Yes, there was a time, some of you will remember, which airlines low cost as Ryanair They did not give a numbered seat to each passenger: those were dark times of elbows and runs along the slopes to be able to sit with your companion. Now we are not aware of any airline offering “unnumbered” tickets like in movie theaters. So, if we already know where we are going to sit and no one can “steal” our seat, why so much hurry? why so much queue?
(Almost) everything has its explanation and the soporific queues before boarding the plane also have their own, although not everyone decides to stand in line instead of waiting seated for the same reason: some do it (in their opinion) because practicality and others for him ‘Vincent effect’: You know, where is Vicente going? Right there where people go.
Eight explanations for queues before boarding the plane
Apparently, according to this article of the Washington Postairline workers even have a name for those first in line: gate lice either door lice. A derogatory term that joins many others used by professionals in petit committee to ridicule the most “annoying” customers.
But in the end the most annoying customers, who in turn bother other customers, also pay and would also have something to say about the inconvenience of getting on a plane, which cannot be alleviated by workers who carry out their work more or less less professionalism.
And it seems unbelievable that in the 21st century we have not implemented a boarding system a little more efficient beyond separating priorityand, VIPs and other pests of the lousy crowd. But let’s not continue there and try to explain the famous pre-boarding lines.
The ‘overbooking’
The fear of overbooking or overbooking is one of the reasons why we fight to be the first in the boarding line. Yes, in the 21st century there are lice stuck to the boarding gates and airlines that sell more tickets than are available… legally! He EC regulation No. 2 61/2004 In its article 4.1, it regulates these practices focused on achieving complete transportation so that empty seats due to last-minute cancellations are avoided.
Of course, the passenger who cannot board has compensation, but how is it adequately compensated if you cannot board a plane for which you have a paid ticket with everything that entails? But, in short, any customer sacrifice is little to help the accounts of the long-suffering airlines be as healthy as possible.
In any case, and although the overbookingin practice, is rare, one of the reasons why some passengers tend to stand in line is to avoid be a victim of overselling. And it is that those who are most at risk of being stopped are the last to board: “excuse me, gentleman, we have overbooking”. “Ah, very well, it doesn’t matter, I’m glad I can’t travel even though I paid for it.”
The luggage
But perhaps the main reason for queues at the gate, on a purely practical level, is the issue of luggage. Surely you have been told at some point that your luggage is checked in the hold: this usually happens from a certain point in the queue once those responsible for the flight consider it appropriate for operational reasons, generally related to weight. That’s why some people they prefer to be in frontso that they can bill us for the suitcase.
The use of the cabin trunk also influences. Surely it has also happened to you that, when you finally arrive to take your seat, everyone the trunks They are occupied, not only by suitcases, but also by jackets and all kinds of bizarre belongings despite the crew’s insistence on using the trunks exclusively for luggage. “Excuse me, miss, where do I put my suitcase?” “Well, let’s see…” And your suitcase ends up at the other end of the plane, which will complicate your access to it when you land. And that is the reason why some passengers prefer to arrive as early as possible.
The convenience of arriving first
In line with what has been explained with the topic of luggage is the aspect of the comfort of arriving at your seat sooner, especially before your row mates. Has it ever happened to you on a means of transport that you feel like you are invading someone else’s land when you arrive after them to your seat?
It is as if your partner has more right to use the space than you, even though you have paid the same. But he has arrived before and already has all the set perfectly structured: laptop, water, book, cushion, headphones, etc. And you’re in a hurry to even look for the seat belt, lest you bother him because he’s probably doing very important things. In the end you decide to sit down, take up as little space as possible and start looking at the time to see when the trip ends. And this is another reason why some passengers prefer to get in line as early as possible: it is about arriving as quickly as possible to “camp” in the seat.
Miss an air connection
In some cases, those passengers who use the flight as a connection to a later flight tend to act more quickly throughout the process, including getting on as soon as possible to avoid problems, especially with luggage. Yeah you’re just on time and they check your suitcase or place it at the other end of the plane, it will be more difficult for you to leave on time, taking into account the overbooking (metaphorical) that is assembled at the exit of the planes, which deserves another parallel article: why do people get so tense to disembark when they are capable of being stranded standing for several minutes without being able to move?
Lack of experience
We tend to believe that everyone who travels by plane is a super expert who is able to pass the QR code through the reader even with their eyes closed. But this is not the case: not all passengers are used to the thousand and one routines, more or less absurd, of traveling by plane, among them, the way in which we board. And, therefore, people with less experience tend to get in line just in case they have a problem, they have more time to solve it.
Lack of information
Even if you’ve traveled by plane a thousand times, you never know with the pre-flight routines that airlines implement. Maybe a new category has emerged priority and your travel group must board through a damp, unlit basement, so that travelers who have paid extra don’t see you and feel embarrassed sharing a flight with you.
And since you never know the order in which you ride with as many groups as there are today, many passengers choose to go ahead in the queue to better hear the information offered, often in sottovoce, those responsible for the shipment. “What did you say? What do left-handed people or those born in spring board first?” What if you make a mistake and ride right-handed while left-handed? What’s happening? Do they leave you out? Do they scold you for not being attentive to order? So being in first positions you can share pre-trip anguish with other troubled passengers.
Travel overexcitement
Another factor that speeds passengers up at the boarding gates is pre-travel overexcitement. It is a factor that especially affects the tourists who are going to take a vacation trip: it is a common reaction, which can be somewhat annoying for other travelers who fly for professional reasons, but understandable, although always depending on the effects on the rest of the queue of that excess stimulation that Furthermore, it is usually contagious: suddenly, even the CEO traveling to that destination for the umpteenth time is eager to get to the seat.
Gregarious character
And speaking of “contagions”, it cannot be denied that our gregarious nature influences airport boarding queues and many other situations that we experience daily. Shira Gabriel, a psychology professor consulted in the article in the article, already says it in a very graphic way. Washington Post aforementioned: “People will do anything weird If you think that’s the way to behave.”
Why are we going to think for ourselves if something is correct or not: if we have to embark on a handstand because everyone else is doing it, go ahead. So if everyone is crowded at a door, even if it is evident that this is not the civic way of organizing a boarding or organizing anything, what does it matter: “to the pile“, what they say in my land.
Scarcity principle
Adding to the psychological interpretation of our behavior as passengers at the boarding gate, there are those who say that this custom also has to do with the principle of scarcity, that trick to encourage us to buy that we have also told you about.
In this sense, it would be a psychological reaction also resulting from our gregarious nature, but with a twist: “if everyone is in line, there is some benefit in it.” From the above, we already know that there are passengers who want to avoid greater problems by entering the plane earlier. But for the moment, they still don’t give candy to those who sit first. Well, maybe those of business Yeah.
