Airline Boarding Procedures. WTF!!??

OK, I just flew four segments on NorthWorst Airlines during Turkey Week. Here are my observations:

  1. Those with special needs, those who sit in the exit rows and those in first/business class got to board first. Then there was a cattle call boarding for the rest of us. What a mess.

  2. I saw a man board with a carryon twice as wide as any carryon that I own. (In fact, it was larger than the single checked bag I had.) He stowed it in the overhead bin. The flight attendants made no attempt to stop him.

  3. Several flight attendants upon passenger boarding never once smiled nor said hello. Be that as it may but standing there at the door to the aircraft with a surly look doesn’t speak well for their customer service, let alone common courtesy.

  4. Near the end of one flight, I watched a first class/business flight attendant empty the contents of a drinks cart into her carryon, in full view of all of us in cattle car class. She made no attempt to hide her actions.

  5. I checked in online for my outbound and return flights. I was asked for a government ID when I checked my only bag when I left home. Upon checking my bag for the return flights home, I was never asked for any ID.

Next week I fly Southwest. While I loathed their A, B, C board procedures the last time I flew with them, I’ll see how well their system works compared to NorthWorst.

Aren’t they in bankruptcy and still in the process of renegotiating all their union deals? I think a few of those things might be down to staff morale being in the toilet…

Japanese can load a full 747 in under 20 minutes and unload in less than 10. In addition to their organization, they have greatly restricted sized of carryon bags (much smaller than in the States). They don’t have zones or anything. People all board at once, but there aren’t problems. Flying in Japan is so much easier.