Why Airlines Won’t Fix Inefficient Boarding

Have you ever wondered why we board airplanes the way we do and if there's a faster way? There are numerous different methods to board airplanes: front-to-back, back-to-front, random, unassigned seating and WILMA. While multiple studies have tried to determine which one is the most efficient, airlines aren't always focusing on that. That's because they're generating hundreds of millions of dollars each year from boarding products. CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look at Southwest Airline's experiment in Atlanta where the company is prototyping new solutions to speed up the process. Will we see a faster boarding method in the future?

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
01:38 — Boarding in 2023
04:42 — Efficiency
9:00 — The future of boarding

Produced and Shot by: Emily Lorsch
Shot and Edited by: Erin Black
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Animation: Jason Reginato, Mithra Krishnan
Post Production Support by: Darren Geeter
Additional Footage: Getty Images, United Airlines

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Why Airlines Won’t Fix Inefficient Boarding

[joshuaradick]

I think that the biggest cause of delays with boarding is the fact that so many passengers pack their luggage in the overhead because checked luggage is overly expensive.

[Yantrus]

I'll never understand why it's treated as such a priviliege to board first, the plane still takes off at the same time and you just end up sitting around waiting for everyone else to board.

[edfurbee]

In the mid 90s I was at a job interview in Jacksonville FL returning to my home in Atlanta GA flying on Delta (who seemed "own" Hartsfield at that time). The plane coming from Atlanta to Jacksonville which was the plane we were going to board was late. The gate agent announced the plane was late and it was the only plane that was late in the Delta system. The only way to get us out of there on time was to forego any boarding priorities. He said we can turn this plane around and get you to Atlanta on time only if we board back to front with first class boarding last. He further went on to say that 90 per cent of you have connecting flights and none of the flights will be held because you're late as this is the only plane that is late in the Delta system (driving the point). What he did next was absolutely genius he said if this does not work for you, please come up and tell me in front of all your fellow travelers and then we will go to the normal boarding position making 90% of you miss your connections. People looked at each other as if they were at a gunfight at the OK Corral no one moved, and I believe we were on that plane in 10 minutes and in the air on time.

[Blacksunshine]

I took a few flights in Australia and they would board the plane from the front and rear doors at the same time. Just being able to load from both ends simultaneously was really efficient.

[MoneyShack]

Shout out to the people who just bring one bag, sit in their seat, and put their backpack under their seat.

[PuckDudesHockey]

I used to want to board quickly, but the more flying experience I had, the more I realized that the best thing (for me at least) is to enjoy the open space of the gate area as long as possible, before stuffing myself in a sardine can for the flight. Now I'm happy to board last, and the funny thing I've noticed is that I land at the destination at pretty much the same time as everyone else!

[georgea]

The key is effective overhead control. Airlines could easily save 10 minutes by assigning overhead space to each seat. Mark or tag 1/3 of an overhead section to each of the 3 seats under it. Each passenger's overhead stuff must fit in that 1/3 of compartment.

[Jobother]

Every time I take a flight I’m reminded of why I love trains so much.

[afb]

As long as airlines make more money selling boarding positions than what they lose due to slower turnaround times, boarding is not going to change

[joelwright]

The obsession of when you board boils down to making sure you have an overhead bin for a carry on. If every single passenger knew they were guaranteed an overhead bin OR no passenger was allowed a carry on at all, then it wouldn’t matter when you boarded. I’m convinced most airlines made things worse years ago by charging for checked bags, thus incentivizing passengers to carry as much crap as possible with them in the cabin.

[aoj-iyfz]

On several flights on United, I saw many passengers who sat in the back place their carry-ons in the first available overhead bins they saw up front before taking their seats in the back of the plane. This caused the people who sat in those front seats to have to walk to the back of the plane for available overhead bins. When the plane lands, these poor people had to wait until the entire plane was empty before retrieving their bags.

[SaMiChi]

I never understood why people want to board first. You have everyone waiting behind you, and you just sit there waiting for everyone to board. I’d rather wait in the open airport than in the cramped plane.

[kueller]

The best boarding process I ever experienced was at the Oita Airport in Japan. Everyone got into one big randomized line that stretched half-way across the entire terminal. The check-in attendant had a scanner gun and was scanning tickets with John Wick level ability. If you didn't have your ticket out and ready you got sent to the back of the line to try again. I started at the back of the line and once the line started moving I practically walked directly onto the plane because the flow of the queue never stopped for a second.

[davelavigne]

I flew first class a couple of times during the pandemic when they boarded the back of the plane to the front of the plane to minimize crossover. Being in first class I boarded last and it was glorious. The plane loaded efficiently and quickly with this method. The only concern with this method is that bin space by your seat is available. I would be all for changing this and making it permanent but airlines are addicted to the up-charge fee.

[GregInHouston]

I mostly fly Southwest. One issue I find is that some early boarders want to sit in the back but want to store their carry on in the front. They hold up traffic while they store it and later boarders lack a place to stow.

[prettygirl]

I know people judge Southwest and don’t like not having a seat assignment but they do have the fast boarding times. The no baggage fees is great.

[sexygeek]

Space in overhead bins should be assigned to the seats below them. Baggage that overflows the assigned space or is stored in the wrong bin should be removed and checked. Another option is to remove the overhead bins and raise the seats to make more room to store baggage under the seat.

[matthewwasco]

The thing that drives me crazy is that people are always in a rush, UNTIL it is their turn and they are blocking everyone else. At that point they slow down to a snail's pace organizing their things, packing and unpacking, before finally sitting down or getting off. If you could just dump your bags directly into the well of the plane or there was some other way to guarantee people their bags won't get lost, things would probably be a lot better. It also seems it would be a lot more efficient if planes boarded from the back or even the middle.

[funnyfarm]

The last few times I flew, I noticed that several airlines have the carry on 'Will it fit? ' cage on the floor, but I never saw any airline employee checking anyones bags. Then when you get on the aircraft you have all these people with huge carry on bags that will not fit in the overhead or under the seat. I saw at times that the last several people boarding had to check their carry on bags at the end of the skybridge as the carry on bins were full. The little cages seemed to be different sizes depending on the airline.

I think boarding could be much faster if there was a standard size for carry on for all airlines and all bags were checked for size before going through TSA search, so those that wouldn't fit would be checked. Yes this means someone has to pay for the checking person but considering what an airline pays for missing their takeoff slot, it would be cheaper to have the plane ready sooner by eliminating the aisle blocking/row blocking people trying to cram their 20# bag into a 10# overhead bin space.

[jetfowl]

One of the things airlines could do to speed boarding is to standardize the size of the overhead luggage compartment for ALL planes, regardless of airline or make of aircraft. Meaning that no one will ever run into the VERY common instance where the carry-on bag you took on the 777 flight from LA to Atlanta... suddenly won't fit in the 737max flight from Altanta to Charlotte, NC.