The boarding process is no one’s favorite part of a trip. First there’s the tension of “will we actually start boarding or will there be a problem?” Then there’s the crush of people who always jam the gate area, regardless of their boarding priority.
Once travelers finally make it into the Jetway and onto the plane, there’s the inevitable backup while people stash, or as the case may be, try to stash their stuff in overhead bins.
Some clients reported this week, however, that Virgin America is using a different method of boarding to avoid the normal aisle backup.
Virgin America does the usual First Class and “Main Cabin Select” first boarding, followed by passengers needing special assistance or traveling with small children.
The next category was the interesting and unique one – “Passengers without carry-on bags.” Apparently a handbag or something small was allowed. But nothing is permitted that would need to go overhead. Which mean, that those people could quickly board, without slowing anyone up behind them.
It’s an interesting concept. Virgin America does not allow free checked luggage. However they do allow up to 10 (yes, 10!) bags to be checked for $20 each. In essence, passengers who want to take advantage of the earlier boarding would need to check even a small bag.
Such a “priority for no bags” policy may put an added burden on gate agents to enforce it. As anyone knows who has seen a traveler try to explain that some piece of luggage, large enough to hold a fully-grown Great Dane, is really a purse or laptop bag.
But on the other hand, the policy may make life easier for flight attendants and boarding passengers, since it could clear congestion, ease crankiness in the aisle and may reduce disagreements over overhead space. (We’ll still have to deal with folks who forget their row number, or just don’t pay attention as they slide into the wrong seat.)
What do you think? Would this policy make you change your carry-on habits? Or, have you been on another airline lately with a particularly good, or bad, boarding policy?
(Photo: Virgin America interior by Joits on Flickr/Creative Commons.)
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YES!!! Something needs to be done to discourge bin hogs who delay the boarding process by trying to wedge their roll-aboards into the overhead bins, instead of simply paying to check it at the gate. Sure, they claim they want the “convenience” of having their suitcase available when the step off the plane, but what about the INconvenience it causes the 127 other passengers on their flight?
Love the concept. Enforcement on the gate end is simple. Provide a box the size of an underseat area in coach. If your item cannot fit in there with the lid closed, you wait.
On plane will be trickier. For example, my backpack would meet the first criteria, but I like to put it up top (I’m 6 feet tall, I need every inch of leg space in coach), so would I still be able to do so?
Have to give Virgin credit for another innovative idea the just might work very well. I’d definitely go for it! I flew Virgin for the first time a few months ago and was blown away by the experience. The staff was professional, onboard and ticket desk – they treated you like adults, not children or cattle. The aircraft décor and lighting was well designed and very functional. Though the flight cost maybe $10-$15 more than the competitors, it was well worth it to enjoy the experience of flying again. I only wish they had a more extensive network in the States. They would have all my business. I hope Virgin has the same true “raising the bar effect” on the large domestic carriers as the Apple iPhone has had on the traditional cell phone manufactures.
What a great idea.
Another smart idea from a company that has a thoughtful approach to the Customer Experience.
Great idea. I really hope other airlines begin to do this as well.
Even better would be to board the plane from the back row towards the front, with Business / First going on last. Not only wouldn’t business class passengers not get bumped by the unwashed, but boarding would be much quicker.
I like this boarding concept a lot and, provided it can be enforced properly, should be successful. In the fee-less baggage days and now, I checked my bag, even if it could fit above the seat. It makes travel more civilized and a lot more pleasant for me to travel unencumbered. But what I don’t like is that if I’m bringing something small (a laptop or smaller) when I’m boarding late in the process, I have to hunt around in the bins or worse, stow it underneath the seat ahead of me and lose the space for my legs. And now with the fees, it especially irks me not so much because I’m paying the airline extra to ship my bag, but because I’m still contending with the space issue with folks unable or unwilling to pay the fee. The poor flight attendants are then the ones stuck playing referee, finding space somewhere, or having to get the bag moved to the cargo bin.
Throw ‘em an extra bag of peanuts, too. Passengers that pay to check-in bags should definitely earn the privilege to board earlier. The more money you spend, the more special treatment you should get…right?
The next category was the interesting and unique one – “Passengers without carry-on bags.”
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BRILLIANT.
Great article, Janice. You’re doing a great job on this site.
Interesting concept. In addition to perhaps encouraging people to check their roller bags, with priority boarding as the carrot, this will be a boon to business travelers who are doing a same-day round-trip and are just carrying a briefcase or laptop bag. BUT – I question how much utility this would have on legacy carriers with their baggage delivery problems. I would venture to bet that a lot of people (myself included) try to shove everything possible into a roller bag because I don’t trust the airlines to actually deliver it to me at the other end. Being able to board first wouldn’t be enough of an inducement for me.
While this is innovative and could certainly save time, I wonder about the delays that arise after people without carry-on bags have taken their seats and then have to get up and down and stand in the aisle to let those with carry-on bags get into their seats. I have had this happen many times. I had the aisle seat, boarded without carry-on bags, and then a couple with loads of carry-on luggage boards. They make me get out of my seat, so I am possibly blocking the aisle waiting for them (or they are blocking it) to decide which luggage to stow in the overhead compartment and which to keep with them. Ultimately I am not sure this is a great improvement.
How about people without carryons get to board after everyone with them?
Then the people who have held up the line get to move out of their seats to allow the lucky last group to get to their seats.
People without carryons could disembark before the rest.
But that might call for reserving aisle seats for the luggage-less passengers?
I flew Monarch this month in europe. I was amazed that everyone stayed seated while passengers left the plane from the front to back in an orderly way that makes american flyers look like kindergarteners. No shoving, pushing, standing up before the plane stopped moving, etc…..And we boarded through two doors, fore and aft. Easy days.
What a nice surprise!!!
Allegiant Air has been doing this for about a year. It works very well .
When O when will airlines stop clogging the jet-ways for those who “need more time” (read: hobbling on crutches) or those with children (read; have to fold up the stroller right at the airplane door while juggling child/children in one arm) and let them board LAST. After all, there is so much down-time between the last passenger and the door closing as it is. This is just absolutely counter-intuitive, is it not?
I’ll put a thousand or two on how much this change would speed up the boarding process.
Interesting concept. I’ll be flying Virgn America over Christmas. It will be interesting to see how much faster it will be. E wolfe does make a good point, though about the people that don’t have carryons have to step out and block the aisle to let the people with bags into their seat.
It would cause me to avoid Virgin at any cost. I travel with one, easily managed carry-on and will not check a bag under any foreseeable conditions.
Boarding first class fliers last is a very bad idea. They pay extra for the convenience of boarding first, more leg room and other perks. I think boarding first class and disabled fliers first and, THEN board rows in the back first. First class passengers will be well out of the way of the rest of the cabin and so will not be a problem of getting in anyone’s way.
What I don’t like is when I have seen main cabin passengers try to sneak their carry-on in the first class overheads. They think it will be fsster for them to dis-embark. Just get up, walk up to first class and grab your bag there. It has never worked when I have flown first class, a flight attendant always catches them. First class passengers have the right to that space first and then if any space remains, other carryons should be put there.
You wll never get first class passengers to agree to boarding last. I fly first class due to a back ailment and I need the larger space to be sit and I need to sit fast once in line and boarding. That is why I fly first class to get the leg room and the priority to board first, so I can sit and not stand in a long line to wait to sit. That is just a silly notion, first class passengers should board last…NOT after what I pay to fly first class!!!!
ALL AIRLINES COULD LEARN A LOT FROM VIRGIN ATLANTIC. THIS SITE NEEDS TO BE STUDIED BY ALL AIRLINE PASSENGER SO-CALLED-SERVICE EXECS.
Boarding First Class is not necessarily a bad idea if the airlines know how to do it. I use to flight on First Class on THAI Airways and they always board the First Class passengers the last. How they do it ? I stay in the FIrst Class Lounge and the personnel of lounge announce to me it’s time to board. They bring me to the plane by the golf cart and keep updating the boarding personnel that we are coming. I am always the last person to board and never miss a TG flight in my life. They do it to every First Class passenger. British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France do it too but with a Mercedes.
PS. Thai Airway give a 1 hour full body massage in BKK First Class Lounge and Spa.
My biggest peeve of air travel is waiting to get OFF the plane. As soon as the plane lands, everyone jumps up and starts rummaging through the overhead bins while people like me stand hunched over at their seats waiting for the chance to bail. I have always thought the flight attendants should just make a little announcement, “If you have belongings in the overhead bin, please remain seated while the considerate passengers get off the plane.”
I have never understood why not incorporate boarding window seats before middle seats and then finally aisle seats (of course after the privileged first class can get their seats and drinks). My pet peeve is the use of overhead space in the front of coach by people that sit in the back of coach that were able to board in one of the early groups.
NOW LET THOSE PASSENGERS WITHOUT CARRY ONS OFF THE PLANE FIRST.
I don’t fly first class but if you have paid for it I think you should board first. I see first class passengers pushing to board all the time, like somebody was going to take their seat. What’s that about? I think coach should board from the rear; and I like the idea of those with no bags except one purse or laptop size carry-on to board first. Anyway, one that fits under the seat. I flew United last week and it was very nice, both ways. United has a premium economy that gives you a wonderful amount of leg room for very small increase in ticket cost.
As e wolf says, I see possible problems. However, I think it’s worth a try.
Boarding from the back to front also makes sense, but airlines rarely do that.
I travel with my roller suitcase, which easily fits in the overhard bin, not because of cost. (I’m premium and don’t have to pay for luggage) but for convenience. Too many times I’ve had to wait an hour to get my luggage, and if my flight is a connecting one, the stress of worrying about not getting my luggage, and/or having my luggage pilfered, is too unsettling.
The biggest problem is the people who put things in bins far from their seats, such as throwing an item into bin 5 when they’re in seat 20, and then some of us not having room in our nearby overhead. That’s the rudest thing of all and is the root of the boarding mayhem. If everyone was secure in knowing that the bin near their seat would have room for their things, there wouldn’t be such clammoring at the gate to get on board as quickly.
When I fly Biz or First Class, which is about 70% of the time, I don’t board early. What for? I sit comfortably either in the lounge or at the gate knowing that there will be bin space near me. I guess I don’t have the need to stare at coach passengers while they file past me as if I’m better than them.
Airplanes would be boarded *MUCH* faster if they load passengers through more than one door! Most airplanes have 4 or more doors…why do we have to funnel all 400+ (747 jumbos) through a single door?
Ed
To illustrate the preposterousness of boarding First Class last, suppose we add to the contract of carriage that the airline must provide carry on space for first class passengers.
But boarding first class last makes it a little easier to manage overhead baggage because the flight attendants can summarily remove items from the first class bins just before first class boards.
Boarding passengers without carry-on luggage is an idea worth trying. However, I disagree with boarding from the back first. They did this on some carriers years ago and it ended up people would stop on the way back and use the overhead of other seats, so when they got on board, their overhead storage was gone!! It happened to me a few times and I was not a happy traveler!!
Ed … Thank you. I flew AirFrance business and they had business and first using a seperate door. It eased conjestion tremendously. If they could, as you suggested, use 3+ doors I think they would be on to something wonderful.
Also, if they could reunite you with your checked luggage promptly at the end of the flight people might be more willing to risk it. The Air France inflight magazine had an article about CDG airport having a superior track record with getting checked luggage to its destination … of course our flight must have been the exeption with 10+ passengers with lost luggage.
I would go for this when flying domestic where I could more easily replace items in my checked bag if it’s lost, but I would be hesitant to fly overseas without a carryon bag large enough for a change of clothes, camera, medicine, etc. plus a small one under my seat for items I want handy during the flight: on-board entertainment (book, etc.), an extra snack and bottle of water, medicine I need before landing, etc.
This seems like a great logical change that would allow more smooth boarding for passengers without carry on luggage to be stored in overhead bins. However, once those that do have carry on luggage to be stored in overhead bins are allowed to board, it may be even more of a stop and go experience. In either case, I think boarding will require a little patience, or a lot of patience if your departure is delayed, but that is another issue…