American’s new boarding process hits turbulence
American Airlines says its new boarding procedure doing away with a long-held practice of starting from the back of the plane to the front has shortened wait time by five to ten percent.
The airline says the new procedure, known as the "random" seating method, saves time because it minimizes the gridlock that occurs when people in the same row try to get to their seats at the same time.
"You definitely will not have 24 people in four rows boarding at the same time," said Scott Santoro, director of airport consulting for American Airlines.
But the Association of Professional Flight Attendants disagrees. It contends the process has created "complete chaos" among passengers, forcing attendants to spend more time preparing the plane for takeoff. The attendants are irked, it says, because they are not paid for the extra time needed to load the plane.
Meanwhile, one way to cut boarding time by up to four minutes is to reduce the percentage of passengers carrying two or more pieces of luggage, says a study presented last year at the Swiss Transport Research Conference.
By David Wilkening
David
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