Airline employees have the following nicknames for the following types of passengers: Lice on the gate.
Drake Castañeda, a former gate agent and current corporate communications manager for Delta Air Lines, speculated that excitement may have been the culprit. “When you’re at the airport, you’re ready to go to your destination and you’re just excited in anticipation of the travel experience,” he said. “For me, even as a traveler, if I know I’m going to be sitting on a plane, I prefer standing, especially if it’s a long flight.”
But Castañeda said that while it’s good to stretch your legs, getting in line early can cause extra confusion at the boarding process. If passengers line up too early, they can congest airport aisles, increase wait times for boarding groups that are actually called, and cause overall chaos.
If you’ve ever wondered why people line up so early, let’s take a look at the method to the madness from a psychological perspective.
Psychology experts pointed to two potential explanations for why passengers line up early: conformity and competitiveness.
“People use others as a source of information about correct behavior and what other people are doing,” said Sheila Gabriel, a psychology professor at the University at Buffalo.
Both of these things happen at airports when travelers line up early. Those who stand up first provide information to others about how they can and should act. This will encourage more people to stand up and participate, convincing them to participate in a continuous information feedback loop.
“People will do all sorts of weird things if they think it’s the right thing to do,” Gabriel explained. “When I see people lining up and getting ready, I feel like there’s a benefit to it.”
And airline policies are increasingly shifting to ensuring there are real, tangible benefits to lining up early. Flights are often full and sometimes overbooked, so travelers can feel pressured to secure a seat early. For example, airlines forcing passengers to gate check their carry-on bags because the overhead bins are “full” (rather than boarding first in group 7) Checking in a carry-on or not checking in means that being the last passenger to board when Group 6 is called could mean the difference.
When resources are limited, it’s natural to want to get in line early, Gabriel says. This is especially true for travelers who have limited connecting flights or who carry valuable items in their carry-on luggage. The risk of losing your valuables or having to wait at baggage claim is a bigger problem.
“These structural consequences are [airline] The problem is that they deal with uncertainty (I might have a problem on any flight) and competition (this is a zero-sum game: if someone else flies with a bag, there’s a chance I’ll fly with one). Professor Steven Reicher said: A professor of psychology at the University of St. Andrews said in an email. “This creates anxiety and resentment.” It is this conflict that motivates people to stand in line, even if it means crossing in front of others.
Reicher, who studies collective behavior, believes that because of the uncertainty, the consequences of not acting as if there is competition when there is competition are the same as those of acting as if there is competition when there is no competition. He added that it may seem bigger than the results.
“In the former case, you may miss your flight and miss your connection on the other side. In the latter case, you may end up standing around for several minutes for no good reason,” he said. .
“You have to consider the social costs. Having to give up your bag at the end of the queue can be really bad,” he added.
As more people wait in line, the risks associated with skipping the line (like losing your bag or failing to connect) become more real. “The queues may be dysfunctional, but they are not irrational. People’s actions make perfect sense given the circumstances they find themselves in,” Reicher said.
But Castañeda cautioned that while it may make sense to get in line early, “it doesn’t speed up your turn.” [boarding] process. “In fact, it can slow things down.
“We have seen cases in the past where there are too many people standing in the gate area, which can slow down the process for people boarding and waiting in line,” he said. Told. These extra personnel can cause confusion for passengers. should Spaces are crowded for people who need to board first, such as wheelchair users.
After all, conformity and competition go hand in hand.
“We evolved as a species that can only survive in groups. And being that incredibly social species means we rely on others to tell us how we behave.” ,” Gabriel said. “So maybe the first ones to stand up are worried about their bags… and all it takes is a few of them, and then everyone takes it and gets a lot of feedback from them on what to do in that situation. Learn how to act and stand up for the same.”
