Rain in Los Angeles and odd easterly winds fouled up operations at LAX yesterday and created a mutinous situation on my United flight.
Yesterday was a first for me: despite several hundred flights into LAX over the years, for the first time ever I landed on runway 6L. We flew in over Marina Del Rey and I only wish I had been seated at a window so I could have recorded it.
The captain was also shocked and made an announcement something like this:
Folks, we landed quite differently than we usually do here and operations are all backed up. They don’t quite know what to do with us yet. Stay seated and I’ll keep you updated.
The flight was already late and due to turbulence on the flight down the seat belt light was on for most of the journey.
So we waited. And waited. And waited.
About 20 minutes passed and suddenly people just started getting up. I think the FAs were shocked and they hurriedly announced–
Ladies and gentleman. Please return to your seats immediately. We are on an active taxiway!
But no one paid attention!
Soon my seatmate demanded to get up and walked back to the lavatory. By that time there was a line. Overhead bins were opened, carry-on bags removed, and the FAs seemed to have lost control.
40 minutes passed and we still had not moved. The captain checked in from time to time.
Finally, we received clearance to move toward the gate but there were still at least six passengers standing up.
FAs stated–
We have been given clearance to taxi to our gate but cannot move unless all of you are seated with safety belts fastened.
But many still ignored the instructions.
The captain came on, stating–
Ladies and gentleman, if you don’t sit down we’ll lose our slot and may have to sit here for much longer.
Antsy passengers began yelling at standing passengers to sit down. One passenger continued to wait for a lavatory to open but was eventually shouted back to her seat.
The last passenger emerged from the lavatory with all eyes on her. Many yelled at her to sit down. She started running back to her seat.
We began moving and reached the gate shortly thereafter, arriving 1hr 15min late. That’s an annoying delay, but I would have hated to see what a longer delay may have looked like with this crowd…
Waiting an hour for a gate? Sounds like AA! On another note, had the rare 6L landing back in 2013 on an ORD-LAX flight that was so delayed it landed at 2:30am. That was interesting but wish it was light out enough to see the view.
Try flying AA to LAX. 45 – 75 minutes waits for a gate are not unusual.
That is often the case on UA as well, which is why I thought this flight was so weird. From the very start no one seemed to obey the lights. Three people were up moments after takeoff to use the lav…
Easterlies, not westerlies. Planes fly into the wind during takeoff (and landing).
As an AF-trained pilot, I did at least learn that! I just got the directions mixed up here. Thanks for the correction!
What did you fly? What year group were you?
We can speak over e-mail about this.
JFK-LAX diverted to ONT, 2h there, almost 3 on tarmac in LAX. At the end, I think everyone was stamding as we creeped to the gate. Yesterday was a perfect storm of bad at LAX, buy AA compounded the problems.
I would have expected the pax to have been better at following FA’s instructions. But I have noted – after flying for 40 years – that with mass tourism, globalization and mass immigration the character and nature of the U.S. populace ain’t what it used to be. We’re emulating third world countries. I recall flying into Belgrade, Yugoslavia in the early 1990s aboard JAT, and while on final approach passengers were up and about fiddling with the bins, talking. There were some even standing upon actual touchdown! Welcome to your new world. Also, not the AA ORD fire evacuation chaos where ‘adults’ grabbed their luggage while the plane was burning. This tells you a lot about the psychology of people in the so-called first world today. Primitive.
Your observations pretty much mirror mine. Even not too long ago it was unusual for people to disengage their seatbelt and stand up until the light was out. Now I hear the multiple clicks of seat belts being disengaged and people standing up once it’s clear we are close to the gate. Forget the light, forget the FAs.
Hard to say what exactly feeds the trend but I suspect it’s a number of things – the age of entitlement and the culture of immediacy.
You give way too short shrift to the need to use the restroom which is acute for a large number of people on some flights, e.g. diabetics, and some older folks….On some flights, the “final approach” spiel is given like 45 minutes before landing, so people frequently depend on getting to the gate pronto on landing to use the facilities ….and then when people are told that it’s uncertain when the plane will be at the gate, people understandably PANIC. Also, with the airlines hawking food, etc., navigating these single aisle, packed planes also means you have to strategize when to get to the toilet, and some people need to get there multiple times…everything about flying is an obstacle course today….
Some planes waited over 2 hours for a gate. Not much can be done except expand the airport but to where?
I’m all in favor of safety and people do need to be seated on landing. But I think the rules are a bit exaggerated that they need to be seated on taxiing to a gate. All New Yorkers are used to standing on packed subway cars and buses, sometimes with nothing to hold on to. How is a plane taxiing to the gate any more dangerous? (Not talking about takeoff and landing where there is a real need to be seated and buckled).
Except in a subway a private company is not liable to get sued for accidents…