Just as we thought flying couldn’t get any worse…

Airlines have been unable to figure out a way to help speed up the boarding process. It’s an obvious fact that those silver revenue tubes only generate revenue when they are in the air, so any extended ground time tends to cost the airlines tens of millions of dollars a year.

One of the past reasons Southwest Airlines has been so successful is due to the fact they focused on providing service to smaller airports, those with less congestion than the major airports in the country. As a result, their aircraft ground time was shorted to 20-30 minutes per flight, where the competition took as long as an hour in some locations to deplane passengers and remove bags/freight, clean and fuel the aircraft, and then board the flight. Southwest ground turns were so fast, they actually were able to squeeze an additional segment (flight) into an aircraft’s day - which allowed them to generate far more revenue than their competitors. (As a side note, Southwest has diverted from this success pattern and is now flying into some of the most delay-ridden airports in the country and their performance and profits will suffer a bit as a result.)

So, reduce the ground time and generate more revenue, airline 101. The decision by airlines to charge for checked luggage only made the situation worse as now we have passengers trying to disguise their 45 pound duffle bag as a carry on. Talk about slowing the boarding process down!

For years airlines have tried to find a way to board the aircraft more quickly. First, they decided if they boarded the window seats first, then the middle seats and ended the boarding process by boarding those in the aisle, life would be perfect. However, aisle seat passengers didn’t like boarding last, probably because all of the overhead compartments were taken by the time they stepped aboard the aircraft, so they would sneak on early. It created a bigger mess than before.

Okay, so board from the rear of the airplane and move forward. That seems logical and what could possibly go wrong with that? Well, for one passengers who board now will grab the first available overhead bin compartment they spot. Who cares if they are sitting in 32E, if they spy an available place over seat 8D…they will take it. This means the boarding from the rear of the aircraft forward ticks off those seated in the front rows of the aircraft.

Some airlines board by zones as a way to help manage the flow of passengers onto the aircraft, but it also has many issues which cause the flights to be delayed during the boarding process.

The bottom line? Airlines still can’t figure out a way to help expedite the boarding process. For any individual or company who can help solve this puzzle, the reward is big time money!

It is for this reason a firm in Denver has actually created an aisle seat which slides over the middle seat during the boarding process. The idea being more room in the aisle would help passengers to board more quickly, plus every minute saved in the boarding process translates into nearly $30. Multiply that number by the number of minutes saved per flight by the number of departures and it’s easy to see why airlines might consider a seat design of this nature.

The problem is the seats don’t recline and are probably the most uncomfortable seat ever rolled out. Don’t look for these prototypes to pop up in man caves around the country, unless they are used for time-out chairs for kids in a corner somewhere.

Perhaps this could be the latest ploy used by airlines to generate revenue, by charging us extra NOT to sit in these new seats! Whatever the outcome, I will certainly keep you posted.