The Barometer has long suspected that there was line-hopping going on as passengers scramble to board flights. Everyone wants space for their carry-on bag. And if you are in groups 7-9, well, your bag will be checked.
So, passengers are gaming the system. There are those who feign “needing a little extra time for boarding.” Some of them have even nabbed a wheelchair and a valet to get them on the plane first. Such an air of authenticity.
However, watch these gamers when you land. They can high jump over rows of seats to get off the plane first. The wheelchairs will arrive in the jetway, but they shall lie fallow for arriving flights.
Then you have the sneaky folks who have a group 7 boarding pass but hop aboard with group 3. Some gate agents turn them away. Some gate agents who call them out get a story such as “I’m with him,” and point to a real Group 3 passenger. The irony is that the real Group 3 people often join in on the gaming and assure, “Yep — we’re together.”
The airlines are on to these cads. American is implementing a “sound of shame” remedy for Group 7 passengers trying to sneak in with Group 3. The computer will not ding. The computer will make noises that cause those of us waiting our turn to assume, “Terrorist! They have nabbed another.”
American has not announced remedies for the new scofflaw program. However, the Barometer has suggestions. Once the obnoxious noise is triggered, the TSA folks will show up with options. A free Israeli beeper for immediate use is one possibility. There are others: The line-hopper has the option of going back home; Hopping a free flight to Martha’s Vineyard to scare the locals there who will, in turn, pawn them off to a nearby military base within 24 hours.
Those of the Vineyard will not co-habit with line-hoppers.
Oh, the ethical compromises one encounters in air travel. Those who cheat during boarding are about to have their wings clipped.
Dawn Gilbertson, “Travelers Who Cut the Line Now Get Busted By American,” Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2024, p. B1.
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
