heavy clothing seem to be as compelled to board quickly as those who have an objective need for overhead space, and most people aren't too concerned about someone else being in their assigned seat, they can't be the whole story.

Control
 

I agree that folks crash the gate because of the limited overhead space. When you check your bag, you give up control. I was flying out to Vegas last week with Ms. Personalcarechemist and her twenty pairs of comfortable shoes. So, we checked the bags and figured on a twenty minute wait to get the bags. No such luck. The cargo door was stuck and we had to wait 80 minutes.

The gate agents should make a bigger deal of getting folks to sit the heck down until their zone is called. And, Corporate ought the spread out the zones. Zone 1 should be for 1st class cabin only, Zone 2 should be for Chairman's only, etc. In Charlotte when you call Zone 1 and Zone 2 together, which is common, you end us with 90% of the plane getting in line.

Welcome to FT! Eventually this thread will probably wind up in TravelBuzz as it's a general travel-related topic not specifically related to frequent-flier miles. But it's a good question...

The Southwest gate-rush is explainable: people have to learn how to game that system as best they can to get a decent seat. In the Southwest forum, there is both a long thread about seating etiquette and a long thread about whether or not WN should consider assigned seating and do away with the A-B-C stuff. Most people on this board hope they keep the A-B-C (I think) because those of us here who fly Southwest know how to play the current game very well to always get A cards.

I think the assigned seating rush has more to do with mob mentality than it does a conscious decision to get on early for prime overhead bin space. Yeah, that might be a little bit of it, but I see just as many people with small carryons or no carryons bum-rushing the gates as I do people trying to carry on the kitchen sink. You're sitting there in the gate area, they call Group 1, everybody around you gets up and starts moving, so you do too. We aren't much different from cattle in that respect. :) I'm guilty of it even when I have a Group 1 card. They make the preboard call, and my inner cow says "Get up there and be FIRST in your group!" No threat at all re: the carryon - it's a purely a mob thing.

As for carryons, it's usually the people who show up last-second at the gate that get hosed and have to check the bag. If you board with your group, and your carryon is "legal" per the size rules, you'll probably get it on somewhere. FA's can help out. Even on full flights I only see 2 or 3 (large) carryons getting carted back off the plane.

--Some people might be concerned about a shortage (actual or perceived) of those germy pillows and blankets.

--For people riding in steerage, getting a seat toward the back is usually a guarantee of having enough overhead space when one's row or group is called; however, the people who rush to board the plane are often the same people who get seats as far forward as possible. Unless I have an untra-tight connection, I like to sit toward the back.

For me, definitely the carry-ons. If I'm checking baggage, I don't care when I board. If not checking, I do NOT want to gate-check, or end up in 7a with my bag somewhere near 30. While I have been pleased with the new elite baggage service (actually got my bags within minutes), I have in the past waited upwards of 1 hour at EWR, and had bags lost. Actually, on my last trip checking baggage, the speed of the elite service caused me to lose a bag - some moron claimed it and left before we reached the carousel. CO tracked them down and retrieved the bag within about 24 hrs. (I feel justified in using the term moron: my bag: about 75lbs, huge. Theirs: about 25lbs, small. Similarity: they were both red. Hope they got penalized somehow.)

Some of us who are sitting 'upfront' like to board early to 'eye-up' all the other passengers. ;) :D

Also, you get to establish yourself with the flight attendants ( to see if they'll be an OK crew).

Its mostly about the overhead space. Personally, the aircraft type and cabin I'm in makes a big difference. For instance, a UA 767 has a terrible bin situation. I often choose row 1 in many 2 cabin planes and know I have no option but to find space.

I do think there is some sort of psychological desire to get on the plane fast and settle in because it is the final step in what has already been a stressful day for many - from the trip to the airport, to the check-in, to security, to everything involved. Once you are in your seat, you've "made it."

As I almost always travel with carry on only, I have been traditionally eager, but not pushy, to get on the plane sooner rather than later. However, in the handful of trips that I have had checked luggage and a smallish carry-on in the past couple of years (especially those in 1 cabin planes), I find that I am in no rush to get on the plane.

One time I was particularly eager to get onboard is when I saw someone holding the identical seat assignment in the gate area, and I thought I should mark my territory first :p

As pinniped so eloquently stated:

"Welcome to FT! Eventually this thread will probably wind up in TravelBuzz as it's a general travel-related topic not specifically related to frequent-flier miles. But it's a good question..."


Craig6z
Moderator


P.S. Welcome to Flyertalk

For me, the prime reason is overhead storage space (above where I am sitting). Sometimes when I am on a tight connection I want to be able to exit the plane quickly, without the possibility of waiting for the whole plane to empty if I have to store my rollaboard behind where I am sitting.

I also like the security of being on board, and can take out a book and relax without having to check the monitors, or worrying about nodding off in the RCC.

John

It's the overhead space for me as well. When I fly coach, I tend to try and board sooner (but not jumping in line), rather than later. I almost never check bags because of the delay, so overhead space is a concern for me.

When I fly through a busy/large airport with a small connection window (20-25 minutes), those precious 3-4 minutes (at best) that it takes them to bring gate-checked baggage to the jetway cause you to run in order to catch your next flight. Or, if you end up sitting in the front of the plane (ie, boarding later), on full flights you may have to stick your bags near row 27, forcing the entire plane to unload before you can get your bag - thus chewing up time on short connections.

If I have a few hours between flights, I tend to not worry as much, but still would much prefer to not have to worry about whether I have packed something fragile/expensive in my soon-to-be-gate-checked bag.

The gate check itself is quick, but actually retrieving your bag may take an extra half-hour. There's no gate-claim at the destination.