Lately I’ve been traveling alone for some work functions and conferences. Not having to wrangle kids has given me the opportunity to notice some of the other things going on in the travel world. In short, it has opened my eyes to some very annoying things going on at airports everywhere.
1) When I travel alone, I never check bags. I pack lightly and strategically so that when I land, I can high tail it out of the airport and reach my destination quickly. Nothing annoys me more than when I go to board and they suddenly decide there is no more room on the airplane for carry-on luggage. The airline then requires remaining passengers to check in their small rolling bags. I think they should require travelers who are already going to collect bags to check their carry-on bag. Heck, they’re already going to the carousel anyway. I have suggested this countless airline staff and they always say “Great suggestion”. OK – so how about doing it?
2) What’s with the lining up? Everyone has a zone number on their boarding pass and boards the plane according to their zone. Why then, does everyone wait in line just waiting for their zone to be called? Why can’t everyone just sit down and wait until their zone is called? Just chill and relax. All that standing around waiting in useless lines makes me anxious.
3) And again with the standing around. When the plane lands, passengers exit row by row starting at the front of the plane. So WHY does everyone jump up as soon as the seat belt sign goes off? They inevitably just stand for 15 minutes waiting for their turn to deplane.
4) Another reason for passengers to stay seated when the plane lands is so that people who are rushing to get a connecting flight can deplane quickly without tripping over all those uptight passengers clogging the aisle waiting.
5) What’s with people who seem bothered and agitated by other people’s kids? I don’t get you. Whenever I hear a baby fussing or a toddler tantruming, I’m just thankful it’s not me having to deal with it. I find I feel much better about the whole situation if I offer the parents a set of hands or a few kind and encouraging words. Remind them that their screaming child is adorable. It’s really not that hard.
Airlines and travelers – sometimes you really are a mystery to me.
