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Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

arstechnica.com

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Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#301

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

jacobolus wrote: post #291
ftio wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds like it might be faster, and I might like it for solo business trips, but getting on/off with my family is not optional for me. Assuming most multi-passenger groups feel similarly, and assuming solo business passengers represent only ~40% of the population, the impact of such a system (which would require substantially more passenger discipline/planning) would be pretty limited.

> getting on/off with my family is not optional for me If you’re getting off with your family you should just wait for everyone else to exit first anyway unless you have a connecting flight with no time margin or something. Families are super slow to deboard planes. If your kids are young, you should probably be allowed to board first before other travelers. A column by column rule wouldn’t apply to you either way.

But how does a "column by column rule" not apply to everyone. If I'm in a window seat and there is a parent and child in the aisle/middle seats, I have to wait until everyone gets off?

Column by column would never work. Most people like leaving together with their friends and loved ones who are sitting next to them, regardless if they are families with children.

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#302

Post by glennpratt »

jacobolus wrote: post #291
ftio wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds like it might be faster, and I might like it for solo business trips, but getting on/off with my family is not optional for me. Assuming most multi-passenger groups feel similarly, and assuming solo business passengers represent only ~40% of the population, the impact of such a system (which would require substantially more passenger discipline/planning) would be pretty limited.

> getting on/off with my family is not optional for me If you’re getting off with your family you should just wait for everyone else to exit first anyway unless you have a connecting flight with no time margin or something. Families are super slow to deboard planes. If your kids are young, you should probably be allowed to board first before other travelers. A column by column rule wouldn’t apply to you either way.

> If you’re getting off with your family you should just wait for everyone else

Uhh, no. First of all, we aren't slow, second kids have tiny bladders and third when did childless folks become such fragile babies?

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#303

Post by qroshan »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #267
asdff wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get the gripe with leg room, unless you are oddly shaped. I'm 6' and I don't care about leg room or leaning back, because in every flight you can just push your bag under your seat and stretch your legs fully under the seat ahead of you. I find a 5 hour flight more comfortable than 3 hour sporting event on an aluminum bleacher.

I am 6'5" and I feel that if I can fly without complaining about leg room, all you oompa loompas should be able to as well. ;) I really feel for the folks 6'7" and over tho. I have just about an inch of slack when I sit down on a Delta flight, so I imagine beyond that would be pretty uncomfortable. Also, I resolved not to fly on Air Asia any more because they seem to leave a lot less room even than our Western LCC fl…

Yeah, tall people complaining about anything is like Rich people complaining about stuff. You won the genetic lottery, just deal with a couple of minor yearly inconveniences when you can enjoy life's other benefits. (Better choice of partners, Higher Pay and Raises, Faster career growth)

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#304

Post by billatq »

jsjohnst wrote: post #185
virtuous_signal wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great video. This is one of those phenomena, like how to fix traffic jams, that everyone has an opinion on because of firsthand experience, but few people know about the actual research on. Despite there being known fast methods, I think 2 things stand in the way of implementing them: 1) Business and 1st class make a lot of money for airlines. Not letting them board first (although personally I've always wondered why…

> Not letting them board first (although personally I've always wondered why this is desirable) As someone who customarily boards early (due to fare class or airline status), I can tell you one solid reason, overhead bin space. If flight attendants would ensure folks put their bags on their row and the gate attendants ensured bags weren’t too large , this would be less an issue, but I routinely see folks fairly early…

Pretty much this. When I’m flying business I actually would rather board at the end, but I also don’t want to check my bag because it’s a hassle to retrieve and the contents are thrown several meters. If I could guarantee there was space in the overhead for my bag or if it was loaded for me, I’d board last.

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#305

Post by taneq »

scott_s wrote: post #81

I'm also convinced that we exit the plane in the worst way possible. We basically do it row-by-row: as the people in front of them leave, people in a row get up, get their bags, start walking down the line, and this cascades up the plane. The problem is that there is very little parallelism: while people in the next row to leave are getting their bags, no one is exiting the plane. This is similar to a stall in a proc…

> I'm also convinced that we exit the plane in the worst way possible. We basically do it row-by-row: as the people in front of them leave, people in a row get up, get their bags, start walking down the line, and this cascades up the plane.

This also has causes problems with weight balance - I've been on flights before where the attendants asked the back 10 rows to disembark first because otherwise the plane would nose up too much as the front lightened, and leave a gap between the door and the stairs.

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#306

Post by billatq »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #89
virtuous_signal wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great video. This is one of those phenomena, like how to fix traffic jams, that everyone has an opinion on because of firsthand experience, but few people know about the actual research on. Despite there being known fast methods, I think 2 things stand in the way of implementing them: 1) Business and 1st class make a lot of money for airlines. Not letting them board first (although personally I've always wondered why…

>although personally I've always wondered why this is desirable Most people finding waiting to board unpleasant and want it over ASAP. For me personally, it is often less comfortable in the terminal for a number of reasons. The climate and noise is worse, I must keep an eye on luggage, and I have a mild anxiety about inexplicably losing my documentation or becoming too engrossed in whatever activity I am doing while…

Many airports have half decent lounges. My personal preference is to hang out in the lounge until the boarding is nearly over, stroll onto the plane and sit down to go, but this tends to be impractical due to luggage.

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#307

Post by billatq »

wtvanhest wrote: post #30
virtuous_signal wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great video. This is one of those phenomena, like how to fix traffic jams, that everyone has an opinion on because of firsthand experience, but few people know about the actual research on. Despite there being known fast methods, I think 2 things stand in the way of implementing them: 1) Business and 1st class make a lot of money for airlines. Not letting them board first (although personally I've always wondered why…

One option that isnt discussed is having the overhead bins be seperately ticketed and a box. So if you want a bin, you pay $40 and one gets asigned to you. It would streamline boarding because people would put their stuff in the bin and be done.

Aside from it being difficult to implement, I like this idea, especially if it’s less to check. I have noticed that some airlines, Alaska for example, will give free gate checks to folks.

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#308

Post by billatq »

sokoloff wrote: post #222
groby_b wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boarding first is desirable because overhead bin space is v. limited. If you board last, it will be gone.

This is much, much less true in first or business class in my experience. (Same number of bins for fewer seats for a given aisle length.)

I’ve personally found that it depends on the aircraft. It’s especially true in a widebody where economy doesn’t walk through the same cabin, and not so true on a narrowbody with few seats.

Re: Letting slower passengers board airplane first is faster, study finds

#309

Post by glennpratt »

scott_s wrote: post #81

I'm also convinced that we exit the plane in the worst way possible. We basically do it row-by-row: as the people in front of them leave, people in a row get up, get their bags, start walking down the line, and this cascades up the plane. The problem is that there is very little parallelism: while people in the next row to leave are getting their bags, no one is exiting the plane. This is similar to a stall in a proc…

A much simpler solution is for aisle folks to help people in their row with bags while waiting. I'm obligated to do so with family, but it works other times too. Try it some time.
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