Why you should quit your suitcase and embrace a duffel bag
January 12, 2024
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Do You Have An 'Aisle Lice' Problem? Here's How To Tell.
If you've ever taken a flight, you know the chaos that often ensues after landing when the pilot turns off the 'fasten seatbelt' sign. People are jumping to their feet, swinging their bags down and in some cases, even getting into altercations. And of course, there are the 'aisle lice.' This deplaning phenomenon is quite common, but it can be frustrating nonetheless. Below, travel and etiquette experts break down what the term 'aisle lice' means and what you should know about this behavior before your next flight. What does 'aisle lice' refer to? ''Aisle lice' is a term used to describe airline passengers who immediately stand up and cluster in the aisle as soon as the plane arrives at the gate, often before the seatbelt sign is turned off,' said Lauren Gumport, vice president of communications at Faye Travel Insurance. It's related to the concept of 'gate lice,' the folks who crowd the gate area at the airport during the boarding process, well before their group number is called. 'Anyone who has been on a commercial flight in economy knows the cramped nature of deplaning,' said Katy Nastro, a spokesperson for the flight alert service Going. 'Elbows in faces, bags coming from all angles in the overhead bins and of course, the impatient people who crowd the aisle. Regardless of seat assignment, some people will rush to the front of the aisle in an effort to deplane as fast as possible.' Although aisle lice typically refers to those who refuse to patiently wait in their designated seat until their row's turn to deplane, the term might also apply to passengers who stand and take up space in the aisle at other inopportune moments. 'So long as the attendants have finished their service, it is perfectly acceptable to stand or walk back and forth to stretch your legs. If there is beverage or meal service, you need to remain in your seat.' said Jodi R.R. Smith, the president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting. 'While generally used when referring to airplanes, aisle lice can also be found on trains, buses, subways, and even boats,' she added. What's driving this phenomenon?'In some cases, people are trying to make a tight connection, and they are likely the ones to rush ahead with an apology attached to provide context as to why they need to cut ahead,' Nastro said. 'Others are just too impatient to wait either in their seat or near their seat, inching as close to the plane door as possible without any regard for the unofficial deplaning protocol. Maybe they are late for a business meeting, or family emergency.' Whatever the case, she added that it's rare to get a full explanation as to why a particular passenger feels they should be allowed to deplane out of order. Smith emphasized that there can be valid reasons for aisle lice behavior. For instance, there might have been a long delay that shortened passengers' connection times. In these cases, even a few moments can mean the difference between making the next leg or being stranded overnight. 'But other passengers are just done being seated and want to stand to stretch their legs,' Smith said. 'And yes, there are a subset of passengers that are just plain pushy.' After long delays, flight attendants often make a pre-landing announcement asking passengers arriving at their final destinations to stay seated and allow those with tight connections to deplane more quickly. However, not everyone honors such requests. 'Aisle lice behavior is often driven by a mix of impatience, anxiety and a desire to be among the first off the plane ― whether to catch a tight connection, beat the crowd to baggage claim or simply stretch after a long flight,' Gumport said. 'In some cases, it's habit or social mimicry. People see others standing and assume they should, too.' She added that standing prematurely doesn't speed up the deplaning process in most cases. 'And it can create unnecessary congestion and tension, especially in tight cabin spaces,' Gumport said. 'That said, I wouldn't label it malicious ― it's more of a minor annoyance.' Dollar Flight Club founder and CEO Jesse Neugarten agreed that the phenomenon can be annoying, but the urge is relatable. 'I've definitely found myself standing up earlier than I needed to, especially on long travel days,' he said. 'This is one of those classic examples of how air travel kind of brings out weird habits in all of us. Everyone's tired, no one wants to be last. It's not the biggest deal, but it's one of those things where if everyone just relaxed a bit, the whole process would be smoother for everyone.' How can you not let aisle lice disrupt your air travel experience?'Aisle lice has become an even hotter topic in some places,' Nastro noted. 'Recently, Turkish Aviation Authorities have implemented a fine for people who stand up too early in the deplaning process, specifically when it is not safe to do so. These are extreme cases of people really going beyond deplaning etiquette.'In places where passengers are not fined for bad deplaning behavior, however, there are different ways to deal with aisle lice. 'Stand by and let pass, or kill 'em with kindness,' Nastro advised. 'If someone does rush ahead, you can consider politely asking if they have a connection or emergency, and if not, just explain that there is a general deplaning etiquette that ensures everyone gets off as efficiently as possible. If the other person isn't willing to oblige, well, you tried to do your part.' Regardless of how you feel, she emphasized the importance of patience and common courtesy in the deplaning process. 'If there is room, I am all for some of the passengers standing up in the aisle because this allows those still seated in the row a bit more elbow room and the ability to actually look around their seats to gather all of their belongings,' Smith said. 'It also allows for the overheads to be opened, making for easier unloading. What is not OK is pushing those standing in the aisle. Not every aisle seat will be able to stand, and if the passenger across the aisle from you has already stood, you will need to wait.' For those bothered by the aisle lice rush, she recommended booking a window seat and remaining seated until the majority of passengers have disembarked so that you may leave at your leisure. 'Honestly, what is more of a nuisance, especially in airplane travel, are those passengers who stand lollygagging in the aisle, turning this way and that, surprised that it is their turn, while blocking others from disembarking,' Smith said. 'Passengers who require extra time or assistance should, as the airline state, remain comfortably seated, allowing others to pass.' She also urged travelers to pay attention to where their fellow passengers' heads are as they pull their luggage from the overhead for those who stand up in the aisle during the flight, Smith emphasized presuming positive intent. 'Not everyone is able to sit still for hours on end,' she noted. 'For others, it may be medically necessary for them to walk and stretch during the journey.' Related... The Rudest Things You Can Do While Boarding A Plane A Definitive Guide To Airplane Seat Etiquette Is 'Check-In Chicken' The Ultimate Airplane Seat Hack? Here's What Experts Say.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Joby Aviation Stock Soars to an All-Time High: My Prediction for What Comes Next
Key Points Joby Aviation stock is soaring on optimism for its electric air taxi network. The company is aiming to ramp up manufacturing and finish its FAA certification. The stock trades at an expensive price versus any reasonable expectations for future revenue. 10 stocks we like better than Joby Aviation › Nobody enjoys sitting in traffic. And yet, the average American will sit in over two weeks of traffic each year. One company believes it has paved a way to help alleviate the traffic pressure in cities around the globe: Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY). It is manufacturing and testing electric air taxis, which can go point-to-point over cities more quietly than traditional helicopters, saving people time and frustration. Joby's air taxis are not operational yet, but the stock recently burst through to an all-time high of $17.50 a share on investor enthusiasm for its manufacturing progress and partnerships with large transportation players. It now has a market cap of $14.8 billion even though it generates zero dollars in revenue. Here's my prediction for what comes next with Joby Aviation stock. Betting big on air taxis Utilizing electric motor technology and innovations in aerodynamics, Joby Aviation has created a vertical takeoff vehicle that is quiet enough to leave from residential neighborhoods. It is manned by a pilot, can fit four riders, and has a top speed of 200 miles per hour. The company is planning to set up point-to-point networks in major cities such as New York, where customers will be able to hop from Manhattan directly to the airport, shaving off time that would have been spent sitting in traffic. The company is not officially operating its network yet, but it's working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the final stages of testing its aircraft. Multiple pilots have flown the Joby vehicle already, with its manufacturing facilities producing its fifth aircraft for pilots last quarter. Management recently announced an expansion of its factory in California, with plans to eventually produce 24 air taxis annually from this location. Multiple transportation companies have seen the promise in Joby Aviation. Toyota Motors has invested a total of $894 million in the company and is working directly with the company on manufacturing processes. Delta Air Lines is an investor, while Uber Technologies is a partner that will eventually add Joby flights to its ride-sharing application. Joby needs to get a lot of customer demand in order to get a return on its air taxi spending, which will require full operating schedules and high ticket prices. This is possible if its partners such as Uber and Delta drive customers to the upcoming service. The company is not just looking to expand in New York. It is working to add air taxis to Los Angeles, Dubai, and even Japan and the United Kingdom. Most major cities in the world have traffic issues and could see some (especially wealthier) citizens utilize this upcoming air taxi network. Aggressive spending and cash burn There is a lot of promise with Joby's air taxis, but the growth is all theoretical today. Joby does not generate any revenue, is still in the FAA certification process, and has manufactured only a few air taxis to date. Still, it is aggressively burning money on research, manufacturing, and overhead costs as it works to build up its vertically integrated factory network in the United States. In the first quarter of 2025, it spent $134 million on research and development. Over the last 12 months, free cash flow was negative $489 million. The company does have $813 million in cash and a $500 million commitment from Toyota, but this only gives it two to three years of cash burn at its current rate before it will need to raise more funds. My prediction for what comes next with Joby Aviation stock I like the idea of air taxi networks. As long as they can be operated safely, it is a path forward to help alleviate traffic on major highways in metro areas, and it looks like something people will pay up for in order to save time on the way to the airport or other societal hubs. My problem comes from Joby Aviation's market cap of $14.8 billion, making the stock wildly overvalued for a pre-revenue start-up. At its current manufacturing run-rate of 24 air taxis a year that could grow in the years to come, Joby Aviation may have 200 vehicles in operation by 2030. Assuming 20 flights per vehicle per day at $500 each split among the four passengers, that is $730 million in annual revenue for Joby Aviation. It is currently spending close to $500 million a year before generating any sales. There will be variable costs when its taxi network starts operating, along with more money spent to build each vehicle. It is unlikely that Joby Aviation will generate a profit by 2030 even if it can scale up its air taxi routes and charge an average of $500 per flight (which is more than the average round-trip airline ticket for comparable routes). Air taxis are an interesting idea, but that doesn't mean Joby Aviation is a buy with the stock trading at a market cap of $14.8 billion. I predict that pain is ahead for Joby Aviation shareholders for the rest of this decade, even if the company remains on track with its air taxi network buildout. Should you buy stock in Joby Aviation right now? Before you buy stock in Joby Aviation, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Joby Aviation wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,063,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Joby Aviation Stock Soars to an All-Time High: My Prediction for What Comes Next was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Travel + Leisure
8 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
I Was Born Without Arms, but That Didn't Stop Me From Becoming the World's First Licensed Armless Pilot
For Travel + Leisure's column Traveling As, we're talking to travelers about what it's like to explore the world through their unique perspectives. We chatted with Jessica Cox, the world's first licensed armless pilot, who is now working on building the first exclusively foot-controlled plane with the Experimental Aircraft Association , called The Impossible Airplane . She also travels the world as a motivational speaker, encouraging people to not look at disabilities as inabilities. Here's her story… I was born without both my arms for no medical reason. They never developed in utero, and it's still a mystery to this day as to what exactly caused it—it was just one of those fluke things. But because it was from birth, I had my whole life to figure it out. In a sense, that was a gift because if you're born a certain way, and it's all you've ever known, you start with a clean slate. From the beginning, I made the connection that if there are no arms, why not use my feet? Our toes and feet have the same type of bones as our hands and fingers, so it was a normal transition for replacement. Quite frankly, I didn't even realize how different I was until I left my community. But the moment I did, I was constantly reminded I was different. That was hard and took some getting used to, especially dealing with the stares and reactions. I did everything to satisfy that norm, trying to blend in with prosthetic limbs for 11 years. But I never connected with them, so I said, why not just let them go? I made that decision as a 14 year old. I decided to give up the arms and figure out how to stand tall as someone who's different. It wasn't overnight, and it wasn't always easy. Jessica, at age 14 with her prosthetics. Travel was my love from a very early age. I got that from my mom. She's Filipino and immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s. She was a well-established nurse there, so they invited her to come when there was a need for nurses here. She fell in love with being in the U.S., and met my father at an international party. He's rooted in the Deep South, so they couldn't be more different. But then they had this wonderful family with three children, and instilled in me the best of both worlds and a love for both worlds. I took my first big international trip to the Philippines when I was 8. It was life-changing to know there's a different world, and it never stopped. I've now spoken in 28 countries around the world and traveled to even more. Now, I will say, the difficulty for someone without arms to travel is magnified. Universal design—that is, designing products and environments to be usable by all—is something most people are aware of, but every person with a disability has individual needs and preferences. For example, I don't need an ADA-compliant hotel room. The benefit is that everything is lower down, so I can reach things more easily with my feet. But there are aspects that don't work for me. A roll-under sink, for example, is actually a disservice because if I'm using my feet as my hands, I have to be seated on the countertop. There's an assumption I need an ADA room, and I have to tell them, that depends on the room. We need to treat each person we encounter with the mindset that everyone's different. I've been speaking for 18 years now and it's a message that resonates with everyone: think outside the shoe. The exterior of Jessicas Ercoupe airplane. While I love travel, it has also meant conquering something anxiety-provoking for me: flying. When I flew commercially as a child, I would get so much tension from the experience, I'd have to take some medication. For many people, the fear comes from not having control. For me, it was the fear of the unknown. When you don't understand flying, and you take Hollywood as your example of what happens if a flight isn't smooth, it sparks fear. When I was 21 and straight out of college, I was approached to fly in a small plane. I thought, this is my chance to overcome this fear. The more I learned about aviation and aerodynamics, I realized I shouldn't be afraid. If you lose an engine, you just glide down to the ground and find somewhere to land—it's not like the plane falls out of the sky. Turbulence is going to happen. It's different when you're seeing all that has to come together to fly a plane, and to be there holding on to the controls. It's a very different position than being a passenger. I went up for my first flight in the cockpit of a small plane—a Cessna, typically a starter plane for beginners. The airplane had dual controls, meaning you can fly it from the right or left seat. I sat on the right side and the pilot in command (PIC), Bill, was in the left seat. While we were in the air, he said, 'Why don't you try and see what it's like to fly?' I wasn't the type of person to say no, so I took my shoe off and hesitantly brought my foot up to the yoke, the control wheel for steering. I grabbed a hold of it between my big toe and second toe. I looked over at Bill to my left and he had his hands off the controls. He said, 'You're flying the airplane!' It hit me at that moment—I wanted to do everything I could to become a pilot. When you overcome your fears, you get everything you've ever wanted on the other side of that—and so I became the first licensed pilot to fly a plane with her feet. I have a sport pilot certification to fly light sport aircraft, so I can take one passenger up to an altitude of 10,000 feet in the daylight. They call it the "$100 hamburger" because it means flying to a little neighboring airport, going in for breakfast, and then flying back. My most exciting flight was my first solo journey. My instructor stepped out of the airplane and said, 'Take her up, fly it around.' Knowing I was doing this myself was incredible. It gives you a sense of empowerment, like I have my life in my own feet. Of course, there have been challenging moments, too, that they call a near-miss. These occurrences sometimes happen among students. In my case, it was another student pilot who wasn't doing their radio calls correctly in the pattern. The only reason we knew it was a close call was because we had GoPros rigged up on my plane. When I show up at these airfields with small planes, it's usually older white men. You feel like a minority, undoubtedly. People see the exterior and think you can't do it. I've had to develop a thick skin and say, 'Yes, I can.' Once I showed them what I could do with my feet and the controls of an airplane, they were just like, 'Oh, you're a pilot.' Jessica with with EAA Chapter 898 working on the Impossible Airplane. Every year, Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) hosts the world's largest airshow—AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I've been going since about 2009. It's like a big party with airplanes. Most planes are designed for people with four limbs. I usually fly an Ercoupe, designed in the '30s and built in the '40s. It's the only airplane that was built without rudder pedals. The rudders are interconnected with the ailerons, meaning someone with two limbs can fly it. It's the only reason I'm flying today. For 18 years, I've been making my feet work on an airplane meant for hands. There are plenty of compromises in comfort, as you can imagine. My feet are up high and I'm not sitting comfortably. Now, we're working on another pioneering project with EAA Chapter 898, spearheaded by Bob Newman, to build the first-ever experimental airplane with unique modifications that can be flown with feet alone. For the last four years in Toms River, New Jersey, we've been building a custom four-seat RV-10 airplane, called The Impossible Airplane until it's built, at which point it will be named the I'm Possible Airplane. We're building it through my nonprofit Rightfooted Foundation International, which is focused on empowering that message that disability doesn't mean inability, as well as helping children and adults born without arms and various disabilities. Aviation is just one of our four programs. Another is providing a tool that helps people without arms get dressed on their own since it's the difference between independence and dependence. We have some ambitious goals. I'm hoping to become the first woman with a disability to fly around the world in a small aircraft in 2028. There are so many places around the world where having a disability has such a strong stigma. Children are hidden at home. People with disabilities aren't given a chance to go to school. They don't get to have a job. Some aren't seen as candidates for marriage or family life. We want to shift that. This flight around the world is going to show that if I can fly a plane with my feet, we should not hold back other people with disabilities. When you don't get to see the world, you have a limited perspective. The moment you see there's more, it opens up your world to possibilities. For instance, when I travel on my own, it's a great feeling of not just seeing another destination, but also the act of doing an international solo trip. Even the small things, like carrying luggage, requires a creative solution. Sometimes, it's scary not to have anyone to lean on, but when you put yourself in a bit of a scary position, it stretches the best version of yourself. Last March, I was on a long international flight sitting in economy plus. I couldn't use the table for eating a meal. The flight attendant thoughtfully brought out a huge tray—the one that holds meals in the top part of the cart—and put it on the floor in front of me, and we made a makeshift table. Solo travel is a celebration of these moments. When you have a physical disability, people often feel like they don't have the luxury of travel, but it's not true. I encourage people to not shy away from the things that scare them, and instead embrace them and see they can be great experiences. Face your fears and it can change your life.
