Why don't airlines focus on quickly getting OFF planes?
 

With all of the attention airlines give to boarding procedures, often re-working seating zones and procedures in the hopes of boarding people as quickly as possible, why don't airlines also focus on devising procedures for getting people OFF planes asap?

I was in the back of coach on an Airbus 321 recently, and getting off seemed to take forever because:

1. People just sit there playing on their phones, even though if they stood up before it was "their turn" and at least opened the overhead bins, they could save time.

2. Each row at a time goes, even though surely people in aisle seats, without carryon bags in overhead bins, could get off first and clear a lot of the plane quickly.

Maybe disembarking procedures such as the following could save time?

* People in aisles without carry-on bags get off first;
* Every third row gets up and gets their bags and gets off;
(Repeat step 2 until all rows are off)

Perhaps another procedure could be faster, but the issue is that there's got to be a faster procedure than the row-by-row disembarking that is prevalent in the US.

How are you going to enforce any of that? Boarding procedures you can enforce because the agents control the flow of passengers into the aircraft. Any disembarkation protocols would depend solely on passengers listening to instructions, feeling cooperative, and being willing to act against their own apparent self-interest (e.g. your every-third-row idea; who would stay put?). In other words, fat chance.

Just look at what happens when an FA makes the tight-connection plea on arrival -- somebody in the back of the plane has to make a honeymoon flight, please remain in your seats and let them off first, etc. At least half the pax ignore it, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Why do people comply with the "one-row-at-a-time-while-Yappy-gabs-on-his/her-cellphone" procedure? Because it's a societal expectation. The combination of crew instructions plus changed societal expectations plus perhaps other methods (such as having seatbelt signs go off every third row, for example) could help. Imagine the following announcement:

"Airline X has a new disembarking procedure. Seatbelt signs will go out every third row. Stand up and get your bag and leave the plane as soon as your seatbelt sign goes out. By following this new procedure, we'll get you off the plane in half the time as before. Thanks for your cooperation, and remember that compliance with crewmember instructions is required by law."

The aisle first won't work because passengers traveling together will want to disembark together. Besides, the existing system seems to work pretty good (with a few exceptions) since most people want to get off the plane as quickly as possible and those who find it particularly important will choose seats near the front (often paying for the privilege).

BearX220 and Low Roller, you make good points.

How about, at a minimum, the following announcement when the plane arrives at the gate?

"To get everyone off the plane as soon as possible, please put down your phone, open the overhead bin even before it's your row's turn to get off the plane, and stand up before it's your row's turn to get off the plane"?

The people who just sit there, playing on their phones, even when it's their row's turn to get off, and the people who just saunter off the plane and up the jetway, as if that were the most enjoyable part of the trip, with every second to be savored, just drive me insane!

If my suggestions don't work, then what would? There's got to be a better way to get people off planes.

The only real solution is allowing people to deplane from both the front and back doors. I know they do this with the DCA - LGA shuttle flights (at least they used to when I flew them frequently a couple years back).

I do agree this is a problem - especially with airlines scheduling increasingly tight connections where you can either (a) pay for a C+/E+/MCE seat (if non-elite) to get off more quickly (b) risk the connection or (c) be forced to take a much longer connection to play it safe

This is a great solution where it is physically possibly (such as where stairs are used to take passengers to ground level), but with the use of jetway bridges for most larger planes, it wouldn't work without some airport redesign.

Great idea. This should be done on EVERY flight where available. There are gates at LGA where it could be done but is not.

I don't get your complaint. Passengers exit planes fairly quickly. If you're in the last row you can expect to be one of the last passengers off.

People in aisle seats without bags can't get off first for a lot of reasons. They may be flying with someone else. The aisle passenger in the row in front of them has to get a bag out of the overhead. The aisle passenger in front of him allows the row in front of him to empty completely.

There are those aisle passengers who try to bull their way through the other passengers. But besides being rude they don't actually accomplish anything. They may get off 2 or 3 seconds earlier but they force other passengers to get off later.

Why?

We are sitting in our seats, waiting for you scurrying sheep to rush off the plane first so we can then have a leisurely opportunity to get our carry-on and saunter off the plane after the thundering herd has dissipated. Not everyone is in a mad hurry.

Why would that bother you at all?

Disembarking via multiple doors seems like the ideal solution.

I really don't see a problem, once the door opens it seems to me the deplaning goes pretty well.

Some people still in their seat, if they are "playing" with their phone or not, choose to wait and not be rushed deplaning.

I'm pretty sure the FAs want to get off the plane as much as OP does.

Because 95% of people on a plane are considerate and wait for each row in front to get up, get bags and go down the aisle. I am one of the 95% who does that. If all rows ahead of you have gotten up, gotten bags and started down the aisle, but you sit there, yap on the phone, fix your hair, etc. and THEN think about getting up, it delays everyone--which costs time and money for both passengers and the airline. Not everyone is on a leisurely schedule, voluntarily or involuntarily.

If you want to be off quickly, book a seat near the front.

If someone is taking their time and hasn't even gotten out of their seat, I don't think anyone is going to mind if rows behind that person keep things moving.

If you get on a flight by going standby, it's not necessarily possible to pick where you sit.

People might not mind if someone just goes before someone sitting gets up, but people don't just go; with a few exceptions, airline disembarking is pretty strictly row-by-row, from what I can tell. People don't just go in front of people sitting (with a few exceptions).

The solution seems to be having rear doors on planes open, but another solution is for people to get with the program, put down their phones, stand up and open the overhead bins asap, instead of just sitting there.