Originally Posted by
Kevin AA
This thread should be in Travelbuzz. Anyway, I still maintain that departure time should be when the doors are closed, not when the paperwork is done, not when you start talking to ATC, not when the parking brake gets released, not when the airplane starts physically moving back, not when the airplane starts moving forward under its own power, not when takeoff clearance is given, not when takeoff roll begins, not at V1, and not at wheels up. Everything that occurs AFTER the doors are closed is someone else's problem, not mine. Why am I expected to give the airline extra time to do all this stuff behind the scenes? I know that it exists... my point is that *I don't care*.
Publish a departure time (close the doors) and publish an arrival time (estimated time of arrival at the gate given a departure time + paperwork + talk to ATC + blah blah blah + etc.)
Closing doors at some time prior to departure time is an age-old practice.....it's pretty much always been that way. I would assume that its the same fo ship cruises....that you must be aboard some time before departure to give them time to remove gang planks, remove connections to the pier, etc.....also, with air travel, there needs to be a cutoff time prior to departure to allow agents to process standbys, upgrades, print manifests, etc.