Why are people getting so rude in airports?

[noobie]

Sure this last week and a half or so is a busy time but what gives?

Last week Monday was OK. Thursday, people were getting a jump on March break and the line to security was insane. People trying to cut in line pushing to get forward. They guy behind me was so eager he had to cut in front after ID was checked. Boy that saved him a whopping 30 seconds or 1 minute.

Monday morning, United''s computer system was down and they had to go to back-up (aka very slow) It wasn''t the employees fault and they were trying as best as they could and they held the planes, but people were yelling at them and being rude.

On a previous trip, at the point of checking ID, a mom and two kids were in front of me. She was having trouble with the ID and the kids and bags. She said go ahead. I said it was OK, I wasn''t getting anywhere faster with the back up at security anyway. The guy checking ID said I was the only person that has ever done that. Everyone else barges by!

And what''s up with the people knocking you in the head with the carry on as the swing it around? The same ones rush up the aisle pushing people aside trying to get off first. What happened to common courtesy of letting the rows ahead empty out in an orderly fashion.

After 9/11 people were very civilized and things went smooth in spite of delays. I guess we''ve reverted back to "my time is more important than yours and I''m in a bigger hurry than you are"

 

[MichelleCarmen]

The last flight I went on went smoothly except we missed our flight back (my fault - lol), but everyone was very nice! This is probably an exception, however, as generally speaking, everyone has become incredibly anxious, be it the grocery store or the hair salon, so it''s no suprise that airports are chaotic.

I''m scared to go to Costco today as it''s going to be insane.

I may need an RX for some good anti psychotics so I don''t flip out and fight some other woman over the last Kirkland Signature ham! lol

 

[mightyred]

Noobie...I agree with everything you said. Holiday travelling in particular make people very cranky and rude . I used to travel extensively for my job and have seen some pieces of work in my time! I aways feel bad for the check in agents....most are getting paid minimum wage to get verbally abused! I have several friends who did that and got out due to stress!

Your story about the check in line reminded me of a joke......hope it brings a smile .

During a busy pre-Christmas day at an International Airport, a crowded flight was cancelled. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers.

Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS."

The agent replied, "I''m sorry sir. I''ll be happy to try to help you, but I''ve got to help these folks first, and I''m sure we''ll be able to work something out."

The passenger was unimpressed. He SCREAMED, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "Do you have ANY idea who I am?"

Without hesitating, the gate agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. "May I have your attention please?" she began, her voice bellowing throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 17."

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the airline agent, gritted his teeth and swore, "Screw you."

Without flinching, she smiled and replied, "I''m sorry, sir, but you''ll have to stand in line for that, too."

 

[belle]

just in airports!?

it takes effort to be rude
it takes effort to be nice

why can''t people just be nice?

all we need is love

all we need is love

love is all we need

 

[fire&ice]

I think you have a lot of rookies traveling around the holidays. The business people get impatient & the rookies just don''t know the drills. Air travel has become less civilized over the years. That''s why I''ve opted to take the train when I can. With the drive to the airport, having to get their an hour early & with the delays, sometimes the train is quicker. People are nicer and I''ve never met a grumpy Amtrak employee.

I think people have become insane while driving. Does anyone get the idea of Alternate Merge?

 

[noobie]

Date: 3/25/2005 3:39:35 PM
Author: fire&ice
I think you have a lot of rookies traveling around the holidays. The business people get impatient & the rookies just don''t know the drills. Air travel has become less civilized over the years. That''s why I''ve opted to take the train when I can. With the drive to the airport, having to get their an hour early & with the delays, sometimes the train is quicker. People are nicer and I''ve never met a grumpy Amtrak employee.

I think people have become insane while driving. Does anyone get the idea of Alternate Merge?

You are right about nicer people at Amtrak and on the train. I especially like the Accela, but schedule is not the greatest.

I think business travellers are just as bad as rookies. I usually take 4 to 6 flights a month, but the last two weeks have been particularly busy.

On one flight this week, a guy in the front row put his carry on in the overhead around where I was in row 3. It''s understandable since there is no underseat storage in row one and there was crew gear above him. The flight was not full, so lots of overhead space. A guy about 50 to 60 years old in a suit across the aisle from me called him an a**hole for doing it.

 

[Kaleigh]

Tomorrow we leave for spring break and it''s gonna be a huge night mare. I''m not looking forward to the whole airport scene. I hate it!!!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 3/25/2005 2

9:18 PM
Author:noobie

...The same ones rush up the aisle pushing people aside trying to get off first. What happened to common courtesy of letting the rows ahead empty out in an orderly fashion.

This is one I have noticed. Understandable if the flight is late (for connecting passengers) but on a few flights recently people do this and then I wind up seeing them again at the taxi stand.

On a positive note, I do fancy the automated check-in station proliferation of late. E-tickets are grrreat.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/25/2005 3:53:48 PM
Author: noobie

Date: 3/25/2005 3:39:35 PM
Author: fire&ice
I think you have a lot of rookies traveling around the holidays. The business people get impatient & the rookies just don''t know the drills. Air travel has become less civilized over the years. That''s why I''ve opted to take the train when I can. With the drive to the airport, having to get their an hour early & with the delays, sometimes the train is quicker. People are nicer and I''ve never met a grumpy Amtrak employee.

I think people have become insane while driving. Does anyone get the idea of Alternate Merge?

You are right about nicer people at Amtrak and on the train. I especially like the Accela, but schedule is not the greatest.

I think business travellers are just as bad as rookies. I usually take 4 to 6 flights a month, but the last two weeks have been particularly busy.

On one flight this week, a guy in the front row put his carry on in the overhead around where I was in row 3. It''s understandable since there is no underseat storage in row one and there was crew gear above him. The flight was not full, so lots of overhead space. A guy about 50 to 60 years old in a suit across the aisle from me called him an a**hole for doing it.

Yeah, love the Accela. You mean *keeping* the schedule or the schedule? They leave on the hour from Union Station. Baring some major meltdown, though usually one can count on a few minutes late, they are more reliable to be on schedule. I''ve yet to have a flight that doesn''t leave first thing in the morning to NOT be on delay - most of the time by quite a bit.

Regarding the overhead luggage, why waste your breath? Some people are amazing.

 

[codex57]

Hmmm, I don''t seem to have too much problems flying Southwest. For some reason, their customers seem just a tad more laid back and cordial than most of teh other airlines. My very limited experience w/ Jet Blue is that their customers are ok too, but I''ve seen Southwest in regular traffic and during busy times and they''re usually a bit nicer. maybe it''s cuz the SW employees are always so cheerful.

 

[noobie]

I mean the schedule. I usually fly to New York LGA versus train, but I do on occasion need to take the train to Trenton. Only a couple Accelas stop there

The guy that was calling the other one an a-hole proceeded to spread his bag, overcoat and suit jacket in the overhaed taking up space for four people. He would have freaked if someone had wrinkled his suit jacket.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/25/2005 4:39:45 PM
Author: noobie
I mean the schedule. I usually fly to New York LGA versus train, but I do on occasion need to take the train to Trenton. Only a couple Accelas stop there

The guy that was calling the other one an a-hole proceeded to spread his bag, overcoat and suit jacket in the overhaed taking up space for four people. He would have freaked if someone had wrinkled his suit jacket.

Ahh, I got yah. My final destination is always Penn Station. All trains stop there.

I''ve known people like that. But, on the flip side, you have the person who decides to cram their HUGE bag into your fragile box that you are transporting. Yeah, the overhead is always a hot button on a plane.

 

[Mara]

I just hate traveling by air...not so much because of the lines, the impatience, the 900million ID checks but rather because I dislike airplane air and how it makes me feel as well as never being able to get comfy in the seats. I can pass out sleeping happily in a car after 20 minutes but in a plane I can rarely ever sleep. I read a book or two (and I mean in their entirety) and always watch the movie even if I have already seen it...but I still dislike flights.

Also it always seems as though the airlines are running late or cancelling flights or overbooking, which in turn makes fliers more cranky and uncomfortable...the last trip we took we took off 45 minutes late and almost missed our connecting flight which would have made us stay in TX overnight if we had. I was stressed the whole trip up and we had to book it over to catch the connector, I managed to grab a burger on the way since neither flights had food and I hate airplane food too.

Trouble is, we love traveling in terms of visiting other places, so I suck it up and distract myself on the plane thinking about the final destination. But I definitely don''t love flying and all that comes with it.

Oh and in terms of people getting off the plane...why is it that everyone seems to move so slowly? And why don''t they open two exit ramps or something? That is one my biggest pet peeves, getting on does not bother me because they stagger it, but getting off is always a trial in patience.

Most of the time it doesn''t matter as we are just chilling out waiting an hour for a connector or something, but there are times when you need to get off aka to race to the connector and it seems like everyone is moving extra slowlyyyyyyy.

 

[clammer]

My husband just moved to China. I''ve been visiting frequently. Talk about a long flight. Anyway, people in China haven''t yet figured out the whole line thing, and there isn''t any reason to boarding the plane. They let everyone go at once. You can''t even get mad because they honestly don''t know they''re being rude. I figured last time I would just wait until everyone got on. Well then I ended up with my carry on at my feet for 13 hours. Guess next time I''ll just keep pushing along with everyone else.

clammer

 

[strmrdr]

I have an aversion to being herded like cattle so I avoid airports whenever possible.
Add in all the stupidity they have added since 9/11 that doesnt make it one bit safer so forget it.
Only way id fly is if I was going to see my sweets or getting a lot of money for it.

 

[oldminer]

I have been a regular flier since the mid 1950''s when I was just a little kid. DC-3''s to Chicago and to Denver. TWA triple tail Constellations in later years, Northrop turbo-prop Electra''s, DC6, 7, 707 and all the latest, even the Concorde a few years back. It was at one time a dress affair, very civil and even a bit glamorous. Now it is worse than a bus ride. 9/11 finished the job of making air travel more painful than pleasureable. The lines, the ignorant TSA staffing, the nonsense all prove the terrorists actually have crippled us. No, they didn''t cripple our transportation system, but they crippled our joy in the process of living to the fullest. I don''t see it coming back.

I travel by air and train. Trains are relatively easy targets today compared to airplanes, yet nothing has happened. I would prefer a safe traveller''s biometric card to avoid some of the hassle at airports, but it may not happen. I''ll deal with it.

This create rudeness and nastiness in some folks. I choose patience and gritting my teeth. We can''t teach adults something they obviously never learned as children and it is too late to scold their parents. You can do the world a big favor if you commit to making your own children both tolerant and polite no matter how badly their peers act.

I sound like an old goat! Don''t feel like it, but that''s what a few years will do.