Originally Posted by
TMOliver
Disembark has a nautical flavor, it's origin apparent in the last syllable, "bark", a steal from the sea, "ship" in several ancient dialects, and still around as barquentine and barq. "Board" of course has equally nautical origin, walking across a "board" streched from land to ship.
That nautical theme can aslo be seen in the "Toilets Aft" sign. I'm not sure if that is used on US planes though?