To get my single small bag in my overhead locker before the multi-bag twats fill it up and I have to put my bag 3 rows down the aisle…
This.
Which brings up a massive pet peeve of mine. I, for one, would gladly wait the extra 10-15 minutes after the flight for my suitcase, if it meant that I wouldn’t have to schlep it around the terminal, into the plane, and up into an overhead bin, and then repeat the process after landing. But since the airlines (save Southwest) insist on charging for a checked bag, I will continue to schlep.
And it’s also my experience that I don’t believe I have EVER seen anybody stand up the moment the wheels touch ground, as claimed by the OP. Sometimes as we are approaching the terminal some idiot will stand up, but the moment the wheels touch the ground, the plane is still going 150 mph.
Additionally, sometimes luggage DOES shift in the overhead bins and can come tumbling out onto unsuspecting people’s heads if the plane suddenly stops. I can totally understand the need to stand-up after a flight, and if I have an aisle seat I will do so as soon as permitted, but getting up early and fumbling for your bag while others observe the rules should be avoided.
Personally, I carry a single small bag so I don’t have to worry about fighting for overhead space. I sit at the bar until the line is gone.
Same thing was yelled on a flight I was on a number of years ago. It was full of the Minnesota Northstar hockey team (I said it was a while ago), and they all stood up as soon as the plane was approaching the terminal. I’ve never seen such a large group of big burly men sit down so quickly as when the flight attendant yelled at them.
Funny story. Years ago I was on a short flight from Sacramento to Portland, Oregon. The FA did the usual drink service, then came through the cabin again with bottles of water. And like a fool I said, “Yes, I will take a second beverage.” So near the end of the flight I start thinking it would be a good idea to go use the lavatory before the seatbelt sign comes on. Except it was occupied at that moment (and it was a regional jet, so there was only one) so I stayed in my seat. And then as soon as the lav opened up, “Ding!”, on came the seatbelt sign. In hindsight I probably could have gotten away with using it anyway if I had gone right then, but at the time I decided I’d be good and obey the sign. Throughout the decent the need to pee grew more urgent, but of course by then it was definitely too late to get up. When we landed I felt like I was about to burst. The nanosecond the seatbelt sign turned off I jumped up and dashed to the back of the plane before anyone else even had a chance to stand up.
I have to carry a laptop bag.
Assuming by “your” overhead locker you meant the one directly above your seat, according to my former employer’s IT department that’s not the best place to put something valuable like a laptop. The best place is across the aisle from you. That way you can see if someone’s trying to steal it. Actually they said that’s the second best place – the best place is under the seat in front of you (but understandably you might not want it there on a long flight).
I can’t remember ever seeing a flight in which the attendants could.t jam all the carry-on into the overheads or under the seats. Except one flight to the Middle East where a family had a washer and dryer on dollies. The were sent back after actually getting one through the door.
How hard would it be for check-in to put a sticker on each approved carry-on – no sticker, no fly. Instead of making the FA’s cram ithe two-suiters all on.
I mean a rucksack-type bag that includes a laptop and emergency clothes and other stuff. It’s generally locked, someone would have to take the whole (very distinctive) bag.
I travel in Australia.
I can confirm that in Australia, after landing a lot of people do unbuckle and stand up. Enough so that you can’t help thinking ‘maybe I should do that too’. And cabin crew are, in general, less prescriptive than American cabin crew - something that my family used to attribute partly to SouthWest airlines and employee stock ownership in general.
And then when the bell rings everybody stands in the aisle. If you don’t get up and stand in the aisle as soon as the bell rings, you’re stuck in your seat until the aircraft is empty.
Really? So all the people in middle and window seats have to wait until the aisle-jumpers exit before they can leave?
It’s been my experience, even sitting in the aisle seat, that as soon as the people in the row in front of me leave, I am given space and time to stand up, retrieve my carry-on, and exit the plane. The same goes for all other passengers in my row.
Basically, you can pack more densely standing up in the aisle. So most of the middle and window seats are there standing up in the aisle along with the aisle seats. You can’t move very fast when packed that tight, so even when the doors open, it takes a long time to clear.
I’m having a hard time picturing six people (two aisle seats, two middle, two window) standing in the aisle alongside their row. The aisle in most planes is barely wide enough for two people to squeeze past each other. Perhaps the first few rows might be able to do this, but there’s no way that everybody in the plane can fit in the aisle, as you have suggested.
As I recall, Air Canada tried that, maybe five years or so ago. The idea was that you’d put your carry-on in the measuring rack at check-in, and if it fit, the airline would tag it as cabin baggage. If it didn’t, it had to be checked.
I guess it didn’t work so well–maybe it caused delays, or argumentative passengers, or whatever; because I’ve seen no trace of it in the last few years. However, at check-in a couple of years ago, my briefcase was tagged as “must be put under the seat,” so perhaps the policy still exists in a somewhat different form.
I’ve been on flights more recent than that where most cabin baggage was checked. And also on flights where at the boarding gate they were telling people that they could check in baggage for collection at the exit gate. It all seems very random — which I take to mean that it depends on the airline, and the route, and if they think there are problems, and other stuff: I said ‘most’ above because there is a special unlisted exemption for ladies purses (2 bags only! Plus a purse as big as a backpack.)
I never considered myself a frequent flyer of any kind, but I saw it numerous times on flights landing in San Diego, LAX, Burbank, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle/Tacoma. People (usually middle-aged men, for some reason) were waiting for touchdown and the possible multi-point landing bounce, then standing as soon as it felt like the wheels were rolling smoothly on the approach runway.
True, but it’s not absolutely zero. And everyone knows (or learns quickly) that, until the airplane is stopped at the gate, the utility of standing up is virtually zero and the risk of injury (q.v. Chefguy’s post) is increased. Like someone else said, rushing to the baggage claim carousel didn’t make the luggage get there any faster. And, for that matter, I haven’t been eager to join the crowds of recent-arrivals in the fighting for (or waiting for) space at the restrooms, either.
The most humorous incident I saw (well, it was funny to me and a lot of other passengers) was a guy who stood up after a nice smooth landing had us rolling down the approach runway and one of the flight attendants pointed at him and shouted, “Sir! Sit DOWN!”
He turned around (from reaching up to the overhead bin) and exaggerated in 1970’s Steve Martin style, “Well, excuuuuuse me!”
At that point, a bunch of people around him started booing, so he blushed and sat down.
I’ve mentioned this before in other airline related threads, and LSLguy probably has, too: Flight attendants aren’t just sky waiters/waitresses. They’re safety officers trained to help everyone get safely off the plane if an unscheduled early landing (read, survivable crash or other emergency) occurs. They don’t just yell at the early standers because they’re being impatient jerks, they’re yelling at the impatient standers because it’s part of their job in keeping passengers safe. I’ll speculate here and suggest that, IF none of them said a word when an impatient stander started his/her impatient routine AND something happened to cause that jerk to get injured, the airline would be liable for a few hundred dollars (minimum) in compensation.
After a dozen flights or so, I eventually learned to just sit and relax until the plane was empty (or mostly so), then I’d get up and retrieve my carry-ons and walk out. I find that it beats standing up into some impatient stander’s armpit or getting my toes trampled on. The only times I’ve had trouble with the habit has been when I was on an aisle seat and the passenger(s) closer to the window needed to dash for their next flight. In those cases, I’ve gotten up, moved to the nearest empty row, and (again) waited until the crowds had dispersed. I just stopped seeing any advantage in joining the throngs jostling their way off the plane.
–G!
My wife always wants to stand as soon as the plane stops, because she tends to experience back and ohter pain which is exacerbated by prolonged sitting in airline seats - even in 1st class seats.
I have never experienced any difficulty standing and exiting as soon as the line starts moving. We’ve had these sorts of discussions before - each person assesses whether they would prefer to sit while the plane empties, or exit earlier, even if they will end up waiting at the luggage claim.
When I used to commute into the city via train, folk would do the same thing. At that time, I made the decision to wait and be the last one off. I forget the exact time, but it was less than 2 minutes between when the 1st and last person exited. Given the train schedules, getting into work 2 minutes later made no difference in which train I took home in the evening.