What is the logic behind the assignment of Economy Class airline passengers to enter the plane according to ‘Group One, Group Two, Group Three, Group Four,’ etc.? Wouldn’t it be most efficient to seat window passengers first, then middle seat passengers, then aisle passengers?
Some airlines have tried it that way, as well. They’re continually tinkering with different plans for loading passengers, in hopes of figuring out how to speed up the process.
IMO / IME, the issue isn’t window/middle/aisle (and people having to briefly get up to let other passengers through); it’s getting stuck behind a passenger who’s spending time out in the main aisle, getting carry-on luggage into the bins, and getting generally situated before they finally sit down. In theory, loading a plan from rear to front should help with that, but it doesn’t really seem to.
Perhaps they don’t do the window/isle groupings because the stewards would have to help and monitor the seating all along the length of the plane each time. That’s a lot of extra distance to cover.
The problem with all these seating schemes is simply that passengers tend not to follow them. Airlines have worked out a lot of concepts which, if applied properly, would speed up the process, but it’s not going to be of much help if people just rush to the gate irrespective of their boarding group, which many of them habitually do.
I’m wondering if there’s some kind of system in effect for when people want to select their seat during the reservation process. I almost never have anyone with me in the emergency exit row even though it only ever shows one seat available. Maybe they’re trying to keep the seating spread out or balanced for the plane. Or to keep from having all the best seats taken first.
IIRC, tests showed that the window/middle/aisle method was significantly faster, but the problem was that most passengers weren’t traveling alone. Everyone ended up boarding with their seatmates, or complaining enough about being separated to add further delays to the process.
I was on a flight last week where a large family got into an extensive debate about who would sit where – they had bought a set of tickets, but didn’t think of them as assigned to specific individuals, regardless of the name on the ticket. Also, people often need assistance from their traveling companions with carrying and storing carry-on luggage. They don’t want to have to board 15 minutes apart.
This is a problem if you only have one or two entrances to the gate. I noticed a few months ago that United had instituted a system where they had separate lanes for all their groups. This is a good solution if the boarding area has enough space, since you can simply let each line go in order (of course, providing people get in the right lines to begin with).
On American over the Thanksgiving holiday, they allowed people who were “traveling light” (with only a backpack or one personal item that fit under the seat) to board first irrespective of group number. (I was happy that this included me.) I’m not sure how much this reduced the total boarding time, but it was nice to be able to go straight to my seat without waiting for people to cram their roller bags in the overhead bins. I don’t know if they do this outside peak travel times.
It doesn’t matter what system could devised for efficient and effective seating. Add in the human stupidity factor and all bets are off. Then there are those passengers whose “status,” justified or self-important, that also throws things into a tizzy. It just ain’t gonna happen.
You would also have to have different seating plans based on aircraft type as well. According to relatives in the industry, some commercial aircraft require front-end or equalized loading. I’m told the Airbus 320 aircraft (PDF warning) must be loaded with baggage and passengers up front first because the plane is naturally tail-heavy, a.k.a., a tip up limit.
All that said, Southwest seems to have the best system. Of course, if airlines strictly enforced the carry-on bag size/weight restrictions it would be easier all around. Perhaps if TSA modified the X-ray machines with smaller entrance holes. If your bag cannot go thru the X-ray, it must be checked no matter what.
I’d strongly second that. Of course I enjoy travelling with carry-on only, if possible, but I think the whole thing has got somewhat out of control. Some people seem to be taking a medium-sized household with them, and it just slows down everything for everyone else. Plus, it crams the overhead bins for those who really travel with just a small bag.
It’s the predictable result of most U.S. airlines now charging for each checked bag. Many air travelers now attempt to avoid checking a bag if at all possible, which has led to abuse of carry-on privileges.
IDK but it seems like not wishing to separate loved ones is a valid reason.
I recall one article where the airline did tests and th conclusion reached ws, it did not matter what order you load the outcome was the same.
The correct way, I presume, would be to load in row order. If you’re going to load 10 rows at a time, in a smaller plane that’s 30 people lined up down one aisle waiting for Bozo#1 to get his “carry-on” into the bin. It gets progressively worse as the later passengers steal bin space from the unlucky middle and front passengers. Even more annoying are the airline goodies taking overhead space - the flight attendants’ luggage, the bin full of blankets and pillows or first aid equipment.
But I agree, enforcing carry-on restrictions would go a long way to alleviating the problem; perhaps the best system is one I’ve seen on smaller regional jets, which simply don’t have the bin space (or under-seat) and the carry-ons are “valet checked” at the door to the aircraft, and retrieved again at the door to the aircraft after the flight -less opportunity for light-fingered TSA or clumsy baggage handlers to work their magic.
Southwest seems to have a fairly decent system for this: don’t charge a bag fee. It’s fairly common for there to be overhead space on a flight.
Their first-come, first-served seating, though confusing/infuriating to many people, also seems to work ok. At least, it always seems to be less painful boarding one of their flights than one of the major carriers.
Much less confusing than it used to be now they have the line up by number system. It was bad when they boarded by half letter. They also have a relatively cheap priority boarding method.
Does it really matter in terms of when the plane leaves? I’m no expert, but it seems that when I’ve flown, loading the luggage always takes longer than loading the passengers.
I flew on United a few times with the window/middle/aisle system, and it seemed to work fine. It is simple enough for them to let obvious family groups go together during the first boarding.
the real problem is that there are so many people in various frequent flier classes who board before everyone else that the congestion is still there. And no system is going to work well for very full planes.
Yep! And not only does it get your priority boarding - you get more points - and a free drink - and BEST of all - a special line through security.
I think it was maybe ~ $30 extra - and when I figured out retail value of points it was like ~$15 more.
I’m going to have to research this. The one I used only got you a lower number - nothing else. (And it was one fee for the entire trip, not per leg.) No drink.
A lot of people are doing it. The last time my wife flew she did it and got A31 or so. Plenty low enough, but not < 15 the way it used to be.
I think it might be new - if you search for fares it is the “business select” fare. The security lane thing might be by airport.
http://www.southwest.com/flight/pop_fareCompare.html?airline=WN
I just ran a fare comparison and found a $22 difference (total - not even adjusting for points). I got A01 as my boarding pass number on the way out - it may have been A05 on the way back - and I’m not good at the checking in early thing. YMMV based on flight, but the six or so for that day I just checked seemed to all have a $22 dollar difference (prices were somewhat close together - so it might be some percentage or something).
ETA: Security lane IS by airport - it is called “fly by” - you can see why airports are included here:
John Allen Paulos, mathematics professor and author of ABC popular math column “Who’s Counting”, discusses The Optimal Way to Board Plane Passengers, Jan. 4, 2009.
He tells of an astrophysicist at Fermi who did simulations of this. It turned out that boarding passengers with seats in the rear first and working forward is worse than boarding them randomly. The best scheme seems to board from the rear toward the front, but window seats first (as OP suggests) and doing just the even rows (that is, every other row), then starting over with the odd numbered rows.
(Or something like that. I read the article way back when it came out and only just quickly skimmed it now.)