Originally Posted by
uber1K_Flyer
Chutes are great for cattle but they actually are counter productive here. They increase stress and crowding and lead to people making getting around very difficult. If everyone stays seated and away from the boarding gates, things will go faster.
Emphasis on *if*.
Over here in the real world people won't stay sitting, in fact in most airports there's not enough space to say sitting. Never mind the overhead space issues, which also lead to people not wanting to sit.
I've rarely experienced effective chuteless boarding. UA boarding is the most civilised I've seen, comparing across LX, Easyjet, NZ, Ryanair, BA, and a few flights on US and Delta. The evidence is clear, and pontificating otherwise just won't change the reality. (Admittedly in the UK people are really good at forming neat queues, whereas most other places turn into a real zoo.)
FWIW my one and only CX flight from HKG also had chutes, although they were somewhat more separated (more space in the airport...), and sorted I think by first/biz/PE/economy, no idea where FF were placed in this scheme.