I flew an A330 LGW-DTW today and was surprised that at the gate we were made to walk down stairs unto the tarmac and then climb up a (tall) mobile staircase into the plane. Getting up those stairs must have been a task for people with liited mobility. I have never used a mobile staircase to embark or disembark a transatlantic flight over the last 20 years I have used London airports.

I am puzzled as to why this was the case today. Of course the simple explanation is probably that the gate gangway was broken down so they had to make do with stairs. This sounds odd to me though as two adjacent gates were not occupied.

Given that we were in Europe, the land of the cut throat low cost carrier, I could not help thinking of alternative explanations! In Europe several low cost airlines shun the gangways and preferentially opt for mobile staircases to minimize costs (they pay to the airports). Could NW be silently sinking to the depths of the likes of ryan air and easyjet?