The Airlines' Endless Quest for Better Boarding

[Naim 6]

Perennial problem!

 

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The Airlines' Endless Quest for Better Boarding
Associated Press

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer
DALLAS July 31, 2013 (AP)

Getting people on and off an airplane quickly is so complicated that even an astrophysicist couldn't figure it out.

The astrophysicist, Jason Steffen of the University of Illinois, normally contemplates things such as axion-like particles. But after waiting in one boarding line too many, he turned to the mysteries of airline seating.

"I thought there had to be a better way," he says.

So, after a series of calculations, he deduced that the best system would be a combination of filling window seats first, then middle and aisle ones, while also spacing the boarding passengers two rows apart.

There was just one problem — passengers would have to board in precise order. Good luck with that. These are the same passengers who don't turn off their phones even after they're told it's a federal law.

"Well," Steffen observes, "I understand why airline people aren't calling me."

But the search for the perfect boarding process goes on.

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READ MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/airlines-endless-quest-boarding-19823190

[Radzi 2]

Delays are not always caused by slow passenger boarding. Slow baggage / cargo loading is another factor.

[Josh T 0]

Different airlines have different methods for boarding but it is the passengers who don't follow the rules and the airline staff who don't enforce the boarding procedures that make the boarding process very inefficient. I think it works well when you board passengers from back to front. If a passenger is not seated in the row that's been called, they should be turned away. Cabin crew also need to enforce that passengers don't put their hand luggage in the overhead bins of forward seats.