On a recent flight, I was sitting in seat 30C, an aisle seat near the back of the plane. Normally, being that far back means you’re going to be one of the last people off the plane. But when we arrived at the gate, I got up as soon as we arrived at the gate and the fasten seatbelts sign went off. Somehow, I ended up walking all the way to the front of the plane and was literally the first passenger off the plane.

(SEE ALSO: Is It Rude To Rush Off The Airplane?)

I know this sounds like one of those obnoxious “plane deboarding” stories where someone pushes past 20 people.

But I wasn’t pushing people out of the way or cutting in front of people who were ready to leave.

Here’s What Actually Happened

The plane arrived at the gate. As soon as the seatbelt sign was off and it was appropriate to stand, I got up. I am almost always in an aisle seat, and I typically stand up right when the seatbelt sign comes off when we get to the gate. This is a combination of wanting to stand up after being seated for hours and liking to be efficient with my time.

Because I was in an aisle seat, I could get into the aisle immediately. Even more, because I had gate-checked my carryon, I only had my backpack, which was in my lap. I started walking forward, but there was literally nobody else getting up. Normally, I walk up a few rows, before other people get out of their seats, at which point, I stop because I’m not going to push past people. There was only one person that was in the aisle, at about Row 15. But he was turned to the side getting his bag out of the overhead bin, so I just walked past him without even touching him.

Again, I didn’t push past anyone. I just simply kept moving because LITERALLY NOBODY ELSE WAS IN THE AISLE. Eventually I reached the front of the plane. By the time the normal stream of passengers started moving, I was already there.

Being in Row 30 doesn’t necessarily mean you have to wait behind 29 rows of people.

The deplaning process isn’t really a perfectly ordered queue. There can be huge gaps between people who are ready to leave and people who aren’t.

Why Getting Up Immediately Actually Works

Here are a few reasons why I think this worked / works:

• People are slow to get ready – Some passengers don’t stand up immediately. Others are gathering their things, checking their phones, talking to their seatmates, etc. If nobody is moving into the aisle, there’s no particular reason for you to remain seated.
• An aisle seat gives you an advantage – You don’t have to wait for someone else to get out before you can stand. You can be ready to go immediately.
• Not having a carryon bag is another advantage – If you have to stop and get your carryon from the overhead bin, even if you’re in the aisle, by the time you get your bag, people will be in the aisle.
• You aren’t actually “cutting” if there is empty space – This is the important distinction to me. If someone is already standing in front of you waiting their turn, let them go. But if there are five empty rows of aisle ahead of you, walking through that space isn’t really taking someone’s place.

I know lots of people talk about “waiting your turn” but I see no problem with moving forward into empty space if you’re ready before other people.

(SEE ALSO: You Should Stand Up As Soon As The Plane Lands (Like I do))

The Line Between Efficient and Rude

I want to be clear that I’m not advocating the viral “run down the aisle and shove past everyone” strategy.

There is a difference between:

• Standing up immediately
• Moving forward through empty aisle space
• Waiting when someone is actually ahead of you

vs. pushing past people who are already waiting.

My philosophy is essentially:

Take advantage of available space, but don’t make other people move for you.

The Bottom Line

I started the flight in Row 30 and expected to be one of the last people off.

Instead, I walked off the airplane before literally everyone else on the plane. I would have loved to have taken a video of this as I feel like nobody is going to believe me that I didn’t push past people.

The lesson isn’t that you should shove your way to the front of the plane. It’s that you don’t necessarily need to sit there and wait for 29 rows of people to deplane if there is open space in front of you.

Do you get up and start moving forward when there’s space, or do you stay in your seat until the people directly in front of you move? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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