I do not like commercials, and I skip or mute them every time they come on (which isn’t that often because I pretty much only watch TV for The Amazing Race or some sports). But the series of Progressive Insurance commercials talking about people turning into their parents slays me. I will actually unmute them if I see them because they’re that funny.
I probably find them so amusing because I am basically turning into my parents. :-). I saw a new one the other day about traveling in an airport that made me chuckle again.
“Old Man” Airport Behaviors, According to Progressive
And of course by “old man,” I mean “turning into your parents” behaviors. Here are the ones mentioned in the commercial:
- Printing out paper tickets – I have definitely done this in the past, including printing out complete itineraries. Nowadays I definitely just keep my boarding pass on my phone, which I think works fine. One place where I do think printing out itineraries can help is for hotels / addresses in foreign countries. That can make it easier for taxis or other people to help get you where you need to go.
- Pointing out landmarks from the plane – Okay – definitely guilty of that. I’ve always been fascinated with aerial views of things. Though I will say that I don’t normally actually POINT those out to other people. I used to be a window seat guy (to check out the view) but now I am Team Aisle.
- Packing tons of snacks from home for the flight – I don’t do this one, but sometimes I have been known to take a few extra snacks from an airport lounge “for later”
- Asking the gate agents when boarding is – I don’t normally do this since I am typically in a lounge and just stop by the gate when it’s time to board.
- Getting to the airport 3+ hours early – Well here’s another one where they get me. I have gotten a bit better at this from the time when I decided I was wasting DAYS of my life in airports, but I definitely like having extra time. And since I work remotely and can work from anywhere, I don’t see a lot of downside to getting to the airport with plenty of time.
- Making up plane facts – This one isn’t me – I know many people in the miles and points space are av-geeks, but I don’t think I could even tell a 737 from an A380. (Okay, I could probably do that at least!)
Other “Turning Into Your Parents” Airport Behaviors
A couple of other “turning into your parents” airport behaviors that I thought of:
- Clapping when the airplane lands – please don’t do this.
- Excessive conversation with random seatmates – I might say hello and a few things to a seatmate but I mostly either read or work on my computer depending on how long the flight is.
Anyways I thought this commercial was hilarious and wanted to share. Stay “cool” out there in the airport.
What about you? Do you do any of these “parents” airport behaviors? Any others?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Forgot about having to be #1 in boarding. Always a white guy. Always 50-60 years of age. Always a min of 20lbs overweight.
Printing out Covid documentation is now my thing. My phone dying is to big a risk at Immigration
Is this supposed to be a satire? The behaviors you listed seem appropriate depending on the travel context. I do not find the comments helpful for travel. They might be offensive, even ageist.
Dale
It’s a good idea to print your pass. What if you lose/drop your phone? What if you didn’t take a screen shot and the app can’t bring it up? The gate agent will look at you in a word manner for your ill preparedness. Bringing snacks is a good idea because you’ll pay 4X more for the same item, if you find it.
Not only that, but if your miles don’t show up, having a printed boarding pass is pretty much the only way you’ll get those miles back. E-copies will be gone by the time you can claim them back with the airline, i.e. after a mandatory few days’ delay.
Lighten up Dale. You’ll live longer.
No, Dale, it’s observational comedy.
@dale. Seriously? Congratulations you’re now that guy.
Printing your boarding pass or at least travel documents isn’t dumb. Smartphones fail, may not work on landing in various places. I don’t think that qualifies as an old person’s behavior. Save the rest of us some time and print it out. We don’t want to be waiting behind you while you sort out your phone 🙂
Yeah – I used to be a big document printer-outer but I have recently moved to just using my phone in most cases. But you’re right that it does come with some risks
Definitely at least one printed document and boarding pass. Definitely take on a snack if flying in cattle.
Preferably take a translated document (hotel/itinerary/confirmations) when travelling to a country that might have not have local English speaking infrastructure (last visit to interior of China)
I’m older than 60 but still will try to be in front for boarding (F/J)
I still print out my boarding pass because I’ve had my phone shut off or have had problems right at the gate. When everyone is waiting on you, I just print it out and don’t worry if my phone is going to die or not.
Those commercials chap my ass because they take things too far. Oh, being polite is frowned upon now? Giving someone a compliment for doing a good job is bad? Maybe it’s why I don’t have Progressive.
Printing out my boarding pass…I definitely do this. The reason I do this is because of my only time flying Frontier. I had my boarding pass on my phone at check-in. I went to security and it disappeared, my phone said “no record of reservation”. I went to one of those kiosks located throughout the terminal- “no record of reservation”. So, I had to go back to the desk to get speak to an agent to get a boarding pass and go through the security line again. So, not because I’m old, but because I don’t trust the technology anymore, I print my boarding pass.
Awardwallet on your phone has most of that itenary stuff on it. I rarely travel without a portable backup battery. Too many times the plugs on airport seats do not work.
I have to disagree with one of the items. I work as a Goodwill Ambassador at our local airport. I am was constantly dealing with people that have to go back down to the counter as the boarding pass on the phone is unreadable, not as much of an issue now as TSA only requires the ID at our airport but when traveling I still print off a pass as a back up, just in case.
Always print your boarding pass after you save it as a PDF to your own device. You may need that PDF to claim missing miles. You may need that paper boarding pass when you drop your phone in the toilet at the airport. This is even more important when flying Spirit, etc. since they charge you to print a BP, or Alaksa, whose kiosks no longer print BPs.