Originally Posted by
DenverF9Flier
That's got to vary based upon city and load on the flight, doesn't it? I understand if it's a half-full flight to somewhere where folks don't carry-on a lot of luggage, but c'mon, I know that "scrum" boarding is fast but for a full flight there's no way you can board a plane in 10 minutes with carry-ons...
You're right about the variation - boarding time does vary a little from city to city. However, boarding a 737 in roughly 10 minutes is quite doable. In Southwest's earliest days, they actually scheduled 10 minute turns - i.e. the plane spent 10 minutes total at the gate! Currently, WN schedules many of the smaller airports for 20 minute turns. In Harlingen (HRL), if the plane lands and has pulled up to a gate at time T, the first passengers are in the terminal by T + 90 seconds max. By T + 6 minutes all passengers are off the plane (unless there were several wheelchair pax); pre-boarding begins around T + 7 or 8 minutes, with A1-30 shortly thereafter. Even on full flights during the Christmas season, when it seems everyone has a carry-on present, WN is able to keep to 20 minute turns.