Checking in from Detroit

Well, leg 1 of the journey is complete and I'm sitting at my gate in Detroit, waiting for my flight to South Bend. Actually, the taxi from the runway to the gate was so long I thought maybe my itinerary had been changed and we were just going to taxi to South Bend... Anyhow, flight one was uneventful, which is all good. I'm pretty sure I'm about to get on the smallest plane I've ever flown in commercially. I'm in row 5, which I believe puts me in the front half of the plane, but just barely.

In Harrisburg I was once again amused by a common air traveller tendancy - the seeming need to get in the boarding line the second that they announce any kind of boarding. It's really quite comical, if you ask me. Here we are, everyone nicely seated, all of us with tickets that have our seat number clearly printed on them. And the second they announce pre-boarding, everyone, except for a select few (myself included) jumps up from their (reasonably) comfortable seats to stand in line. I, on the other hand, collected my things and moved down to the end of my row so I would be ready for when they actually called for me to board. There were people that probably stood in line with their luggage for a good 10 minutes before they were able to board. And the funny part about this was, my seat was in the back half of the plane, which they board first, so when they called for my rows, I walked right over and was able to board, ahead of about 1/3 of the people who had been standing in line the whole time.

I'm not sure I understand the nature of this particular phenomenon, other than maybe the thought that getting in line to get on the plane makes you feel like you're going somewhere, even though you really aren't. I do know there are also some people with these monstrous carry-ons who want to get first dibs at the overhead bin space. For my part, I think I'll continue to carry-on small luggage, and to trade that minor psychological lift for the comfort of 5-10 extra minutes in my seat.