You’re at the airport and ticketed. You’ve gone through security and your flight has been announced. What could cause you not to board or to bail?
Some people call it intuition. Other travelers state they don’t like how others passengers look or appear. There are myriad motives. But, they may not be ones you think.
Ten reasons:
1 – Change of equipment: You expected a larger plane only to find that older and smaller equipment had been substituted. Some people are leery of prop planes rather than jets.
2 – Weather you perceive as threatening even though the flight was departing.
3 – Boarding the plane, feeling sick and not wanting to proceed with the trip.
4 –Discovering the plane had originated from a country where there had been an outbreak of a communicable disease.
5 – Some people have bailed from budget planes that looked as if they hadn’t been well maintained. This is especially true during inclement weather.
6 – One person boarded a flight to be greeted by other passengers, who were intoxicated and decided not to proceed. The take-off was delayed since the airline had to unload her luggage. She didn’t care in spite of being chastised by airline personnel.
7 – Believing the flight might not be safe. One person reported passengers had been deplaned because there were technical and engine problems that included overheating. After the third false start, he decided to cancel and booked another flight. The plane took off without him.
8 – Being alerted of sudden illness at home that necessitated not traveling. Or, being seated next to a sick passenger and not being change seats?
9 – Seeing the pilot and perceiving he or she might have been drinking and/or was not in condition to be in charge of your life and/or well-being.
10 – One person reported he deplaned when there was an announcement that the majority of the WC’s on the plane weren’t operative and there was a shortage of water. He attributed it to shoddy maintenance.
I’d want to avoid a long-haul flight where the caterer was unable to stock any food or drinks. I suspect I’m not alone.
Please add any and all reasons you’d decide not to take a specific flight. The above ones must be the tip if the iceberg. And, how would a $150 or $250 change fee affect your actions?
Karen Fawcett is president of Bonjour Paris.
Karen Fawcett loves to travel anywhere. Karen was a founder & president BonjourParis.com while living in Paris for more than 25 years. She has traveled across Europe and the rest of the world. She is now based in Washington, DC.
I hate regional jets and turboprops, so I usually just avoid booking flights that could be operated by that kind of equipment. It would be exceedingly rare for a flight scheduled to operate on a regular jet to be substituted with an RJ or turboprop, though I suppose if that happened, they would need a bunch of volunteers to bump, and I’d be the first in line to get my vouchers.
I’ve only had to abort a trip once after getting through security. I was on my way to Florida to visit my sister, when she called just as the plane was about to board and told me that her little boy was ill with something very contagious. Needless to say, that trip wasn’t happening. Luckily she caught me before I boarded, though!
I was on a flight to Lima several years ago. We had a “mechanical” out of JFK and delayed for a several of hours, arriving in Miami just about the time the plane was scheduled to depart (after picking up additional passengers). Over the next two days, we departed TWICE and both times turned around about 45 minutes after take off. I was seated in the very back with some missionaries and they were all holding hands and praying. Each time, we arrived back in Miami after the airport was closed (no way to use the food vouchers). The second time (I think I was the last off the plane), I asked the first officer if it was true that they’d lost an engine. He said “No, we didn’t, we turned it off b/c we thought it was on fire”. (Airbuses) I got to the bottom of the ramp (lots of fire trucks), and asked one of the firemen if they got called out for this sort of thing regularly. He said it wasn’t rare, and suggested I take a look at the engine (there were only two – YIKES) on the opposite side. The pointed part appeared to be barely attached and was all twisted and bent UP. I knew then why the entire plane was yawing from side to side. The episode was terrifying and if I’d not been meeting someone in Peru, would have rented a car and DRIVEN back to NY. American Airlines (without asking) credited my account with 20,000 miles). I’ve made NO reservations on an Airbus since.
Since I fly almost weekly for work, this one hits a nerve. I chose my airlines and my planes pretty carefully. Some airlines I won’t fly at all because of their maintenance history. One in particular which recently came to my market has had the largest fines in the history regarding the lack of maintenance to their aircrafts. I have been told my my Managers and Travel department that I read too much. My response is: It only takes one.
Don’t forget the “Twilight Zone” reason: The flight attendant who tells you “There’s room for one more.”
Years ago, I was in Europe and already in my seat when I decided to deplane because the wings were heavily iced and, according to the flight attendant, there was no equipment available to de-ice them. The plane crashed on take-off, unable to get flying altitude. Fortunately, most people on board survived, although my checked bag did not.