Trying new ways to get passengers on planes faster

Airlines are trying new seating methods to get planes in the air faster.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

CHICAGO — It's musical chairs for airline passengers as carriers tweak the way they board planes to limit the wasteful, expensive time their planes sit on the ground.

Airline executives hope to speed up boarding, if even by just a few minutes, to cram additional flights into the day.

A side benefit could be passenger satisfaction. Travelers appreciate spending less time dodging luggage that others are jamming into overhead compartments or having to get out of their aisle seats to allow people to reach an inner seat.

Southwest Airlines announced this week that it will test assigned seating and five different boarding techniques on 200 departing San Diego flights beginning next month. Southwest has traditionally allowed passengers to pick their own seats.

"This is a test of different boarding methods," said Brandy King, spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines. "We want to see how quickly we can get passengers on and off a plane with assigned seats."

King said the company would not have the technology needed to implement assigned seating on all flights until 2008, and the company has not committed to the seating change. She declined to identify the seating techniques the airline will test.

Back to past

Northwest Airlines, meanwhile, has flown back to the past.

It is allowing its passengers to take their assigned seats simply by lining up and waiting to board. This method of boarding was used decades ago in an era when planes were smaller.

Northwest spokesman Dean Breest said that allowing passengers to board at their leisure has cut an average of seven minutes from time spent on the ground.

"It's a much more efficient way" to board, he said. Northwest flights in North America and Asia have all adopted the method. Northwest's European operations have not yet tried the technique.

And since last fall, United Airlines has been seating window passengers first, mid-row passengers second and aisle passengers last. This means passengers need not leave their seats when someone wants to take an inner seat, cutting down on people blocking aisles during boarding.

All three techniques break with the most common airline method of seating. Passengers have typically been seated by row or group, beginning at the rear of the plane and working forward.

"You are building from the back to the front in the coach cabin," said American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan. American uses that method.

Still first

No airline is tampering with those passengers who always go on first. First-class fliers and those needing assistance get their seats before anyone else.

There is no guarantee that Southwest's test will yield positive results, aviation observers say.

"The sad truth is that all procedures have drawbacks, and people are always looking for some way to make boarding faster and easier," said Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst with the Teal Group.

"There is no silver bullet," Aboulafia said.