JVPhoto

I take in a lot of fluids and well...they have to come out. I try to jump up and go right before the door closes.
In any event if I can't do that and we sit for another 10-30 min on the ground and then by the time we are in the air I get up once I see the FAs get up and make a beeline for the lav. I also know how to unlock the door from the outside.

bmwe92fan

Lol so do I but haven't had to use that in a while.... Perhaps it's an international flight thing as that's 90 percent of my flights - but the difference between UA and other airlines is striking - any sign of turbulence and the seat belt sign goes on for an hour!

kr777

The pilots could of forgot to turn it off and no one noticed.

meFIRST

This is a uniquely US carrier phenomenon, which is endemic on UA.

The standard MO on foreign carriers is to take the seatbelt sign off after 10,000ft, unless there is an advisory not to do so. ( 10 minutes, may 15 minutes max)

United and most US carriers will keep this on all the way to the climb, until cruising altitude (30-45 minutes), and way after that. This is probably UA company policy.


In cases of turbulence warning, UA will turn in on way before and leave in on for much longer than needed. I should mention other US carriers do the dame.

On UA, I ignore the seatbelt sign, and instead rely on the double ding.
Once the double ding goes off, the crew get off their seats and start heading to the galley.

That's when I do get off my seat, open the overhead bin or walk to the bathroom. If questioned I mention, that the crew is off their seats, so how bad could it be? Usually crew relents.

Its a fake warning that is not worth following. This after 20+ years of lots of travel. These days less and less on US carriers.

Seriously, if you want a more pleasant journey, don't fly a US carrier.

luckypierre

I am always struck by the lingering seat belt sign on US carriers, both domestic and internationally. AA seems as chronic as UA and it has certainly reached a stage of "boy cries wolf" psychological diminishment. I think there are a ton of reasons-laziness and forgetting, perceived help in clearing the aisles for the flight attendants, the rise of legal anxieties in large corporations modifying behavior in favor of caution, basic crowd control. I do believe that perhaps unconsciously the pilots also use the seat belt warnings as another layer of defense against a similar 9/11 plot.

Within the first year of flying post 9/11, I was on an AA flight from Texas to Florida. We were probably two thirds of the way to cruise altitude (MD80) when the pilot got on the PA and started quite speech to the passengers in a voice cracking with emotion...."I am an ex military pilot and in the military part of our training is to classify all other aircraft as suspicious until their identity can be proven. What was done to us on September 11 is seared on my brain and I will not allow a repeat of it to occur on my watch. Who knows where the next ones will come from? For the safety of your fellow passengers, I am leaving the seat belt sign on for the duration of the flight."

There were several religous digressions regarding opposing forces that I have left out of my recounting, but I believe it illustrates the idea of the seat belt sign somehow briefly dissuading someone intent upon suicidal chaos from starting his diabolical plot.

luxtrvlwrks

I flew last year from IAH to BOS and they kept the sign on for the first 2.5-3.0 hours of the flight, despite zero turbulence. Of course, we had been sitting on the aircraft longer than that. The pilot said it was due to the potential for dangerous wind sheer so I stayed seated.

As my friend who is a doctor said when I told her the story, biology dictates that the restroom will be required every few hours - especially if you are trying to stay hydrated while flying.

I am old-fashioned in that I tend to follow the instructions, because that's how I was taught when I started flying as a child. However, this truly pushed my limits and did not endear me to UA.

Loren Pechtel

And you don't have your belt on while sleeping??

Bonehead

See my post #47.

restlessinRNO

bmwe92fan - Thank you for posting this. I must add my 2 cents worth. I have been very annoyed by this too, and I think this is an important issue. I usually fly internationally. On a recent SFO-TPE flight I timed when the captain first turned the seatbelt sign off - 45 minutes! There was no turbulence. This does not occur with other airlines in my experience. It is ridiculous.

Fredd

Agreed! ^ We have flown on quite a number of international carriers over the past couple of years as we burn our UA points, and after a million + miles of experience on UA it took awhile to stop being amazed with other carriers at how quickly the seatbelt signs are turned off after takeoff, and turned back on only a few minutes before landing.

It certainly relieves the pressure for us geezers - pun definitely intended.

ceieoc

Perhaps, the memories of United Airlines flight 811 and the deaths of nine of their business class customers due to being sucked out of the aircraft is the reason United Airlines prefers to keep their seat belt sign illuminated.

More info:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/us...to-terror.html

http://www.airdisaster.com/eyewitness/ua811.shtml

http://www.tailstrike.com/240289.htm

Fredd

A tragic story that I didn't recall but according to at least one of the links you included the seat belt sign was lit, but that didn't help the victims, as at least some of them were sucked out of the plane in their seats:

restlessinRNO

I note this was 1989, 26 years ago.

"During the climb, the crew made preparations to detour around thunderstorms along the aircraft's track; anticipating turbulence, the captain kept the seat-belt sign lit. Around this time (02:08) the plane had been flying for approximately 16 minutes and was passing between 22,000 and 23,000 feet. ..."

physioprof

According to the NY Times story, those passengers and their seats were sucked out together. If that is the case, then not sure this could possibly be relevant.

EDIT: Actually, thinking about it a bit more, I guess they could be thinking that if people didn't have seat belts fastened, then even more people would have been sucked out?

bmwe92fan

I remember the story well but honestly doubt that this is why UA is, at least IMO, significantly more stingy with the seatbelt sign than other carriers.