Airlines change how they herd us aboard

[Itsme]

Airlines change how they herd us aboard

By Roger Yu, USA TODAY

To wring out greater savings and to minimize passenger frustration, some airlines are adopting new ways of boarding.

Industry giants United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as well as discounter AirTran, have abandoned the traditional back-to-front boarding of their coach sections. America West has made the move, too.

The motive: Time is money for airlines trying to stick to a schedule and to keep their planes flying as many hours as possible. Traditional back-to-front boarding clogs the cabin by drawing too many people into a confined area at once, says Eitan Bachmat, a professor of Israel's Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

"If we were infinitely thin — that is, if people were made of cardboard — then back-to-front is wonderful," says Bachmat, who has, in studying boarding systems, delved into time-and-space issues like those involved in Einstein's theory of relativity.

The recent changes:

•Window, middle and aisle. United now groups passengers at the gate according to their seat's letter designation. The carrier boards window passengers first, followed by those in middle and aisle seats. Passengers traveling in pairs or groups are kept together. Its boarding is now four to five minutes faster, saving the company about $1 million a year, says Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman.

In 2003, America West, now part of US Airways, started boarding window-seat passengers before those in middle and aisle seats.

The procedure saves about two minutes in a typical 20-minute boarding process, says America West spokesman Carlo Bertolini. The carrier merged with US Airways in September and is in the process of integrating operations under the US Airways brand. It will introduce the boarding procedure on all US Airways flights by early 2007, Bertolini says.

•Alternating zones. AirTran's new procedure, introduced last July, boards passengers in the back four rows first, followed by the front four rows. The process is repeated until the cabin is full.

Delta Air Lines uses a variation in its new system, introduced in early 2004. The zone that includes the back few rows boards first, then a middle section followed by a front section. It then goes back to a rear section.

Letting passengers board without assigned seats, like discounter Southwest, is very efficient, Bachmat says. In being spread out throughout the cabin, passengers can "sit independently of each other." Even airlines with assigned seating would benefit from random boarding, he says.

Frequent flier Bill Haughton, a sales executive in San Diego, says the new methods don't impress him. Reducing the amount of carry-on baggage is the best way to speed the process, Haughton says.

[speedracer120]

Yeah people with a lot of carry on bags just irk the crap out of me. They are the holdups. I wish we either had bullet trains/maglevs soon that will criss-cross the country for long distances with the ability to let cars roll on and roll off. Flying is too much of a hassle now, I think this trip back and from LA consisted of 2 flight cancellations and 4 rescheduling of flights.

[Mike_N_Ike]

Does that mean that if a family is all sitting in the same row they have to board separately now?

[Itsme]

Does that mean that if a family is all sitting in the same row they have to board separately now?

No, they let people traveling together board together.

[Mike_N_Ike]

No, they let people traveling together board together.
:banghead: Ok - that's what I get for skimming.

[wung]

i'm not so sure that Southwest's way is efficient. On my flights, people tend to fill up the front first because they want to deplane first. hardly anyone walk straight to the back (unless flying into burbank).

[Itsme]

I'm reminded of a plane operated by Aeroflot back when the widebody planes first came out. They had a plane similar in size to the DC10. The plane was configured such that each passenger entered the plane at the lower level and walked through what was the baggage section. They put their bags on a shelf and exited the plane. Then, they got back in line and entered the passenger area of the plane.

Upon arrival, the process was reversed.

It was to be the new way to fly, but didn't catch on and was quickly abandoned.

[Jeffbx]

When I fly Northwest out of Paris, it's a free for all. They just announce general boarding, and you scramble to get on & get to your seat. Kind of a mess when there are 300+ people getting on.

[Grimm]

I have a boarding plan.
They should let people board in order of least carry on.
People with nothing boad first.
People with an under the seat item board second.
People with a carry on board next.
And people with too much carry on board dead last.

The big advantage to my plan is when you exit the plane. The people in front have no items so they sand up and walk out. The people in the middle have an item they can grab as soon as the plane lands, they can be on their way quickly, not having to wait for people pulling lugage out of the bins. Then the large carry on people get their luggage and go. But much faster than before, because they have plent of room to grab their stuff, since so many people have already left the plane.
Finaly, the too much carry on people can leave last, after not holding up everyone with their huge bags that should have been checked in the first place. Also, if the flight crew wants to take a few pot shots at them as they leave, there are no witnesses (I'm not a big fan of the too much carry on set, as you can probably tell).

[guiseppewv]

I like Grimm's plan. People who hog up all the overhead space in the front and then go sit in the back really irritate me. I rarely have any carry on luggage.

[Itsme]

I have a boarding plan.
They should let people board in order of least carry on.
People with nothing boad first.
People with an under the seat item board second.
People with a carry on board next.
And people with too much carry on board dead last.

The big advantage to my plan is when you exit the plane. The people in front have no items so they sand up and walk out. The people in the middle have an item they can grab as soon as the plane lands, they can be on their way quickly, not having to wait for people pulling lugage out of the bins. Then the large carry on people get their luggage and go. But much faster than before, because they have plent of room to grab their stuff, since so many people have already left the plane.
Finaly, the too much carry on people can leave last, after not holding up everyone with their huge bags that should have been checked in the first place. Also, if the flight crew wants to take a few pot shots at them as they leave, there are no witnesses (I'm not a big fan of the too much carry on set, as you can probably tell).

Nice idea, probably so logical they would never implement it. :)

[Grimm]

Nice idea, probably so logical they would never implement it. :)
That was the nice plan. The mean one is pretty much the same, except instead of seating the too much carry on people, they strap their baggage into the seats and stuff the inconsiderate people in the baggage compartment. But I didn't think anyone would go for that.

I have an even better plan for passenger aircraft.
Instead of seats there would be a honycomb type of bunk system. Each person would get their own bunk, 2x2x7 feet. You lay in there for the whole flight, no seatbelts or overhead bins.
The honeycomb is loaded at the gate and then loaded into the aircraft. There is no wasted space and they could probably get more people in an aircraft. Each bunk could have it's own little 7" screen and sound system. No one would be bothering anyone. There could be seats up front for people traveling with small children that couldn't be with a parent or travel in their own bunk. People too obese for normal travel could get a seat too, but would have to pay a premium. Difficult passengers could be locked into their bunk.

[wung]

That was the nice plan. The mean one is pretty much the same, except instead of seating the too much carry on people, they strap their baggage into the seats and stuff the inconsiderate people in the baggage compartment. But I didn't think anyone would go for that.

I have an even better plan for passenger aircraft.
Instead of seats there would be a honycomb type of bunk system. Each person would get their own bunk, 2x2x7 feet. You lay in there for the whole flight, no seatbelts or overhead bins.
The honeycomb is loaded at the gate and then loaded into the aircraft. There is no wasted space and they could probably get more people in an aircraft. Each bunk could have it's own little 7" screen and sound system. No one would be bothering anyone. There could be seats up front for people traveling with small children that couldn't be with a parent or travel in their own bunk. People too obese for normal travel could get a seat too, but would have to pay a premium. Difficult passengers could be locked into their bunk.

and tubes for #1 and #2 ...

[gear02]

That was the nice plan. The mean one is pretty much the same, except instead of seating the too much carry on people, they strap their baggage into the seats and stuff the inconsiderate people in the baggage compartment. But I didn't think anyone would go for that.

I have an even better plan for passenger aircraft.
Instead of seats there would be a honycomb type of bunk system. Each person would get their own bunk, 2x2x7 feet. You lay in there for the whole flight, no seatbelts or overhead bins.
The honeycomb is loaded at the gate and then loaded into the aircraft. There is no wasted space and they could probably get more people in an aircraft. Each bunk could have it's own little 7" screen and sound system. No one would be bothering anyone. There could be seats up front for people traveling with small children that couldn't be with a parent or travel in their own bunk. People too obese for normal travel could get a seat too, but would have to pay a premium. Difficult passengers could be locked into their bunk.

Kinda like the ship in the Fifth Element.

[jstreet]

I want a radical redesign of the airplane... many more doors on the side of the plane - like a subway train - that open and close automatically. People walk along a much wider walkway (than the one existing now to route people to the single door) and find the best door to board the plane.

And minibars built into the back of seat cusions.

[cheapie]

i like how i do it. first class....please board and commence drinking while the peasants perform the walk of shame thru the F cabin while staring enviously at the royalty.


:thumbup:

[speedracer120]

Psh. How much extra is First Class on domestic flights anyways? Not that it would change the flight delays or anything, but sharing one lavatory with 24 people is better than sharing 2 lavs with 70 other people.

I've flown business on international flights with mileage upgrades and I can't stand to sit in economy seats anymore.

[cheapie]

very few people in first actually pay for first. the vast majority are people like me that are upgraded because of elite status. next are people that are flying first class because they have upgraded on an overseas flight. then people that pay for first.

[cheapie]

lol. most people don't scoff and stare. we are just positioning our eyes for the eventual hottie that's going to come bouncing by. :hihi:

[speedracer120]

You know what's worse than a smug person sitting and scoffing at you as you pass onto the cattle pen? The freaking little toddlers sitting in first and business class seats! I hope they appreciate all that extra space. :smash:

[cheapie]

wth? how can my reply be posted before the post i was replying to?

[speedracer120]

Time Warp!!!


I guess my editing the post messed with the timestamp or something.

[JaQnAbOx]

wth? how can my reply be posted before the post i was replying to?

he upgraded to first class posting abilities.


and i agree with grimm about the seating order


and i think a radical new design would be to somehow make the plane transparent. ie no luggage and having the wires run along the top of the plane. I think that would be an awsome way to fly. Maybe if they can eventually get plastics to have similar properties to metal.

[gear02]

Btw, not included in the article is that along with boarding by area of the plane, gold and platinum members who don't upgrade automagically get zone 1, or the first boarding, regardless of location. My friend and I sat beside each other in the emergency exit. He had aisle I had window. He was a gold member and I wasn't. He was in zone 1 and I was in zone 5.

[Grimm]

Kinda like the ship in the Fifth Element.
Actualy, I was thinking of the rest lockers I heard the Japaneese had. Little rental tubes they can sleep in. I thought at the time I heard about them that it would be a good way to transport people.

[gear02]

Actualy, I was thinking of the rest lockers I heard the Japaneese had. Little rental tubes they can sleep in. I thought at the time I heard about them that it would be a good way to transport people.

Yeah but considering how our luggage is handled I wouldn't trust the airline to load us on the plane.

[Jeffbx]

:stupid:

Then they'd lose passengers just like they lose luggage. I can just see it... the family lands in Orlando, but where's Mom?

"We're sorry sir, there was a slight mixup with that passenger and she's on her way to Akron. We'll have her delivered to your hotel by the end of the day tomorrow."

[Merlin]

I want a radical redesign of the airplane... many more doors on the side of the plane - like a subway train - that open and close automatically. People walk along a much wider walkway (than the one existing now to route people to the single door) and find the best door to board the plane.

Won't happen. More doors means fewer seats. And fewer seats mean lower revenue potential per plane. Their goal is to cram as many seats into the plane as possible. Your idea works on subways because passengers can stand. FAA wants us sitting.

[jstreet]

Won't happen. More doors means fewer seats. And fewer seats mean lower revenue potential per plane. Their goal is to cram as many seats into the plane as possible. Your idea works on subways because passengers can stand. FAA wants us sitting.Hrm, good point. Maybe the seats could flip up like in a movie theater so people could walk through the "aisles" or something, with the understanding that they should sit on the opposite side of the plane from the doors so as to not block the entrance of other people.

Then again, I've been guilty of sitting on the edge of movie theater rows for an easy escape post-movie, making alllll those people cross over me. And if they crossed over me with a rollerbag... ehhh yeah maybe not such a good idea. Perhaps I'll change my vote to the honeycomb :D