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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:
ChaoticAngel · 30/09/2010 20:36

I'm with diddl.

OP YANBU

grumpypants · 30/09/2010 21:48

lunar - yes, we were, so I suppose I should have let the poor man go ahead. Instead of cackling madly every time we saw him, and saying v loudly 'do you think that Italian would like to get his coffee/go thro security/whatever before us - step aside, mum.'

diddl · 01/10/2010 06:33

"I'm with diddl."

Should we form our own, new (shorter) queue?Grin

ChaoticAngel · 01/10/2010 08:48

Yes, we should Grin

Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 01/10/2010 12:22

lol
Let me go first though

OP posts:
diddl · 01/10/2010 12:34
Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 01/10/2010 15:03
OP posts:
ChaoticAngel · 01/10/2010 15:39
Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 01/10/2010 22:05

Traitors, both of you.

OP posts:
Tigerdrivesbackin · 01/10/2010 22:13

OP, YANBU. The rest of them were dopey sheep, you shouldn't have a moment's shame over this. .

Seriously, you also need to grow a thicker skin, you shouldn't even be stressing over this.

mumeeee · 01/10/2010 22:49

YABU. all those people queing had been there longer than you.

Tigerdrivesbackin · 01/10/2010 23:04

mumeeee: they shouldn't have been so daft though, should they??

mumeeee · 01/10/2010 23:26

Quite often this is what airport officials ( or whatever you call them) have asked people to do. Because sometimes the checking in desks change and 2 flights will be checking in at the same desk.

diddl · 02/10/2010 09:32

But it doesn´t sound as if that was the case here.

"Traitors, both of you."-

Original poster
SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 03/10/2010 21:04

Oy! diddl, Whaddya mean behind Chaotic???Tigerdrives... thanks for your support. It wouldn't have been such a big deal & I would've been quite smug at my cleverness if it hadn't been for DH loudly telling me how U I was being.

And I acknowledge that, in the great Karmascope of life, those people had got there first.

OP posts:
cumfy · 03/10/2010 21:27

Having executed one of the biggest q-jumps in European history in the aftermath of The '88 Lisbon fire, I could hardly judge :).

There were queues of about 2-3hrs long at all the "international ticket" counters at the rail station, and one completely unlabelled, and very very closed and dusty counter.

So I went and stood at it. My fellow travellers laughed at me..... for about 2 minutes. :o

ivykaty44 · 03/10/2010 21:34

In china getting on trains there is no queing - they climb in the windows to aviod queing at the train door, it was just amazing to watch.

When we flew out the plane took off with everyone seated, the hostesses came around and gave everyone a plate - they then never reappered. Coming into land we sat with our setbelts on whilst the other passengers started getting their bags down from the overhead lockers and where queing at the plane doors ready to get of the plane when it landed. We then left the plane last and got over to a shed to wait with everyone else for our luggage - 4 hours later we still sat waiting for our luggage

celticlassie · 03/10/2010 21:35

No YANBU. They shouldn't have been queuing if the gate wasn't open anyway. Generally in airports they insist on separate queues for each desk as it's a lot more efficient. It's like on Easyjet when they call the priority boarding up and everyone else stampedes up there too so no-one can get through. (I bloody hate airports.)

bellavita · 03/10/2010 21:35

OP - I am with you most definitely.

What pisses me of is when you are stood in your queue and someone decides to siddle in right in front of you as if they have been there all the time. This happened to us at Gatwick, but I soon saw the family off Grin and made sure everyone at the back knew that these people were pushing in before them too.

diddl · 04/10/2010 06:45

"Oy! diddl, Whaddya mean behind Chaotic???"

GrinGrin

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