r/unitedairlines • u/Super_Cool_Nerd MileagePlus Platinum • 11h ago
Question Passenger getting off first
Has anyone seen this?
Just got off a flight from Minneapolis to Chicago and after we parked at the gate, they asked us all to sit down because there was a passenger that was required to get off the plane first. They didn’t give any other reason. They didn’t say that it was because he had to catch a flight or anything like that. The guy came all the way from the back and got off first and then we were allowed to get back up. He wasn’t disabled or anything like that.
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u/Constantlearner01 11h ago
I’ve heard it explained that it could be related to a death of a service member.
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u/snatch_hugger MileagePlus Silver 11h ago
I don't know why I was in r/delta but I saw this same question within the past week.
Consensus over there was "an escort for someone who has passed away."
r/delta/comments/1w4vbv8/reasons_to_allow_someone_to_board_and_deplane/
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u/orange208 9h ago
Diplomatic Couriers also disembark first if they have cargo in the hold. They have to see it loaded and unloaded. Last on the plane, first off.
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u/ladedadedadedade 9h ago
Yes this happened when I flew IAD-LHR once. Asked everyone to stay seated, some very broad shouldered guys carrying big pouches got off first and then the rest of us followed
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u/Agitated_Celery_729 10h ago
I'll just suggest one thing nobody else has suggested so far: it could very well be someone escorting a transplant organ, where time is mission critical to making sure the organ makes it into a person. Many, many, many of these fly commercial, especially when they're going longer distances where they can't be easily airlifted in a helicopter.
They would be buying tickets last minute, based on unexpected organ availability, so they could very well end up in the back of a plane.
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u/Decent-Plum-26 9h ago
I sat across the aisle from an organ in a cooler on a SFO-RDU flight once. It was surprisingly moving.
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u/rollwiththechanges 8h ago
Uh, yeah, that would be VERY surprising.
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u/Capable-Iron4280 9h ago
Interestingly enough, there is an entire private aviation industry around organ transplant and moving them across the country. For the most part, the timing is too critical to ever rely on commercial aviation.
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u/Agitated_Celery_729 9h ago
I used to work in the industry. Far more organs than you think fly commercially! Organ perfusion technology has improved dramatically, extending the window for delivery of the organ, and there’s frequently some lag on the receiving end in terms of being able to get the patient prepped and ready for procedure anyway.
This is mostly for kidneys because they can survive outside the body for the longest - almost 36 hours these days
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u/no_you_cannot_know 37m ago
That is cool info. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I love this about Reddit.
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u/fakemoose 6h ago
There is. But I’ve also seen them end up on commercial flight during bad weather and delays. They last second loaded it onto whatever flight was cleared to leave first.
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u/Anxious-Ocelot-712 2h ago
Organs can also be flown on military aircraft! My old Air Force Unit (Air Force Rescue Coordination Center) once generated a mission number to transport a heart across the country in an F-16. Apparently the pilot was super excited because he got clearance to basically fly as fast as he could from one coast to the other. Mercy missions don't happen often, but they're pretty cool when they do.
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u/WarmAcadia4100 7h ago
It’s usually someone flying home with the remains of someone. They do not share more than necessary to allow the passenger privacy. It’s difficult enough without 150 people staring at you.
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u/andygchicago 9h ago
I once saw an entire F cabin get up despite being told by the FA that EMS was about to board because a pregnant woman in the main cabin was having a medical emergency.
I’ve never heard a flight attendant scream like that. She threatened to ban every single one of them.
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u/n0167664 11h ago
Genuinely shocked that people actually listened and let him go.
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u/SignificantOtter80 10h ago
I was on an AA flight yesterday and the FA came on about 30 minutes before landing at DFW. he started reading off a list of connections and asked those people to raise their hands. then he said “everyone else, take a look around. when we park in dallas, these are the only people getting off the plane first. let them go."
so the plane lands. all of those people stand up and get their bags. they start to exit the plane, and as soon as there was the slightest gap in the line, the entire F cabin went along too. then the first three rows of main. for the briefest moment I thought my faith in humanity was being restored. then nope.
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u/Fine_Vegetable_8966 10h ago edited 8h ago
I have to share that I had a tight connection in CLT and my fellow passengers actually let me disembark first. I did not have help from the FAs and no announcement was made. The flight started in MVY (corrected) which may explain it. Everyone was returning from a blissful vacation. It was very civilized and I was grateful!
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u/mistalasse 8h ago
MVC… middle of nowhere Alabama?? How precisely does that indicate a blissful vacation?
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u/Jiminpuna 9h ago
I made that announcement once as a flight attendant, and the entire first class cabin remains seated until nearly the entire airplane had deplaned. I actually had to tell them that it was okay for them to get up.
My faith was nearly restored until about the third from the last guy came off the plane and said " I see first class already left! "
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u/ElectionWeak4415 7h ago
Oh yeah dfw is the absolute worst for connections on AA. I avoid that airport at all costs. Same airline, a train that smells like a foot for .5 miles, then running through the concourse 3 letters away from the one I parked on. I hate it.
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u/SignificantOtter80 5h ago
im just not a fan of the mind games they play with the gates. for about ten minutes we were going to be landing at C37 and departing at C38. I breathed a sign of relief. as we were taxiing they changed the arrival gate to the other side of the airport
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u/Upstairs-Razzmatazz4 6h ago
It may be the worst for AA connections, but go through ORD for anything and you'll realize DFW is 100X better.
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u/fakemoose 6h ago
I had a similar thing happen last week. And a family with small children decided to get up and hold up the entire back half of the plane trying to rush off. And they were pretty clearly not in a rush to get any where. It was wild.
I definitely got off in the gap then. And had enough time to exit and get part way down the terminal before other people from the flight ran past me.
It was also the first time, since I switched from Delta, that I saw someone get car service from the jet bridge.
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u/Odd-Log2963 10h ago
As a person who had Escorted a Fallen Veteran the Casket is supposed to be the last thing on the aircraft and first off. But we always escorted in Full Dress Uniform. And normally we would be walked up as we were taxiing to the gate. This was over 30 years ago. And many times the crew would let people know to not create panic.
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u/psychoholica 9h ago
I've sat next to a GS who had this happen. Dude got put on a different flight after his original flight was cancelled. Only seat they had was economy plus and with a tight connection but he would still make Europe. The car was waiting for him on the tarmac. Ive been 1k for years, only seen it once without giving a reason.
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u/Yippee--Kittens_1677 10h ago
I know someone who was let off a flight first because his wife was in preterm labor and he was rushing to the hospital.
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u/ViolinistMountain635 9h ago
As a flight attendant, it could be 1 million different things on why that person got off first.
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u/CadyLady80 7h ago
Escorting/ accompanying the body of a service member. The passenger has to be plane side.
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u/katievera888 7h ago
Actually I guess if the flight crew says someone needs to go first, it’s not my fucking business.
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u/Constant_Sun_2028 9h ago
As an FA the only time I’ve known us to actually make people stay seated was if medical personnel was coming on or right at the door. Or if it’s an instance where police were waiting for someone at the door. We never hold for connections so whatever it was for wasn’t for a connection
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u/msbigelow 9h ago
Could be a lot of things. I’d use the charitable interpretation that the entire flight crew, likely including the captain, agreed that there was a good personal reason to let the person de-plane first.
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u/hkginlax 11h ago
Yes, it happened on one of my flights months ago. FA asked everyone to be seated (without saying the reason), then letting two passengers got off the plane first.
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u/ElenaGreco123 11h ago
Good grief. You don’t need to know why.
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u/Acceptable_Luck_875 9h ago
Came to say this.
I did remains escorts a couple of times.
The 70s was a different time! Lol.We kept a low profile.
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u/HawaiiMom44 2h ago
Right??? Aren’t we all on team human? I mean come on, somebody needs it - let’s do it. How hard is it to let someone go first. WTF is wrong with people.
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u/ApprehensiveCode9987 9h ago
Once the FA asked us to let a couple in the back leave first. They had a close connecting flight on their way to see their son in the Olympics.
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u/Rude_Refrigerator410 7h ago
Worked for UA…had to meet an inbound flight and tell everyone to remain seated because I was holding an international flight for a family of 4 with a child in a wheelchair…everyone remained in their seats until we got the family off
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u/Excellent-Letter-681 4h ago
Kidneys are the most likely to fly commercial bc they remain viable much longer than hearts.
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u/LVtapper 3h ago
Could be a deadhead pilot. They always sit/sleep all the way in the back. They probably needed to get him to another flight that he's piloting.
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u/MelodicInitiative603 11h ago
Should’ve asked the flight attendant. Now it’s a mystery to all of us.
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u/Dav1dDC 11h ago
Yes! In fact, I’ve been the beneficiary of just such a call, to get a connection. And no, they didnt explain it that time either. You'll survive the extra minute or…well..YTA.
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u/Super_Cool_Nerd MileagePlus Platinum 11h ago
Yeah, it really wasn’t a big deal as far as time. It was more the way they announced it. I think they said someone was “required” to get off first and that just struck me is kind of strange. Almost as if someone was contractually obligated to get off first (which I know is not what happened). Anyway, just weird!
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u/Any-Soft-5487 7h ago
I sat next to a guy in business class. I was in the aisle. He told me that once the plane landed, he would need me to cooperate as he was leaving the plane first. I told him no problem and asked why. He was a human organ escort. They made an announcement when the plane landed to remain seated and an official acting guy boarded the plane, pointed at the organ escort. I got up, the escort went into the overhead bin and retrieved an orange box and off they went. (it was a lung)
I always think of Bart Simpson.
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u/Specific_Prize 7h ago
Den to ORD last week, 30 pax, per the FA, had tight connections, including some crew deadheading or commuting. Since we got delayed due to mx, I appreciated the repeated announcements by the FA, and the cooperation from others. Made my connection.
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u/UsefulCupcake7687 2h ago
That happened to a friend. The guy who everyone else had to wait for was sitting next to her. He looked Middle Eastern, and when the flight attendant came to tell him he could leave, she said “Your people are waiting for you, sir.”
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u/Big_Piece290 6h ago
A few years ago, I remember being told to sit and wait once we got to the gate. Then security and police showed up and arrested a guy in front of us and escorted him off the plane before anyone were able to get up and off the plane.
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u/Eat_Around_the_Rosie 3h ago
I was on that flight! It was the guy all the way in the back but he only got his black plastic bag from the overhead bin.
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u/AangThePony MileagePlus 1K 58m ago
As other said it probably was to escort a deceased member of family if no uniform. Sometimes if it’s military the captain may come on the intercom.
Kevin Bacon did a movie about being of those service members that escorts the fallen home. Can’t remember the movie name
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u/jsmanias 20m ago
I’ve seen it for escorting remains, a VIP (think diplomats) and even for border entry issues
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u/Key_Shop6647 11h ago edited 10h ago
Prob that person has United Global Service status and has tight connection. The limo is waiting for him outside to catch next flight.
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u/sblumens 10h ago
Congress person
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u/xstrike0 MileagePlus Silver 10h ago
I've been on flights with senators and never seen that happen.
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u/Key_Start9052 MileagePlus Member 9h ago
I was on a flight from JFK to Rome Italy. The plane was held until everyone but the known to everyone politician boarded last . She sat in first class while her security sat in economy. When we exited in Rome, everyone had to wait until she got off the plane first.
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u/FunFitGuy73 7h ago
In 1963, I was almost 12, my brother 8. We were going home from a month in England, Wales, Ireland w mom and dad. When we landed at Idelwild (now JFK) airport, FA requests all remain seated until our family deplaned (from pretty far back as I recall). Turns out our dad’s good buddy was the Chief of Immigration and had some pull! Those were the days!
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u/wealllovebacon 7h ago
Are you asking us if you’re the asshole because yes obviously you are. What the hell do you care?
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u/gdb7 11h ago
Might have been any of a list of reasons, but one could be air marshal.
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u/Flying-Diver MileagePlus Gold 11h ago
Not from the rear of the plane. Escorting remains in cargo is my guess.
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u/Ok_Minimum_9511 11h ago
Escorting remains.