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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Airport queuing etiquette

70 replies

SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 30/09/2010 14:10

OK, we're coming back from Spain to Exeter. We get to the airport nice & early. The screen says check-in desks 15 & 16.

When we get down there, both desks are still closed, there is a humungous queue at desk 16 and no queue at 15. When we asked the first family in the queue what's going on, they said that they are checking in two flights, to Exeter and Bournemouth, at 15 & 16, & that people are going to 'feed across' to both desks from the one queue.

At that moment another passenger turns up, says 'I'm starting a new queue' and dumps her case at desk 15. I marshalled my lot to stand in line behind her. However, DH Not Happy - 'You can't, these people were here first' etc and threatened to go off to the back of the queue. (This v. entertaining for the queue, v. embarrassing for me.)

Then two check-in staff turned up and (eventually) opened the desks, our one first, at which point half the queue came over and shuffled in behind us. Luckily they were checking in both flights at both desks - if it's been Bournemouth only at desk 15 we would've looked pretty stupid.

DH still going on (loudly) about what a cow I am when we were on the bloody plane!

What do you think? Why should I stick with someone else's arbitrary decision?

OP posts:
thelunar66 · 30/09/2010 14:12

You queue jumper, you! Wink

tyler80 · 30/09/2010 14:13

It's far more British to do the one queue multiple desks thing. I'd probably avoid it in the airport due to high proportion of foreigners :)

lal123 · 30/09/2010 14:14

I think that the queue doesn't officially start until the desk is open - so you were perfectly reasonable to join what was the shortest queue.

ethelina · 30/09/2010 14:15

I think in this life you have to take any chances available. This time it was your lucky day and you should feel very pleased you were able to take advantage. Next time it will be someone elses turn and you will be the one at the back of the queue.

onepieceoflollipop · 30/09/2010 14:15

I think that the "starting a new queue" passenger was rude and disrespectful. Behaviour like that can make other people quite angry.

I also think that you were quite rude as well. You knew full well what was "going on" as you had already asked the first family in the queue. One imagines that they had been advised to do this by the staff.

I hate queue jumping. And don't get me started on people who "don't see" little kids who have been waiting patiently by themselves in queues for ages trying to pay for sweets or whatever (not at airports, obviously!)

ethelina · 30/09/2010 14:16

...unless I was in the queue watching you of course - then YABVU [raspberry-blowing emoticon]Grin

soopermum1 · 30/09/2010 14:16

DH and I had queuing etiquette arguments this year along the same lines. DH is obsessed with queuing, whereas, I would have wandered off and returned later when the queue has gone down a bit, if it's an easyjet or ryanair type siuation.

I have vowed to travel separately from him next year, his stressing was unbearable

Morloth · 30/09/2010 14:17

I have been here 5 years and am still bemused by the British obsession with lining up. I can't decide if it is endearing or maddening...

Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 30/09/2010 14:17

ethelina you are right. Karma goes in swings & roundabouts!

OP posts:
Morloth · 30/09/2010 14:18

That's my method sooper, I wander off and have a coffee or something and come back when all you mad Brits are done.

thelunar66 · 30/09/2010 14:20

Ah... but if desk 15 had opened for, say, Frankfurt or Moscow or some other place other than Exeter, you would have been deeply, deeply embarrassed.

This has happened to me, so I know Blush

soopermum1 · 30/09/2010 14:20

to be fair, the airline should put a sign up telling people what the deal is going to be before someone comes up to the desk. I could feel things getting very heated in the various queues we had to stand in for Easyjet, I presume people have had fights about this sort of thing.

soopermum1 · 30/09/2010 14:21

and I'm the one who's British, DH is not. I'm not a queue jumper but a queue avoider wherever possible

ethelina · 30/09/2010 14:22

thelunar66 thats karma biting you on the bum for sure...

diddl · 30/09/2010 14:26

Two closed desks.

Surely you can stand/queue where you want?

And sorry but I really don´t believe that everyone would have "fed in"-were they going to tell every new arrival to do that?

They decided to stand like sheep at one desk-that´s up to them tbh.

If you are in a supermarket queue & a new checkout opens, the ones at the back of the other queues tend to get there first & it´s just accepted, isn´t it?

MummyDayAndNightCare · 30/09/2010 14:28

Smells IMO YABVU.

All those people are queueing and have been for god knows how long but you think it's ok to turn up and go to the front.

Just bloody rude and if I had been waiting in the other queue I would have been royally pissed off, in the same way I am sure you would have been too. Your DH was right.

nocake · 30/09/2010 14:34

I'd check in on-line and go straight to the "bags only" desk Grin

diddl · 30/09/2010 14:54

"All those people are queueing and have been for god knows how long but you think it's ok to turn up and go to the front"

But that was their choice-they could have stood at both desks.

Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 30/09/2010 15:25

MummyDayandNight But... but... what about what Didl says?

OP posts:
musicmadness · 30/09/2010 15:30

YANBU - airport queues are first come first served. If the board said desks 15 and 16 it is the other peoples choice to only stand in one queue. I'd just go in whichever line was shorter. The only thing I'd say is that I wouldn't ask someone in the other queue first, it looks bad if you ask them and then ignore what they say IMO.

Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 30/09/2010 15:33

Didl re the 'new desk opens' at the supermarket - something similar happens at airports - if they open a new desk then the back of the queue will rush over to it & get served before other people who've been waiting longer.

My point is that there IS NO consistent, established ETIQUETTE at airports!

Goes without saying, of course, that we, as Brits, do not Push In front of people already there. But if a new scenario opens up (new desk) then it's every man for him/herself!

Perhaps there should be an Airport Etiquette Guidelines that you download wit your tickets, so we all know when I'm out of line (No pun intended!) Wink

OP posts:
Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 30/09/2010 15:35

Musicmadness, you are right. We should - I should - have had the guts to do what I wanted to do & start the new queue. But I needed to check why no-one else had!

OP posts:
diddl · 30/09/2010 15:40

"The only thing I'd say is that I wouldn't ask someone in the other queue first, it looks bad if you ask them and then ignore what they say IMO."

Yes, but they again were saying what they had decided to do-not that desk 15 was closed or not for the place they weren´t going to.

This happened to me in a supermarket tbh.
A new checkout opened & I went to it & some one called across, "oh, we´re all queuing here & going over"

Im afraid I said it was their decision to do so & stayed where I was.

Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 30/09/2010 15:45

diddl I'm with you - "we´re all queuing here & going over" is plain daft. Until they do a Post Office-type thing where there is only one queue & "Window number 5, please".

OP posts:
musicmadness · 30/09/2010 15:46

Diddl: Yes I would have gone across anyway. It is just less likely to cause an argument if you don't ask in the first place. I won't push in front of people in queues but as far as I'm concerned if they were in front of desk 16 then they were not queueing for desk 15.