Originally Posted by
mattgoolsby
Can no airline other than Southwest figure out how to eliminate gate lice? It has gotten so much worse over the years and has become a big issue in my experience. I have emailed Delta multiple times over the years to tell them it is the worst part of my travel experience.
I know the Southwest way of doing things with the pillars probably cannot work with a large airline like Delta or even when flying the big planes. However, there has to be some kind of hybrid model that can work. If the plane has 200 seats, assign everyone a number from 1-200 for boarding order. They could surely work out an algorithm to take into account status, ticket class, etc. Have a script for every gate agent reads about not approaching the gate or trying to board until your group of numbers is called and train them on how to be polite yet firm in turning people away.
No system is perfect, but there has to be a better way than the chaos that currently goes on at the gate.
So split 200 pax into say... roughly 8 groups?
Kidding aside, part of the reason (I believe) the number system at WN works well is not just the numbering, but the combination with no assigned seating. The first boarders will generally look for the next open row, meaning that the line keeps moving. Assigned seats make this inherently more complex as now you have to fit all the puzzle pieces in the right place instead of every piece just ending up in a random spot.
The original idea behind boarding groups is that it makes things more efficient than a random mad dash (there are probably studies out there that conclude that these number systems only create the illusion of efficiency, but do very little to actually speed up the process). It started with row numbers, then window, middle, aisle and a variety of different combinations only made more complex by having crap like credit card boarding groups, skypriority etc.
Personally I despise WN and their boarding system, because it has become little more than an ancillary fee collection system for them, and paying $50 RT for "early bird" to end up with B40-something both ways is asinine IMO. Nevertheless, they are still the most efficient airline when it comes to turning planes around - now if only they could be on time...