Originally Posted by Lifer
HA! Its awful, isn't it?
On the 737, before boarding begins, I will close the first bin on each side of FC, to encourage the row 2 pax to use the second bin, trying to reserve the first bin for the bulkhead/exit row pax who have no option of using floor space.
Then, I just get out of the way.
Most FF know when they are on the 737 and its a very agressive free-for-all.
Woe be to the late-comers.
Trust me tho, pax seated in the back who stow their bags up front is also a pet peeve for FAs. At least on the West side. If we see it, we will say something every time.
The key to zone boarding is the same as any other boarding process: tight control by the boarding agent.
And the rushing of the jetway door? I call that the "subway syndrome".
When I worked gates, I saw it most on destinations to big cities, especially NYC.
Places where people use a lot of mass transit and are conditioned to push their way on in a hurry. Which would follow with the inter-European flights someone already mentioned.
On thing that may help, is to take something from Southwest and use it for US... maybe Area A and Area B. I know when boarding United or international carriers many times, they have two different areas for different passengers (elite and business) vs Coach.
For US, maybe have Area A and Area B and alternate. Saying Now Pre-boarding through Area A at Gate 14, Zone 1 passengers can queue up in Area B for the next zone. Then once preboarding is done, put the rope up and then call Zone 1 in Area B, and Zone 2 can line up in Area A, once done, then switch again.. so you can constantly queue up in one area and board from the other.... You also can inspect the area while waiting for the jetway to clear to make sure they are all in the right Zone....
I think it would work, and probably speed up the boarding process.... heck it could save US money
