When taking a flight, passengers expect long queues before they board the plane. Proving that airlines are boarding their planes wrong, a new study found that the current method is the least efficient and slowest way to board an aircraft.
The popular Discovery Channel series MythBusters conducted the study using a replica of a 173-seat aircraft and staffed the fake airplane with cabin crew to mimic boarding. Passengers were asked to evaluate six methods used to board by giving points based on their impressions.
Most airlines use the boarding method that includes boarding business class passengers first, followed by boarding by zone starting in the back to the front. The study found that it took 24 minutes and 29 seconds before all passengers were in the seats using this slowest method.
Boarding by the no-assigned seats and no-assigned order was found to be the quickest way, at 14.07 minutes. The most efficient method was the "WILMA" method, where window passengers are seated first, followed by middle-seat passengers and then those in aisle seats last. The aircraft was ready to fake flight in 14 minutes and 55 seconds.
However, the fastest and most enjoyable method was the "reverse pyramid" where passengers are boarded from the back to the front and from the window seats in. This method took only 15.10 minutes and ranked a satisfaction score of 113.
Mythbusters proves that airlines have been boarding their planes all wrong. Check out the episode below.
