That time when 12 elderly people in wheelchairs all tried to board a plane at once....So I happened to pick this week for a scheduled business trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida. I had some time sensitive work I needed to get done, and with the past Labor Day holiday, really didn't give the trip much thought prior to my Tuesday afternoon departure. With Hurricane Irma targeting Florida for landfall by end of the weekend, let's just say it made for interesting small talk during the two days I was there.When you think about it, the logistics of evacuating millions of people from Florida during a state of emergency are kinda crazy. First, you've got a major tourist destination (albeit off season, Labor Day week can still be a popular time to go if you don't have kids), combined with it a resident population comprised mostly of relocated retirees. For transportation, you essentially have two primary highway arteries on either coast of the peninsula and just one road leading out of the Keys. There are lots of airport options, but every afternoon at this time of year you can experience very serious, scattered thunder and lightning storms throughout the state, routinely delaying flights and making travel extremely difficult, disjointed, and stressful, especially if you need to make a connection. On top of this, Florida is Florida after all.Although I had previously booked and confirmed seats for travel on Thursday, and it appeared that the threat of the hurricane hitting the area I was in was minimal (which since, Thursday has changed dramatically) there was still a tinge of anxiety and concern. While I felt I could safely get in and out of the area as planned, I didn't take into account that residents were going to be evacuating themselves and their families as the week progressed. Highways got fuller, gas and provisions got sparser, and people, perhaps seeing the aftermath of Harvey in Houston, became increasingly concerned about their safety and that of their loved ones. Additionally, concerns about what to do if flights became cancelled increased. Upon arrival at the airport (over an hour before an already delayed departure, not common for me), I found a scene not quite as chaotic as I imagined. There was one interesting thing though -- parked three rows deep at my gate were 12 elderly travelers in airport issued wheelchairs. This was in addition to the elderly travelers NOT in wheelchairs that where also on my flight....and maybe 4 to 5 passengers brining dogs. In my almost 25 years of business travel, I had seen maybe 1 or 2 wheelchair bound passengers on my flights, but never this many. So the fun ensued when it came time to board (over 3 hours from the originally scheduled time). There was just one gate agent available to wheel each elderly traveller down the jetway and onto the plane. ONE. If it took 2-3 minutes per passenger to get them from gate area to their seats on the plane, it would end up taking twice as long to load the 12 passengers as it would take load everyone else. I'm watching this unfold thinking this could just be the match that lit the powder keg. I'm please to report that the opposite happened. Sure, it did take almost 30 minutes just to load the wheelchair armada onto the plane one by one, but it went smoothly. Throughout the process, people were nice to one another -- friendly, even. Patient. The older people did not complain or make it more difficult for the gate agents. You could occasionally hear a heavy sigh or some muttering from some of the younger, more able bodied passengers, but for the most part, people were chill. It may have been the smoothest shitshow of a boarding situation on record. For me, it came down to this: in the end, as long as the plane took off, I was getting out safely. I might not get to lay my head on my pillow until after 1am that night (which was the case), but my family was fine, my home was fine and this pending storm was not really going to inconvenience me beyond the delay to get to my seat on the plane. The same couldn't be said for most of my fellow passengers. They and their families faced possible displacement, definite uncertainty, and accompanying anxiety in the days and weeks to come. Why get worked up?The flight itself was even better. Despite the delays, you could see my fellow passengers showing empathy towards one another throughout. Younger people helped get bags out of overhead bins for older people, there was chit chat about the Patriots-Chiefs football game that many had watched en route. Getting off the plane, I overheard one older woman on the phone with the person picking her up, alerting their loved one that they needed to make sure her "new friend," who was maybe 20 years younger, got a ride to her final destination.My point -- I saw the best come out in people during a pretty crappy situation where you would expect (and even understand) that you would experience far less. This behavior was infectious and encouraged others to do the same. It's clear we all have it in us. It shouldn't take a situation like this to bring it out -- imagine how things would be if we showed a similar level of patience, respect and understanding towards one another on a daily basis?Got some good articles for you this week. Be safe, be kind and enjoy the weekend.XOXODave
Share this post
Friends of Dave #37: Mr. Fahrenheit
Share this post
That time when 12 elderly people in wheelchairs all tried to board a plane at once....So I happened to pick this week for a scheduled business trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida. I had some time sensitive work I needed to get done, and with the past Labor Day holiday, really didn't give the trip much thought prior to my Tuesday afternoon departure. With Hurricane Irma targeting Florida for landfall by end of the weekend, let's just say it made for interesting small talk during the two days I was there.When you think about it, the logistics of evacuating millions of people from Florida during a state of emergency are kinda crazy. First, you've got a major tourist destination (albeit off season, Labor Day week can still be a popular time to go if you don't have kids), combined with it a resident population comprised mostly of relocated retirees. For transportation, you essentially have two primary highway arteries on either coast of the peninsula and just one road leading out of the Keys. There are lots of airport options, but every afternoon at this time of year you can experience very serious, scattered thunder and lightning storms throughout the state, routinely delaying flights and making travel extremely difficult, disjointed, and stressful, especially if you need to make a connection. On top of this, Florida is Florida after all.Although I had previously booked and confirmed seats for travel on Thursday, and it appeared that the threat of the hurricane hitting the area I was in was minimal (which since, Thursday has changed dramatically) there was still a tinge of anxiety and concern. While I felt I could safely get in and out of the area as planned, I didn't take into account that residents were going to be evacuating themselves and their families as the week progressed. Highways got fuller, gas and provisions got sparser, and people, perhaps seeing the aftermath of Harvey in Houston, became increasingly concerned about their safety and that of their loved ones. Additionally, concerns about what to do if flights became cancelled increased. Upon arrival at the airport (over an hour before an already delayed departure, not common for me), I found a scene not quite as chaotic as I imagined. There was one interesting thing though -- parked three rows deep at my gate were 12 elderly travelers in airport issued wheelchairs. This was in addition to the elderly travelers NOT in wheelchairs that where also on my flight....and maybe 4 to 5 passengers brining dogs. In my almost 25 years of business travel, I had seen maybe 1 or 2 wheelchair bound passengers on my flights, but never this many. So the fun ensued when it came time to board (over 3 hours from the originally scheduled time). There was just one gate agent available to wheel each elderly traveller down the jetway and onto the plane. ONE. If it took 2-3 minutes per passenger to get them from gate area to their seats on the plane, it would end up taking twice as long to load the 12 passengers as it would take load everyone else. I'm watching this unfold thinking this could just be the match that lit the powder keg. I'm please to report that the opposite happened. Sure, it did take almost 30 minutes just to load the wheelchair armada onto the plane one by one, but it went smoothly. Throughout the process, people were nice to one another -- friendly, even. Patient. The older people did not complain or make it more difficult for the gate agents. You could occasionally hear a heavy sigh or some muttering from some of the younger, more able bodied passengers, but for the most part, people were chill. It may have been the smoothest shitshow of a boarding situation on record. For me, it came down to this: in the end, as long as the plane took off, I was getting out safely. I might not get to lay my head on my pillow until after 1am that night (which was the case), but my family was fine, my home was fine and this pending storm was not really going to inconvenience me beyond the delay to get to my seat on the plane. The same couldn't be said for most of my fellow passengers. They and their families faced possible displacement, definite uncertainty, and accompanying anxiety in the days and weeks to come. Why get worked up?The flight itself was even better. Despite the delays, you could see my fellow passengers showing empathy towards one another throughout. Younger people helped get bags out of overhead bins for older people, there was chit chat about the Patriots-Chiefs football game that many had watched en route. Getting off the plane, I overheard one older woman on the phone with the person picking her up, alerting their loved one that they needed to make sure her "new friend," who was maybe 20 years younger, got a ride to her final destination.My point -- I saw the best come out in people during a pretty crappy situation where you would expect (and even understand) that you would experience far less. This behavior was infectious and encouraged others to do the same. It's clear we all have it in us. It shouldn't take a situation like this to bring it out -- imagine how things would be if we showed a similar level of patience, respect and understanding towards one another on a daily basis?Got some good articles for you this week. Be safe, be kind and enjoy the weekend.XOXODave