Friday, November 7, 2003

Common courtesy?

This entire post is a peevish vent so you may want to skip it.

Okay, I'm back. My last job made me a cynic (network security officer for 30,000+ users). This new job isn't improving my impression of the general public any. This job requires that I travel every other month or so, so I get to view the public "up close and personal". Here's what's set me off this time:

In the U.S., airlines load planes from the back to front. One of the attendants will call out over the announcing system "Now boarding rows 15 through 22". This causes 30 or so of us to queue up and slowly drag ourselves and a carry-on piece of luggage onto the plane.

I've done this four times in as many days and, without fail, there's at least one moron from row 6 or so that makes the super-human effort to get onboard before the rest of us (he cuts in line). Short version: the entire compliment of passengers are delayed while those that should already be on the plane before him waits while he tries to jam an oversized bag (that should have been checked) into the overhead storage. On one of the four flights, this held up boarding long enough that the plane was bumped from it's position in the take-off queue (an additional 10-minute delay).

Would someone explain to me why these people think that they'll get where they're going quicker if they cut in line? Seriously, I think these people should be bumped to the "on standby" category and forced off of the plane.

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