If you travel often, then no doubt you’ve seen this happen on an airplane before. Perhaps you observed this behavior or perhaps it was you doing what you’ll see in the video below. Unfortunately, in my three million plus miles flown, I’ve witnessed passengers do this countless times. RELATED: How Long Should a Layover Be When Booking a Connecting Flight?
A viral 20-second video was posted on TikTok by Karen Green-Walker with the caption, “People were standing and pulling down their luggage. We were landing and still in the air to FLL. 3rd announcement. At one point they were gonna call the police. #jetblue”
@karenpgreenwalker I give these flight attendants credit bc I had it with these passengers on the flight from #lga to #fll. #airplanedelays #airplaneissues #jetblue #travel ♬ original sound – Karen Green-Walker
According to Aerotime, “The chaotic scenes occurred on a flight from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL) on September 10, 2023. Twenty-two passengers on board had to take a connecting flight from FLL airport to Mariscal Sucre Quito International Airport (UIO) in Ecuador. Due to tight connecting times, the cabin crew decided to prioritize the 22 transiting passengers when deplaning and suggested that they should be first to exit when the aircraft landed.”
Green-Walker posted a part two to her video, in which she says: “I give the two #jetblue #flightattendants much praise bc I had it. The people just were not listening. The young lady sitting next to me was on the Quito flight and the rude passengers wouldnt even let her through to get bag. The other flt attendants not working and I just shook our heads.”
@karenpgreenwalker I give the two #jetblue #flightattendants much praise bc I had it. The people just were not listening. The young lady sitting next to me was on the Quito flight and the rude passengers wouldnt even let her through to get bag. The other flt attendants not working and I just shook our heads. #traveltiktok #airplane #jetblueflight #nopatiences #unrulypassengers #disrespectful #smh #explorerpage #travelreels #neveragain ♬ Oh No – Kreepa
This is common and in the past, most passengers understand and comply. However, it seems like ever since the pandemic, many people have lost their sense of kindness, common sense and patience. I find it shocking these days how so many people think the world just revolves around them. Why else would someone make a FaceTime call, watch videos or listen to music in public without using headphones or earbuds?
I now see this happening all the time, everywhere from grocery stores to beaches and especially on every flight I take. And it’s not just Americans or a particular age group. It really is people of all ages and nationalities.
As you probably guessed, the 22 passengers did indeed miss that connecting flight to South America, which means they had to spend at least one extra day in South Florida. This would of course throw a wrench in their plans and put a dent in their wallets.
I’m not sure why JetBlue didn’t wait for them since there were so many passengers. Twenty-two peole is a lot of people to leave behind – especially since they were coming in from one of their other flights. It wasn’t like they were on a different carrier.
The moral of this story, however, is if you’re late for a flight and the flight attendants make an announcement to have everyone stay seated for an extra 30 seconds so you can run off the plane, don’t count on it happening.
Here’s how to avoid major headaches in this scenario:
1. Fly nonstop
I know nonstop flights usually costs more money and the flight might not be on your airline of choice but it can save you a lot of stress, time and aggravation. This past summer, my family and I needed to be in Barcelona, Spain for a cruise. My preferred carrier is American Airlines or one of their Oneworld partners like British Airways or Iberia but all those flights involved a connection. I decided to forgo the perks that come with my status with American and chose to fly nonstop on Air Canada. It turned out to be a great decision (here’s my trip report). In the JetBlue situation, from New York, passengers could have chosen Avianca Airlines’ nonstop flight from New York’s JFK to Quito.
2. Leave plenty of time
The most important thing to do, besides flying nonstop, is to leave plenty of time for a connection. Don’t try and find the shortest trip because it could end up making it the longest, like what happened to these JetBlue passengers. I wrote a post a month ago about our return flight to Europe. We were flying from Naples, Italy to Toronto, Canada and there were no nonstop flights available. Instead of sleeping in and taking an afternoon flight with a tight, one-hour connection in Munich, I chose a 6am flight with a seven-hour layover. We made an adventure out of it by doing a bit of quick sightseeing in Munich. Here’s that story.
3. Don’t check bags
Anytime you fly, it’s wise not to check a bag and this holds even more true if you are making a connection as it doubles your chances of your luggage getting lost or misconnecting.
4. Tell the flight attendants
If you do have a tight connection, you can ask the flight attendant to make an announcement for others to let you off the plane first. But as with what happened on the JetBlue flight, you can’t count on it. So ask the flight attendant if you can sit in a seat closer to the front.
5. Sit towards the front of the plane
Even better than asking the flight attendant to reseat you is spending the extra money and assigning yourself a seat at the front of the plane so you don’t have to rely on the kindness of others.
It’s usually no fun to make a connection, which is why the airlines tend to charge more for nonstop flights. If you do have to make a stop, hopefully the above advice is helpful. Let me know in the comments what your experience has been with tight connections and share your tips.
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This happens all the time. It isn’t just a Jet Blue problem. Sometimes a flight is running late, and folks have a tight connect. When they ask you to wait a few seconds to help your fellow passengers, just wait.
People are garbage.
I think the only way to handle this is for a flight attendant to either escort the group off first, or hand out little flags with the announcement that only the people with flags in hand should be out of their seats upon landing.
Selfish people are always going to be selfish, unfortunately. But who’s to say that others on that flight didn’t also have tight connections, or have a meeting to get to, or a bathroom emergency, or a myriad of other issues?
There is really no winning here.
Not enough detail to really understand why the connection was so tight. I fly weekly and I’m not waiting – everyone has someplace to be. JetBlue could be to blame – passengers booking tight connections could be to blame. I do know it’s not my fault and I’m going to get to my meeting on time.