I wonder if all of the self-righteous Elites on this thread who are comparing other humans to insects for not following the "rules" ever take more than their stated limit of carry-on baggage.

Be very careful, heel--when I objected to same, I was personally attacked, and accused of having had lice myself, or I wouldn't have been so offended by the term. (My husband and I had bet how long it would take for someone to say I had lice myself, and it was a couple of hours, I recall.)

I always have my laptop bag, and sometimes have a small black duffle bag. I NEVER carry any kind of suitcase onboard. I will say that unless I'm in an exit row or bulkhead on a long flight where I want easy access to my laptop it always goes in the overhead.

Regarding the "gate lice"...the elite gate lice just need to relax a bit. I admit I always stand in the gate area and I proceed to the elite access line when called, but it just amazes me to see these people who go stand right in front of the gate agent on the elite access rug and wait. They always end up in the way when first class boarding is called and those people can't get through. I've actually had people try to shove by me as I am walking up for boarding...these people make me sick.

I can deal with the non elite gate lice because on CO they won't be boarding until it's their turn, but these self righteous elite a**holes who think they are the only elite traveler in the world really get on my nerves. As I said before I find nothing more funny then 10+ people showing up for first class boarding on a plane that only has 6 FC seats. I think that they should make these non-FC elites wait until all elites have boarded...lol...then let them board. Could you imagine how furious they would be...it would be great!

Frankly I couldn't agree more with some of the comments on this thread. As a regular 150K+ traveller for eight years I am fed up with several things:

1. Cell phones - 90% of the calls I hear on the plane are people talking for the sake of having a cell phone with them.

2. People who talk loud and try and impress others with their conversation about what $$$ they have spent, or club they have access to, etc. Often they are also the ones working on a plan during the flight to re-mortgage thier homes.


3. Elite travellers who feel they are entitled to the world - so many times I have heard someone shout out the phrase "I am Premier Exec", or "I am Platnium", etc. and feel they should be allowed more carry-on bags, get mad if they upgraded at last minute and there is no meal, etc. While I agree elite travellers should recieve priviliges there is no need to be pompus and rude about it.

4. Airlines - they have cut everything out of 1st class - meals, service, pillows, etc. EXCEPT THEY DO NOT CUT THE PRICE OF MY TICKETS - Now I pay the same for less while they continue to sell money losing or break even fares to the rest of the plane.

I have to confess to occasionally being an "Elite louse". This happens when I am upgraded to first class but have one of those bulkhead seats where I have to put both my laptop case and carry-on into the overhead, and there is (as you know) no overhead space directly over the bulkhead seats. Then, I try to be the first on the plane. However, I try to hide with the people waiting to get on the flight already in mid-boarding at the ADJACENT terminal, and then pop in when I hear the "Zone 1 Boarding" music...

Well, at least I confessed....

Speaking of cell phones, what is with these idiots who talk on their cell phones while standing over a unrinal, or sitting in a stall? :eek:

Yeah whenever I see one of these I always make sure to flush a couple of times just so the people on the other end of the line know where this guy is and what he's doing while he's talking to them.

That's disturbing: it's the people talking about exceedingly private things on a cellphone that I don't understand. In the past year I've hear someone pleading to not be foreclosed upon, pleading for their company to pay them backwages for 1 month of work, and detailing their first lesbian experience!

My .02 worth
 

I can't pass up this chance on a good rant. First off, I've 'dirt' status with one airline; 'nada' status with another; and 'zilch' with another of the majors. I do travel several times per year; rarely if at all with a 'suitcase'. {I did carry a regulation rollaboard during my 1st RTW trip] That said.....

I generally ride in the back of the bus on domestic and try to adhere to the 'borading by zone', but when I've had my ticket for 60+ days in row 12, then get BP to board with zone 5, there has never been space above my space, due to the fact that Mr & Mrs Row 36D&E have put their carryon suitcases above my seat!

Now, I like comfort as much as the next guy and try to put my backpack in the overhead as it 'conforms' to the space available and I have done longer flights 4+ hrs with a bag between my feet. I must agree with some of the other posters that if the 'carryon' limit were enforced that alone would reduce the 'gate lice syndrom' and the jockeying for position when boarding as well as overhead space. I'm sure someone riding in the back of the bus will have (in their mind) a good reason to put their carryons in the FC or E+ overheads but come on--give me some space too.

This phenomenaon has become increasingly common. I rarely enter a public restroom without encountering one or more cell phone users. My wife notices the same thing in ladies rooms.

In addition to flushing like crazy, if I'm in a stall, I moan like I'm in agony, then put my arm up to my mouth and make loud fart sounds then groan a couple "oh my gods". So far, it's had no effect whatsoever.

Maybe not, but I bet YOU felt better! :) :)

i stay close to the desk just in case of a bump. it has been to my advantage. and will continue to do so.

grbflyer

:D

Someone may have before me, but it would have been completely unbeknownst to me. It's just a term I've used over the past few years and brought to FT this past summer. I guess it's my claim to fame.

stop hogging the spotlight now PSU, your 15 minutes is up ;)

Off Topic, but its late...and I don't think anyone else stuck to topic.
 

I'll add another rant here. I really really really REALLY hate people that put their bags in the F overhead when they are sitting in row 20. I understand if there is no space, and I'm not an F snob especially since I'm not paying for it, but seriously....if I have a tight connection, you use row 5 bin space, and there was plenty of space over, say, row 15 for your row 20 seat, you are really really screwing me. Essentially, you have made me be the last person off the plane because I have to swim against the tide to get by bags, whereas you would have just had to carry your 5 shopping bags another 10 rows.

Personally, I don't think people who are entitled to early boarding (FC and elites) are "gate lice" just because they like to wait in front of the jetway. Since they are early boarders anyway, they are not really blocking anyone by standing there. It's all the non-elite Y pax who crowd the boarding area (and block everyone else) who are gate lice.

There is one thing about elite/FC pax that DOES really bother me, however: those pax who cut in front of me in the line by the jetway because they just assume that I am not elite or FC. What are these people thinking? This happens to me all the time. I will be clearly lined up in front of the jetway, and these people just breeze past me and go to the very front of the line, as if I don't exist. I always wonder what they think when they see me joining them in FC.

I only fly 5-6 times a year on vacation so elite status eludes me. Since I'm on vacation I'm going to relax and enjoy myself. I'm amused by both the elite and the coach lice, kicked back in my chair knowing my seat will be waiting for me when the time comes. My carry-on is small and fits under the seat leaving plenty of legroom on each side to stretch out. So I people watch (always fun in an airport anyway). On one side are the elites, antsy and anxious to get their F seat and their overhead space, on the other the coach people crowding the gate, who look like they fly once every three years. We're all going to leave at the same time and arrive at the same time. Reminds me of the people on the road who go speeding by, then you see them at the next red light. :D Life is really too short to be worrying about the things that some people do.

What is the "proper" term for those passengers who feel it's their duty to check out other passengers' boarding passes in the gate area on the sly for boarding offenses? And even worse, make comments to other passengers who they think are boarding out of turn?

I tend to stand fairly close to the gate. With elite status and a good shot at being upgraded, it is a logical place to stand. Also, when I dlear the upgrade fairly late in the game (eg: right before boarding), I almost always get a bulkhead seat... and it is not fun if one has to put one's bags a couple rows back b/c the rest of the F pax boarded before oneself.

Even on RJ's, I tend to be the first in the boarding queue. This is so I can get on board and sit and relax (8c; exit-aisle) while the rest of the pax board. The practical side of boarding early is that in the past, DL has had a nasty habit of somehow managing to get 2 different pax boarding passes for the same seat. In these situations, I have found that the old adage is true... "Possession is 9/10 of the law". Incidentally, I have not seen the two-bp's, one seat problem for a while.

"Raid Matabichos."

"Obnoxious lice-readers"

Now, here's an idea for a new product that could be sold through the flyertalk store. You know how, when you watch COPS on tv, and they're conducting a raid, each officer has a jacket with the words POLICE on the back to keep his fellow officers from shooting him by mistake? How about a jacket that says ELITE across the back? That way, instead of accusing someone of being rude, you can also accuse him of being illiterate when he pushes past you to board first.

The people who amaze me are those that get off the plane talking on their cell phone, head right for the men's room, and stand at the urinal doing their business while talking on the phone. I always want to yell out so the person on the other end can hear, "do you know what he's holding in the other hand while he's talking to you?"

:p ^

Monitor Lizards?

LOL ^

girls
 

My favorite are the impecably dressed "gentlemen" who push past me to board FC or elite because a little girl like me couldn't possibly be either. The only thought that calms the savage beast in me is that some other poor woman is married to the ***hole!

That is reasonable, but they elites I really consider gate lice are the ones that set up shop right in front of the entry tho the jetway. They are always in the way when the first class cabin is called to board. I also get quite irritated with the people who think that because I'm 25 years old, casually dressed, and scruffy with a goatee that there is no way I'm in F or elite so they can just shove past me while I patiently wait. I may start shoving back, or at least start making very snide comments to them...lol

the gate lice is really a condescending terms and shows your arrogance. I'm really reluctant to repeat it but I may have to be clear.

the lice problem is a result primarily of other pax who feel they can use overhead storage in someone else's row.

I'm always surprised when I board if someone's stuff is there before mine. I find this very rude.

If its first come first serve, can I stow my rollerboard under your seat?

:thereain'trolleyesbigenough:

Feel free to store your rollaboard under my seat. It's the space under the seat in front of me that belongs to me.

Saw an AA Plat louse in ORD last weekend. GA annouced boarding for first class (on 757). This gent had been standing near the gate and immediately rushed into the short line. GA sent him away, for he was in coach, as was this Plat. Good job, GA (although she was a bit brusque).

Where's the Rid?

To me it comes down to this ...

Elite flyers dont feel as appreciated by the airlines that they have invested many hours and many many dollars in ...

When it comes to gate crowding or something similar a little information and a little enforcement would go a long way to solving this problem ... If GA's were to enforce the little baggage measurement device that I have never seen used (its usually right near the podium) and were to also make an announcement (it could even be part of the automatic announcements that get made all the time) about how luggage rules will be strictly enforced then the crowding issue would definately be reduced ...

-----
Being a 27 yr old FF who gets upgraded to FC almost 100% due to Y class tickets for business travel on DL I love the looks I get from some of the older travelers who feel that because I am young I cannot have paid my dues traveling at the back of the bus

I have to admit that, for the most part, AA gate agents are very good at "setting expectations" when preparing to board the plane. They'll usually say, "please look at your boarding pass, if it says 'platinum,' you will board after 'pre-boarding' and first class passengers. After that, we will board by group number, starting with group 1."

I suppose this type of announcement was formally instituted after the huge fiasco at the beginning of 2005 when AA split platinum off from group 1 (and didn't really formally announce they had made the change).

As a fellow youthful-looking FFer, I also am occasionally the subject of skepticism when I take advantage of my elite status. It happens not only when boarding, but also when using first class check-in or the elite security line.

The most egregious example occurred a just a couple weeks ago in OAK, when the ticketing agent (whom I noticed had earlier turned away a coach person) looked over at me and my girlfriend next in line, but then proceeded to wave over the next person in the coach queue. I heard the agent next to her say to her, "I thought you were pulling people from the first-class line." My blood was boiling when I got to this bee-yotch (by now the coach line was empty), but I felt I'd appear pompous if I confronted her on the snub. Boy, did her eyes get BIG when our first-class tix popped out of the printer (I had used the good 'ol upgrades to impress the gf).

Don't think I let the c**t get away with her "judging by the cover" behavior, however. I shot an angry but polite email to AA CS a while later with all the details. They apologized and said they'd follow up with the manager in OAK. I hope they will.

Elite Lice (lice with status)

Snobs?

Exactly! Otherwise we couldn't be elitist pricks if we didn't have underlings to piss and moan about and make us feel better about ourselves.

You guys get to keep your points???? :eek:


:D

When flying in the back of the bus, I want to get on before the bin's fill up and I can't find a place for my modest sized carry-on, and I've often seen the GAs abandon the boarding order part way through.

When flying up front, I appreciate it enough that I think it would be a little curlish to deny the gate lice their little contest.

On the subject of boarding order, how about boarding people in the reverse order of the amount of cr*p they're trying to cart on board. It's incredible the amount of stuff some people are allowed to bring on.

I happen to be the group of boarders named in bold face text.

Sanosuke!