A few observations from seat 24A – ones I may have made before, but are still just as bewildering.
When you fly Southwest, there’s no reserved seating. So, people compete for the chance to be on the plane first. They get in line an hour before boarding, standing there impatiently like children waiting to be first on the bus. I got into line about 5 minutes before they started boarding. I was fifth in line; and even so, had to wait at the cabin door while the first 4 people took their sweet time deciding what seat, how many pillows, and tried to maneuver the 95 pounds of carry on luggage that they brought with them. See? It doesn’t matter where you are in line… you still have to wait because people suddenly turn to molasses when they board a plane.
Now, this is not unique to Southwest. And there is even less reason for people to rush the plane when they have assigned seats – it’s not as if they are going to get a better seat if they rush.
People are always in a hurry for no good reason. They were impatient on the parking lot shuttle bus, then had to wait in a line at ticketing. They then had to wait at security. They then had to wait at the gate. Then, push-push-push-rush to get on the plane, then sit and wait on the plane. What in the world is the point of such impatience when you know the plane will take off at a certain time, and it won’t go without you if you’re there; no matter how long it takes to board?
Just watch – when we land in a couple of hours in Austin, everyone will stand in the aisles before we make it to the gate… then stand and wait and wait and wait to get off the plane. I’ll be sitting right here, in the very back row all by myself, stretched out and waiting for the traffic to clear.
