Flightster

Working first class all of the time has it’s perks. I am able to form a relationship and get to know my passengers because there is less of them, I get my own workspace and galley, I’m able to greet and welcome everyone on board as they enter the aircraft and I also get to see the strange things people do before they actually step foot on an airplane.

Surprisingly about 60% of the passengers I see walk through the boarding door preform some superstitious act before actually placing their foot in the aircraft cabin. As the passengers walk down the jetbridge and walk toward the door I see many people pat the fuselage and keep on walking as if I didn’t notice. It’s been described by some as giving the airplane a “love tap” to reinforce the bond between the passenger and the plane, at least for the next few hours.

When asked, most passengers said that they have no recollection as to how the habit of patting the plane began, but they can no longer board an airplane without doing so. One passenger confessed: “Once I boarded the flight and realized I hadn’t touched the outside of the plane for good luck.. I fished my way up the aisle during boarding and asked the flight attendant if I could do it, they laughed but let me. What if.. what if something would have happened the one time I didn’t do it. I just had to get up and go.”

Touching the airplane doesn’t even scratch the surface of some of the things I’ve seen. On the funnier side I’ve seen passengers dance or do a jig before boarding. This one in particular stood at the door, did a little sasche left and right, spun around and then continued through the line. Once I caught my breath from laughing, I asked him what he was doing and he said “it puts me in a good mood before I board an airplane, I’m a fearful flyer.. but I love to dance.”

On the stranger side, when passengers begin to talk to the airplane I love to eavesdrop. Things like “how are you doing today? You’ll get us there safely right?” come out of their mouths, they’ll board the airplane and just say “hi” to me and keep moving. They seemed to have formed more of a bond with the machine than with the people inside of it.

Passengers aren’t the only fliers with superstitions though. Some flight attendants have some as well. On Facebook Raya said “I call my mother.. I can’t leave until I’ve called my mother.” And on twitter, flight attendant Mike confessed “I have to, and I mean have to, wear the same pair of socks on day one of every trip. Yes, they’re cleaned after day one, but it’s always the same pair, every trip.”

The funniest part of these actions is no one seems to know why they do what they do, or how it started. A blogger who didn’t want their name revealed told me that he “has to touch the boarding door with my right hand before boarding.” He went on to mention “… it usually holds up the line because I pull my luggage with that hand. I don’t know how it started or why I do it, but now it’s like some OCD thing.. even though.. I don’t have OCD.”

I tend to think that preforming a superstitious act prior to boarding is a humans way of showing that they are letting go of control for the next couple hours and their well being and lives are now in the hands of this machine. For some people, letting go is an issue. My father for example refuses to get on an airplane. The thought of knowing that if something were to happen he has no control of the aircraft or the situation prevents him from flying. But, for the rest of us who confront that thought and still walk on the plane, the “love tap” or the “dancing” seems to be our way of letting go.

Though, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s something else.. so, think back to your last flight, and then the one before that, is there anything you do on a repetitive basis before boarding/flying? What’s the reason behind it? Do you believe that if you forget to do whatever it is you do that something negative may happen? And, have you seen other passengers do something superstitious before boarding.. what did you think when you saw them do it?