[cliff]

I remember seeing this before.

I think it's really cool, though in the article I read before one major block to implementing this is that you'd be splitting up group boarding (of even 2 people travelling together).

I feel like that might be a tough message to try to explain to everyone at the airport, since in general people are worried about everyone in their party making it on the plane safely and with all their stuff. Gate agents have enough worried customers as it is.

[colonelxc]

Yes, the main problem with this method is that it is socially unacceptable to split up families and groups while they wait to board and are boarding.

I think a slightly less efficient approach would be to somewhat batch up rows. So instead of having all of the people in the window aisle on one side of the plane enter, how about have 1 row of people (typically 3) on one side of the plane. Instead of doing every row at once, do every 3rd or 4th row. That way, the same amount of people will be in front and behind you as before (including moving up far enough to be out of your way when the group of 3 in front has reached their row). So then you can alternate sides of the plane, and also alter what set of rows on each side (basically, if 0 == row modulo 3, then you are the first set of rows to board).

Regardless of how anyone decides to partition passengers, however complicated, the computer just needs to make sure to number boarding passes accordingly so people can line up in whatever order you choose. Southwest kinda has that going on (your boarding pass has an A,B,C and a number 1-60 on it), but the letter/number is based purely on what order the passengers checked into their flight (and on southwest people get to sit wherever they want).

[davvid]

Another simple solution would be to board from back-to-front. Right now it's front-to-back: the business-class passengers (at the front of the plane) board first. Economy class boards last and each passenger has to walk through the congestion.

Getting business-class travellers to give up their sense of entitlement and board last could be a little tricky, though. I'm sure there's a psychological marketing trick that could be used to make them happy about boarding last. Maybe something along the lines of, "You're special. Boarding starts 10 minutes later for business-class. Take your time" or something.

[joeyh]

I always board last. I'm going to be spending too many hours on the plane anyway, why would I want to spend yet another hour sitting motionless on the tarmac when I could be out where there's power and wifi and restrooms? So I book an aisle seat and ignore the zone calls and get in line near the very end.

Then I make up for being in some way possibly antisocial by helping someone with their luggage or something.

(As noted, I don't pay too much attention to it, but I do think they often board the tailies before the center on at least some airlines.)

[dantheman]

The only problem with boarding last is that there may not be any space to store your baggage, and you'll have to check it.

[vitalysh]

You can always ask air hostess to store the luggage in their compartment. Did that number of times with Lufthansa.

[silencio]

Virgin America seems to board back to front (after first class, families, etc.) and it tends to be just as time consuming as boarding front to back in my experience. It's even worse because the people sitting back occasionally decide to put their bags in the front above seats that haven't even started boarding that need their own bag space in return. I think boarding any which way with one piece of small carryon or similar will do far more than the order in which you have people board.

[yardie]

Most airlines board back to front, excluding business and first of course. But it just ends up taking the same amount of time as front to back. It's not the people taking seats on an empty plane that is the problem. It's the last few that are having trouble finding overhead storage and have to hunt up and down the aisle for a place to put their bag.

Also, you can't give up business entitlement. It's built into the price and the passengers paid for it. The entire reason they buy F/J tickets are boarding priority, good seats, better food, newer IFEs, and higher luggage allowances. They also get a glass of champagne or wine, something they wouldn't be able to receive if they were the last to board.

Also a coach and F/J fare is the difference between a $1/pass and $1000/pass profit.

[dalke]

When I've flown first, I can say that I would rather spend those 10 minutes being pampered ("would you like a drink?") than waiting in the general lounge.

Now, if I could be in the club lounge, that's a different thing. Being bumped to first class doesn't get you that level of access.

[Magnin]

They don't want to do that. Marching you past the 1st class passengers already sitting with their drinks is advertising!

[steve-howard]

The family part could also borrow from Southwest; there, families board in between numbers (special preboard/unattended minors go before anyone at all, families in general go after business select). Although since we're assuming that the seats are assigned here, the families should probably go last (they take longer to get settled).

[roel_v]

But you don't have to implement to scheme perfectly to get major efficiency gains. Just give everybody in the same party the same color / let them board in the same group, and swallow the minor hit that it causes on boarding times.

OK it still wouldn't work for groups who don't check in at the same time, but those would likely have seats in other parts of the plane already anyway (unless they checked in online, in which case you could group them there...)