…or rather his character Ryan Bingham in the movie Up In The Air (2009).
No. I haven’t been travelling the world to fire people and have affairs! But there is this one scene in the movie when Bingham is at the airport, about to go through security and assesses the situation in front of him to select the line that he is going to join. This had become me. I have travelled for business so much that I have started to pick up on signs and clues of who is going to slow me down through security check.
“I’m like my mother, I stereotype. It’s faster.”
This is what Bingham replied to his inexperienced colleague who was wondering how he knew which lines would be slow, or which line would be fast by just looking at the people in front of him. That scene is in the trailer if you haven’t seen the movie (Google it!). This statement from Bingham is so wrong, but yet so true for many frequent business travellers.
I have become so impatient at airports. And the worst is that I judge people right there on the spot for little things like not being quick enough to remove their belt, take out their laptop from their bag, having that 1.5L water bottle in their bag, etc. In my head, I would be thinking “Ma’am, how do you not know that you can’t bring your whole bathroom toiletries in full size on your carry-on? It’s 2018!”. Or, “Sir, how did you not hear when you were asked to check if you have anything in your pockets?”.
And it doesn’t stop there. The judging and impatience continues once I get on the plane. You would have people who, the whole time they’d been in line to get on the plane, didn’t think once to check their seat assignment, or simply don’t understand flying protocol.
The reality is not everyone is a frequent traveller, not everyone is there for business. For some people, it’s their first flight, for others it’s a holiday trip, and for many, it’s a scary and stressful experience. It’s only recently that I have started to be more empathetic although at times I still catch myself judging. I must also remember that once upon a time I was a novice traveller…
For those of you frequent business travellers out there, are you George Clooney?