Flight AUS to SEA was delayed about 1.5 hours. Boarding was already a mess. FAs kept asking people to put smaller bags under the seat because it was a full flight and overhead space was tight. Of course, tons of people ignored that, stuffed small bags up top anyway, overheads filled up halfway through boarding, and then FAs had to walk back through the cabin pulling bags down. Someone even broke an overhead bin trying to force a bag in, so we waited on maintenance. Added another 30 minutes easy.
By the time we’re airborne, my connection in Seattle to Boise is looking ugly. About 20 minutes scheduled. A flight attendant comes by, says they moved our arrival gate closer and that she’ll make an announcement asking people to stay seated so those of us with tight connections can get off first. Honestly, super appreciated that effort.
We land. She makes the announcement. Says there are 7 people with very tight connections and asks everyone else to please remain seated.
Seatbelt sign goes off and… everyone stands up instantly. People digging for bags, walking backwards down the aisle to grab stuff, blocking anyone from moving forward. I was about 15 rows back and not a single person let me by. Not one.
I barely made my connection. No idea if the other six did.
Genuine question: why do people just completely ignore FAs when they ask for something like this? Waiting maybe five minutes so a few people don’t miss their flights feels like basic decency, but apparently that’s asking too much.
0