I also lean towards the stairs (or at least not just standing on the escalator), but in my experience it's like 80/20 or "worse" between people who go for the escalator vs the stairs. Of the escalator crowd though, there are a good chunk who prefer to walk rather than stand.

Stairs are faster and better exercise than (standing on) escalators. I guess you can make the argument that walking up escalators is faster, but stairs are almost always wider and less congested, whereas getting stuck standing on an escalator happens all the time anywhere busy.

I always do this, it typically happens at airports, and I take pleasure in arriving at the other end faster as well. I'm going to sit on a plane for hours why would I want to pass up the opportunity to get some meager exercise beforehand?