Retired airline pilot. There are a variety of makes and models of jetbridge. And different carriers tend to customize the ones at their gates just a bit. If she flies one particular airline more often than the others that might be a useful clue for us.
That description of that particular arrangement I totally do not recognize. So here’s some guesswork and generic background knowledge that may help you or sis figure out what you’re looking at.
Typically at the end of the bridge within the rotating section at the airplane end (the “rotunda”), the control panel / driver’s station is on the left. There’s often a wall-mounted corded telephone there too, typically just behind the driver’s position. There’s typically a posted sheet with a bunch of relevant phone numbers for the various departments that might be needed from there. Catering, aircraft maintenance, jetbridge maintenance, janitorial, department managers, police, etc.
Just behind there rotunda on the left wall is typically some sort of a small writing desk. Often a folding shelf that hangs vertically more or less flush when not in use and folds up to near horizontal at about chest height. Although some are sloped more like an easel when raised. They’re mostly there so the aircraft maintenance folks have a place to stand out of the way and near the phone while they complete their paperwork. Agents can also use it to fill out gate check baggage tags, children traveling alone paperwork, etc.
On the right just where the bridge abuts the aircraft there’s a housing coming up from the floor that’s typically knee to not quite waist high. A wheel on a pivoting shaft lives in there and extends to roll vertically along the side of the plane. I’ve never seen any of those which have any wooden component. That is the auto-leveler. Some of the newest ones don’t have the wheel, but do have a laser sensor in there aimed at the side of the plane.
As the airplane is unloaded of passengers and cargo, it tilts back and rises on its suspension. The difference can be as much as a foot. And as the airplane is reloaded with fuel, passengers, and cargo, it squats back down and tilts forwards even more than it rose earlier. After the plane arrives, and before opening the aircraft door, the bridge driver sets the bridge height to match the aircraft door sill height then deploys the little wheel against the side of the plane. As the plane rises or falls, the wheel turns slightly and the bridge’s control system jacks the bridge up or down ~1/2"at a time to keep the lip of the bridge aligned with the aircraft floor.
That and a locked door to the outside stairs down to the parking surface are about the only other common features of a jetbridge.
Some carriers have a ~3" diameter pipe that extends down from about chest height down through the floor and has a long string and a paper clamp on it. It’s a “dumbwaiter” to pas paperwork from ramp up to the topside folks without needing to climb the outside stairs. folks up top can just pull up the string & retrieve whatever. They’re typically near the door to the outside. Some of those pipes have lids on the top, others are open-topped. If some carrier uses those with wooden lids, that might be what she’s seeing.
The one and only component I commonly see made of wood is the writing desk, and many of those are metal.
