Why do 'gate lice' line up early for a flight? Psychologists explain

washingtonpost.com

4 points·indus··7 comments

"Gate lice" as a term is an example of sneering elitism and this quote from the article explains why:

> And increasingly, airline policy is such that there can be a real, tangible benefit to lining up early. Flights are often full, or even overbooked, which can lead to a sense of pressure among travelers to claim their space early

Airlines are treating the passengers like cattle and they've got to jockey for position for their own benefit. But the early boarding groups (which correlate highly with wealth) and the pundit class are able to come up with this derisive term in response to it.

Calling journalists "Advertising Leeches" would probably be an appropriate turnabout.

> Flights are often full, or even overbooked, which can lead to a sense of pressure among travelers to claim their space early

Not if you've got an assigned seat. They aren't going to give your assigned seat to someone who got there ahead of you, no matter how full the flight is.

If you need overhead bin space, then yes, there's a reason to want to be earlier.

Are these the same ones that stand up on arrival, before the airplane doors are open? :-)

I’ve always wondered this logic myself. I feel like a small book could be published around human psychology and air travel things.

If I've been confined in an uncomfortable chair for several hours and discouraged from moving around, you bet that I'll take the first opportunity to stand up and get some blood moving. I know the doors aren't going to open any faster.

I do this, but it's to block people from further-back rows from charging forward and skipping the line to deplane. Which is a problem I feel like has gotten much worse in the last 5 years or so.

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