Here’s an observation about the way the airlines load people onto planes that came up while waiting in line to board an airliner.
See, the way it works is airlines board people by what kind of seating they've booked, from First Class down to Cattle Class. They may also let people with special needs board first, service men and women, etc. Airlines have their own particular denotations, but it comes down to how much people are willing to pay for what they will settle for...
What happens is this means airliners load from the front of the cabin to the back — and the people willing to pay more for the better seating up front are first to get on the plane so they don’t have to wait and can be the first to leave the aircraft too.
And let’s not talk about another perk of sitting up front: fewer people trying to use the emergency exits in the event of an evacuation. Here’s the case for a Boeing 717.
But what if we did it differently? There are some things going on that are less than salubrious.
People boarding take time to put stuff in the overhead bins before sitting — and until they do sit, no one can get past them causing delay. So people move down the cabin just as far as their seats and block everyone behind them while they stow things.
Further, sitting passengers have to put up with the bumping and banging of people trying to move their carryons down the aisle; people up front end up having everyone else going past them.
As well, the first class passengers are put on display for the edification of everyone who has to shuffle past them. And vice versa.
Would it not make more sense to have the cabin loaded from the back to the front? Less clogging of the aisles while people sort their carryons, less bumping and banging of people already seated, faster loading of the denser seating in the aft end of the cabin, people finding their seats sooner...
For the First Class passengers, what would this mean? They’d have to wait to board — in the far more spacious gate lounge area where they can get up and walk around. They wouldn’t have to put up with everyone shuffling past them, bumping them with their carryons, and eyeballing them. And, they’d still be first off the plane, still have more leg and seat room — and overall it should take less time to load the plane and get everyone seated.
The only possible hazard might be carryons filling all the overhead storage before the last passengers board — but that’s something the airlines have to handle now as it is.
For people expecting RHIP (Rank Has Its Privileges) to always put them at the head of the line, it might take a little adjusting of expectations. I can see the airlines pitching it as giving them special handling, paying more attention to their comfort and the quality of their flying experience, less time spent sitting in the plane, to pull it off. There’s also a question of whether or not this would make life easier for the crews, admittedly something not a high priority for airlines going by reports.
One more thing. I just completed a trip spread over three legs. It seems like no one wants to look out the windows any more. If there isn’t an entertainment display on the back of the seat in front of them, people seem to be spending the flight looking at their phones and laptops. It’s weird to look down the cabin and almost everyone has the shade pulled down on their window. It makes it even more claustrophobic.
What do you think?
Enjoy some Alan Parsons on the joys of flying: “I Can’t Look Down” while you ponder this.