Spadea: Air travelers need to follow directions

It's aggravating that when it comes time to board your flight, regardless of boarding group number it seems everyone races to get as close to the gate as possible.

One of the reasons that people scramble to get on the plane early is to find room in the overhead compartment for their carry-on bag. Here's the problem. There is a way to put your bag in the overhead which allows for the maximum number of bags to be stored during the flight.

The bags are supposed to be placed on their side so they can be lined up. The problem is twofold.

First, people simply don't care about the next guy. They grab their spot and lay the bag flat which essentially takes up two spaces in the compartment.

Second problem is much bigger and solvable. Flight attendants take the time to show people how to use a seat belt. My thought is that if you don't know how to use a seat belt you should be on a no-fly list. That said, why don't the flight attendants tell people to put the bag on its side to make room for more?

Flying is aggravating these days for sure. I get that perhaps the flight crew feels underpaid and underappreciated, but come on.

If people were forced to follow the basic courtesy of making sure there was enough room for everyone's bag perhaps the tension of boarding could be reduced and maybe the overall experience would get better for travelers and crew.

Just a thought.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.

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