saunders111

I flew TYS-DCA on Friday on a regional jet. When we arrived at the gate in DCA, the FA opened the door and then paged "Will the XXXX family please come to the front of the aircraft?" The XXXX family worked their way up to the front past the various people who had already stood up and stepped into the aisle. They turned out to be a couple with two lap infants. The FA then ushered the XXXX family off the plane ahead of everyone else, where they then got to stand on the jet bridge waiting for their valet-checked items as everyone else deplaned past them. It was pretty clear from body language and expressions that the XXXXs wanted no part of this.

Anyway, I hadn't seen that behavior before, so I thought I would report it here. Kudos to the FA for trying to do a kindness, I guess, but it did seem to misfire.

IADCAflyer

Could have been a tight connection?

USFlyerUS

It sounds like the FA was trying to do the family a favor on what was likely a tight connection. I wouldn't read anymore into it than that.

lrdpenn

Body language probably projects the dimming chances of making their connection while they wait for their luggage

saunders111

Yeah, it might well have been a tight connection, but we did arrive somewhat before schedule... so perhaps or perhaps not. Hard to say of course.

ashill

If it was a tight connection that only one party had, this seems like a much more effective way to do it. The occasional announcements along the lines of "we have some passengers with tight connections; if Little Rock is your final destination or you have ample time until your connecting flight, please allow those with tight connections to deplane first" tend to do exactly nothing useful.

USFlyerUS

One other possibility is that, if they had lap children, one of them might have had an accident and the FA was helping the parents get off quickly to deal with that.