Please Keep Your Seatbelts Fastened
I figure that there is good reason that airlines always want passengers to keep their seatbelts fastened while in their seats, even when the “Fasten Seatbelts” sign is not lit. What I find especially frustrating is when an airplane lands, and the second that the plane is stable on the ground, the sound of seatbelts un-clicking can be heard throughout the cabin. We all know that humans have this annoying habit – to be first, whether it be to the baggage claim (even though the baggage takes forever to make it to the carousels), to get off the plane, or to get on the plane. However, I have never been more annoyed with this human tendency than on the way home from a trip to Taiwan.
On the way home from Taiwan, I flew from Taipei to LAX, where I had a three-hour layover before I left for JFK. Due to the tailwind, the flight from Taipei to LAX is rather quick, at just over 11 hours. Still, 11 hours is a long time to spend in a confined area, and I was happy to land and get off the plane.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one. The minute the plane landed, a man across the cabin was already up and out of his seat, getting his stuff down from the overhead compartment. At this point, the plane hadn’t even slowed down. The flight attendant had to get up out of his seat and run over to tell him to sit down and wait for the seatbelt sign to turn off before getting up again.
Not too long after that, two giggly girls were up and out of their seats, waiting for the plane to be towed into our gate so they could disembark. The seatbelt sign still had yet to go off, but they were standing in the aisle, ready to get off. The weird thing is that, instead of going all the way to the very front of the cabin so they could be the first ones off the plane, they decided to stand right next to my seat, which was halfway down the main cabin. There was hardly an inch between my arm and giggly girl’s leg. Basically, they boxed me, and the fellow sitting across the aisle from me, into our seats.
Excuse me, but hadn’t I been sitting in the same seat for the past 11 hours? Was it not clear that when I finally got to stand up, I would need the aisle space they are usurping in order to get my belongings in the overhead bin compartment? I just wanted to tell the giggly girls to back the hell off.
When the seatbelt sign finally dinged off, I was up and out of my seat, reaching for the overhead bin, and trying to edge the giggly girls out of my rightful way. They didn’t seem to get the hint. Taiwanese people are pros at crowding and pretending that they don’t see other people.
I finally wedged myself between the two girls and decided that that was a victory in and of itself. When we actually got off the plane, it was then fun for me to walk crookedly enough to get in the way of the girl I cut off, preventing her from being able to catch up with her friend.
After that short-lived satisfaction, I began to wonder why I felt so territorial about my aisle space and the fact that it was only fair that people get off the plane in the order they are seated. Maybe because there are so few things in this world that are fair, and this is something that can be easily controlled and gauged. Or maybe it is just a common courtesy issue, where you always let the person sitting in the row in front of you have a chance to get up and get out. If they miss their chance, then too bad for them, but at least you did your part.
As an American, I feel the need to have a sense of personal space. This is my space, that is your space. It’s so simple – and everyone can walk away happy. However, when I feel that someone else has no regard for my personal space, well, that’s when I become edgy. But is it really their fault? Or just a byproduct of their culture
Selfishness is so easy to recognize in other people, but so hard to see in ourselves, especially when these emotions seem so justifiable. Maybe it was bitchy of me to try and regain my rightful place in the line to get off the plane, but after an 11-hour flight, I felt that I somewhat deserved it. And the last thing I needed were giggly girls pushing me out of the way.
On the way home from Taiwan, I flew from Taipei to LAX, where I had a three-hour layover before I left for JFK. Due to the tailwind, the flight from Taipei to LAX is rather quick, at just over 11 hours. Still, 11 hours is a long time to spend in a confined area, and I was happy to land and get off the plane.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one. The minute the plane landed, a man across the cabin was already up and out of his seat, getting his stuff down from the overhead compartment. At this point, the plane hadn’t even slowed down. The flight attendant had to get up out of his seat and run over to tell him to sit down and wait for the seatbelt sign to turn off before getting up again.
Not too long after that, two giggly girls were up and out of their seats, waiting for the plane to be towed into our gate so they could disembark. The seatbelt sign still had yet to go off, but they were standing in the aisle, ready to get off. The weird thing is that, instead of going all the way to the very front of the cabin so they could be the first ones off the plane, they decided to stand right next to my seat, which was halfway down the main cabin. There was hardly an inch between my arm and giggly girl’s leg. Basically, they boxed me, and the fellow sitting across the aisle from me, into our seats.
Excuse me, but hadn’t I been sitting in the same seat for the past 11 hours? Was it not clear that when I finally got to stand up, I would need the aisle space they are usurping in order to get my belongings in the overhead bin compartment? I just wanted to tell the giggly girls to back the hell off.
When the seatbelt sign finally dinged off, I was up and out of my seat, reaching for the overhead bin, and trying to edge the giggly girls out of my rightful way. They didn’t seem to get the hint. Taiwanese people are pros at crowding and pretending that they don’t see other people.
I finally wedged myself between the two girls and decided that that was a victory in and of itself. When we actually got off the plane, it was then fun for me to walk crookedly enough to get in the way of the girl I cut off, preventing her from being able to catch up with her friend.
After that short-lived satisfaction, I began to wonder why I felt so territorial about my aisle space and the fact that it was only fair that people get off the plane in the order they are seated. Maybe because there are so few things in this world that are fair, and this is something that can be easily controlled and gauged. Or maybe it is just a common courtesy issue, where you always let the person sitting in the row in front of you have a chance to get up and get out. If they miss their chance, then too bad for them, but at least you did your part.
As an American, I feel the need to have a sense of personal space. This is my space, that is your space. It’s so simple – and everyone can walk away happy. However, when I feel that someone else has no regard for my personal space, well, that’s when I become edgy. But is it really their fault? Or just a byproduct of their culture
Selfishness is so easy to recognize in other people, but so hard to see in ourselves, especially when these emotions seem so justifiable. Maybe it was bitchy of me to try and regain my rightful place in the line to get off the plane, but after an 11-hour flight, I felt that I somewhat deserved it. And the last thing I needed were giggly girls pushing me out of the way.
posted by danielle at 1:42 PM
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