I'm a back door man (at Oakland)
#1
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
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I'm a back door man (at Oakland)
Oakland is now experimenting with optional rear door boarding. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it today at Gate 20. You walk outside and down the stairs just behind the ops agent. Plastic rope lines direct you around the port side of the aircraft to the rear stairway. However if you are not early in the boarding process you won't be able to make it upstream to the exit rows: Some of the front boarders prefer to walk to the back.
It's nice to step outside and get some fresh air, even if it's not as warm and sunny as at San Jose del Cabo.
It's nice to step outside and get some fresh air, even if it's not as warm and sunny as at San Jose del Cabo.
#4
Join Date: Mar 2011
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#5
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Depending on the number of pre-boards I almost run to the rear door and beat the BS guys to the exit rows.
If I had purchased BS and was A-1 and someone from the 16 to 15 group got the exit row I's be pretty disappointed,
I agree, deplaning thru the rear door is fine. Boarding thru the rear door speeds things up at the cost of your premium fare passengers getting pissed.
Last edited by jhalapin; Jun 20, 2018 at 5:18 pm
#8
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Wait- is it the "good" kind of rear-door boarding like BUR where you traverse the ramp to a single set of stairs, or the "bad" kind of rear-door boarding like what they've tried (and thankfully apparently abandoned) at SJC where you take a set of stairs down a ramp, then walk up three flights of narrow steps just to end up in the jetway?
#9
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
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Wait- is it the "good" kind of rear-door boarding like BUR where you traverse the ramp to a single set of stairs, or the "bad" kind of rear-door boarding like what they've tried (and thankfully apparently abandoned) at SJC where you take a set of stairs down a ramp, then walk up three flights of narrow steps just to end up in the jetway?
#10
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Huh. ~25 trips ex-SJC so far this year, I guess I've been lucky. But you've seen rear-door boarding at SJC, too? Can you remember the destination city and time of day?
#11
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
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Various flights (usually around 4 to 5 flights/day). I'm at SJC now for my semi-retirement gig (no longer traveling for work!) so I have first-hand knowledge. ; )
#12
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SNA
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(BTW, if you (or anyone else) are in SJC T-1 that much and have PreCheck, I can't recommend CLEAR highly enough, and it's $99/yr (+$50 for household members) if you sign up via a (free) Delta SkyMiles account. Memorial Day Tuesday the non-qualified lines were down to the first floor, and even PC was snaked out to the top of the stairs. Me? 5 mins from Uber to gate, and even now that TSA is trying to cripple CLEAR by requiring the TDC to be shown your BP, the CLEAR agents will take your phone/BP to them for you while you stay in the PreCheck line you just cut into.)
#15
Join Date: Dec 2006
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