To Not understand why people get so selfish at the airport?

[virilityisbad]

I just don’t get why brits on their family
holidays get so stressy. I walk through the airport seeing them flapping about and highly strung. People are hugely territorial of their personal space. The sheer hostility towards fellow human beings in the queue for boarding.

Then on the plane, people up and down, up and down checking/fetching stuff from their baggage in the overhead lockers.

Then when landed, people in the middle
of the plane deciding they deserve to disembark first and so blocking the aisle for everyone else to get their bags.

What is it about airports that make people so selfish/stressed out

It doesn't help that airports around the world have different rules.

Even airports across the UK have different rules, apparently it's different because they don't all use the same equipment and it's different rules according to the equipment they use (or so I was told).

@Pliudev - I've flown to Germany twice this year and this has definitely not happened. Both British airlines though, so maybe Lufthansa is more orderly?

Given how many people usually only travel the rest of the year in their car, they’re not used to being with strangers, and it is the only time where being late as severe consequences.

Then add fear of flying.

Flying used to be really pleasant in the 70s as I remember it.

It was boring as shit and stank of smoke. Even in cattle class it's shitoads better than it used to be.

Been on a lot of German flights inc internal ones and it was still the usual overhead/seat stealing/immigration mobbing usual malarky. Security staff may be a bit nicer (they laughed over my 6yo packing scissors in her hand luggage for example).

You don’t pay for a piece of cabin baggage, you pay for seat on the aircraft. There’s not enough space in overhead lockers for a ‘cabin sized’ bag for every seat on that flight. The assumption originally was that the majority of bags would be checked in to the hold and cabin bags were just handbags etc.. The problem has come about by airlines charging for hold baggage resulting in people trying to avoid that charge. On a lot of airlines you can pay to guarantee your bag travels in the cabin with you, but if you choose not to do this then you run the risk of having your bag tagged and placed in the hold when the space in the overheads runs out. This is usually for free, so you have effectively avoided the charge and your bag is in the hold as it probably would have been if there was no charge for hold baggage in the first place. You have a choice.

Did BA use to include a hold bag in the ticket price?

When you book if you want to put a bag in the hold it's about £25 on top of the seat charge. I'm not a light packer so tend to choose that option.

But on the 5 or so flights I've taken with BA these past 12 months, I'd say 2/3rds of the passengers are travelling with only cabin sized suitcases.

Was it always like that? This trend for cabin bags only? Or is it because BA (and others) introduced charges for hold luggage at some point?

Meant to add...

Is it mostly because people are...?

• trying to avoid paying a supplement
• trying to avoid waiting time at the baggage carousel
• scared their bag will get lost if it goes in the hold

Which I thinks it’s all of these. However if you really wanted to check in a smaller piece the smart way to do it is to volunteer it to be loaded into the hold at checkin or at the aircraft. The staff will thank you and it won’t cost a penny. Additionally if you are surrendering your bag at the aircraft side you can practically see it being loaded, so no concerns that it won’t make the flight.

Cabin bags came in when the rules about what was included changed. When I started flying every airline let you check in two suitcases per person as part of your ticket price. Then it reduced to only one suitcase included. At that time people only took on to the plane what they needed for the journey. And as you got food and drinks included a lot of people used to board with just a coat or a handbag. You used to be able to spot the parents with young kids as they would be the only ones taking much actually on to the plane. I just used to take a book.
As soon as you had to pay extra for your suitcase, everything changed.

Nice to be appreciated Wimbledon window . I work as cabin crew and most passengers are lovely . I’ve been crew for over 20 years . But a rare few are completely vile ✈️👹

The problem has come about by airlines charging for hold baggage

In the 80s' your flight ticket included a hold suitcase and an inflight meal. It's the last 20 years or so that the "extras" have been chargeable, just so the low cost airlines can offer "low" prices which are basically just a seat and hope you pay for the other things. Back in the 80s, it was very rare to see small suitcases on the plane - most people just took small hold-alls or sports bags just to carry their book or magazine, a jacket or snacks/drinks etc (as well as somewhere to put your duty frees!).

I'm not a stressy person but I find travelling with kids stressful. And airports are ot designed to relax and reassure you. Some people get stressed in stressful situations. Get over yourself, OP.

If you fly hand luggage only, getting off first or last is a 90 minute difference in getting through the airport some places. Its no different if you have to wait for the baggage carousel. They should allocate all the front rows to hand luggage only and let them off first.

Airports are places where time stands still, queueing and waiting and queueing and waiting. And doing that behind the ill-prepared is even more frustrating. No other modes of transport really require you to be there so painfully early, so patience is usually zapped long before the gate to be honest.

I agree. I used to be one of those who thought there was no point trying to get off the plane quickly. Until I found myself at the back of an enormous immigration queue as the passport-scan machine refused to accept my passport. If I had got off first I would have been through the airport much much faster.

The thing that REALLY pisses me off is passengers who put their chair into the recline position immediately the plane takes off - even on a short flight in the middle of the day. Night-time longhaul flights I can understand - you want to sleep - but when you recline your chair it leaves very little space for the person behind (you can't even read a magazine properly) and is totally selfish.

I went on a short daytime flight recently where the chairs didn't recline and I thought "hurrah" !!!!

If you fly hand luggage only, getting off first or last is a 90 minute difference in getting through the airport some places

I have visited over 35 different countries, many more than once - and I have NEVER waited for 90 minutes to get off a plane - with or without hand luggage!

I never really experience hostility at the airport. I have been away this summer and my experience was happy people off on their summer holidays. Lots of chatting on the plane etc...

As for people getting stuff from overhead lockers. What do you want them to do. You can’t have loads of things at your feet?

Also with the blocking aisle, someone has to get off first. If they say down and didn’t block the aisle to allow the others out it who’d just be a reverse and the other people would be blocked.

You say ‘people’ at airports are ‘stressed and highly strung’ but that’s a little how your attitude comes across. I’ve never had any issues and I’m a regular economy flyer.

nuxe1984 Now that's a whole extra level of rage inducement!

Ryanair have removed the pouches at the back of seats so it means you can't even stow things you need there. So there will be more people getting things from overhead lockers

I was flying alone with 3 kids last week - it was bloody stressful - you’re probably talking about me, dropping boarding passes, carrying youngest’s bloody trunky because he refused; too many liquids.
All tired, all hungry / it was shite.

Simple things like not being able to take liquids through security can mean queuing with irritable kids to buy more. Whereas all you used to need was a well packed bag at home with everything you need.

Ryanair have removed the pouches at the back of seats so it means you can't even stow things you need there.

Which I would be quite happy with, seeing as DH left his Kindle on an Easyjet flight in just such a pouch!

@lampygirl
If you fly hand luggage only, getting off first or last is a 90 minute difference in getting through the airport some places
Like nuxe1984 I have never experience this - not even Stansted at it worst - and I am a frequent flier.
How does one know at a big airport how many flights have arrived at the same time and how many control points will be open - surely a better indicator of how long it will take to get through passport control.
And - even if it were the case - does that mean that a huge push and shove fiasco should take place on the plane with only the fittest emerging as winners and managing to disembark first.
Does you not wanting to get caught in the very hypothetical queue justify behaving like a wanker?

I bet they had loads of things left in the pouches. Passports etc