Originally Posted by
moondog
Hmmm. I didn't know that. I had a business guest come over from ATL recently, and he really wanted the SEA flight because he was under the impression that he wouldn't need to get off the plane. He ended up doing the NRT thing instead because there was only one biz class seat open on the SEA flight, and he didn't want to abandon his wife (or, more likely, himself) in coach.
Even if it's the same aircraft, for as long as I can remember SOP for international is that all passengers must get off and security searches the plane for anything left behind. I think this was the rule before TSA and some foreign carriers such as SQ follow it too (at NRT, FRA, for example), but I don't know whether it applies only to flights to/from USA. You'd also want the plane to be groomed and catered before the TPAC segment after a long domestic segment.