Originally Posted by
airtran1
Most airlines close the doors 10 minuets prior to departure and there are some that close 15 minutes prior. There is a lot that needs to be done in that 10 minutes to get an ontime departure. If all passengers listed are checked in and on board, then they can sometimes leave earlier, but that is very rare. Even if the aircraft door is not closed, the boarding gate doors will always close 10 minutes prior.
That's simply NOT true. Most airlines WAIT at least until 5 minutes before departure at a hub, when they know that connecting passengers are still on their way. There's NOT a lot that needs to be done in that last 5 or 10 minutes. I've literally had the door close and start pulling away from the gate within 90 seconds.
It sounds like AirTran doesn't care about their passengers. They schedule the connections, not the passengers. The passengers are paying AirTran to transport them between xxx-ATL-yyy. Why on earth would they leave early, if they have passengers running to make the connection?
