Originally Posted by mush
...in the 1960s, they boarded 20 people/minute, but now it's down to 9; that is striking. So is research that letting people board at random is faster than back-to-front...
I wonder how much of the difference is due to more carry-ons today? Back in those days baggage showed up so much more quickly that there wasn't as much motivation to carry a year's worth of food and clothing on board with you, then try to stuff it into an overhead rack. Racks were smaller then, too: a briefcase, a coat and that was about it. Take away two-thirds of the carry-on stuff, and I think we'd be back up to 20.
Short of revolutionizing baggage retrieval with some really out-of-the-box thinking, I don't know what to do about this, but I believe it's a big part of the reason for slower boarding.
Originally Posted by mush
...The other major factor to me seems to be individuals paying attention to the process, getting out of the aisles, helping speed along flow, etc. The article mentions that the Japanese can unload AND load 560 people on a 747 in 35 minutes, versus 90 in the U.S...
Does it say how much stuff the average Japanese passenger carries on, versus the average American? I can think of many reasons why it might be less, supporting the previous point.