This couple started waiting at the gate before the previous flight had even departed. |
Germans are not the only ones guilty of this. In large part, North
Americans and passengers from the U.K. seem to be the only ones who are at a loss for
the free-for-all that occurs at a European airline gate.
But I’m picking on Germans
because this is the land of rules, regulations, and Alles in Ordnung. Apparently, that applies to everything except the formation of a single, well-mannered line.
My
experiences were confirmed when I saw this post
asking why Germans can’t queue. Funny, but sadly true.
I remember a trip we took years ago, to a German friend’s hometown. We were going on a short river cruise, and when the boat arrived it was a mob scene to get on board.
Our friend admonished the crowd to behave respectably and orderly: "We’re in Germany, for God’s sake!”
So what's the deal? I don't notice it as often in day-to-day life, mainly with travel. I recently saw an article in Condè Nast about airline boarding procedures, and a follow-on article looking at Lufthansa and their explanations for a lack of formal policy.
This was the priority and families boarding "line." |
Yet even
in the U.S., where we’re often criticized for the every-man-for-himself mentality
for getting ahead, we still usually obey those norms in polite society that say
“wait your turn.”
On
the return flight from our recent vacation, I saw a glimmer of hope. On the
screen at the gate, a message scrolled in German, announcing that boarding would
begin at the back of the plane, rows 20-44.
Gate
staff announced boarding for priority members and families with children under
the age of 2. There was a pause as that group cleared through. I held my
breath.
Then the usual onslaught followed.
As I stepped away from Larry to take this picture of the multiple boarding lanes narrowing to one checkpoint, a new group formed behind me! |
There was not
even an announcement about general boarding, and certainly no reference to the
instructions rolling overhead on the screen. People just started moving forward.
I am not a tall person by American standards, which
puts me at an even greater disadvantage in a crowd of towering Germans.
As
we jostled to funnel three or so “lines” into one, I thought about all of those times
I took boarding by rows for granted, and when I grumbled as more U.S. airlines
switched to boarding by groups.
Never
again will I consider those systems tedious or chaotic. What’s that old saying?
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