I laughed!

Maybe this

But people don't want to wait the 5-15 minutes for their bag at baggage claim. Southwest has 2 free bags and I constantly see people with their way too big carry on.

I agree. I think for it to work they would have to charge for overhead space. Something like $30-$50 a slot. Business travelers will get it because they charge it back but it would clear out a lot of the overhead issues.

Interesting that Southwest boards in pretty much the worst way (seats are unassigned but travelers generally fill front to back and carry-ons are not very restricted) yet they are very good at turning flights around quickly.

But the seats aren't assigned. So even though most people choose the front, there are people like me who head to the middle or back which I think makes it faster than what was shown in the video.

Frankly, it's no concern to me whether airplanes are boarded at peak efficiency. We're about to travel damn near the speed of sound. What's 5-10 extra minutes getting people situated? It's like stressing-out over hitting the last traffic light green before you get on the interstate for a multi-hour road trip.

guess you've never missed a connection

Jock 07 said:

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guess you've never missed a connection

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Sure, but can you really attribute a missed connection to a few extra minutes of boarding time given the hundreds of external events over the duration of the flight? I've rarely experienced that boarding is critical path. It seems like flights often wait for cargo loading or ground clearance to push for minutes after boarding finished.

wessimo said:

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Interesting that Southwest boards in pretty much the worst way (seats are unassigned but travelers generally fill front to back and carry-ons are not very restricted) yet they are very good at turning flights around quickly.

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Southwest has every other factor going in its favor, though. Big ones include no charges for checked bags. So anyone traveling "heavy" will likely take advantage. And although they generally board front to back, that isn't quite right. They generally board front to back window and aisle and then fill in the middles. Finally, they board in a way that keeps passengers willing and able to keep moving. The sooner you get on, the better seat you get. So no stragglers or last-second-to-board types that show up with a roll aboard and no space.

That said, it would be nice to see airports and airlines figure out how to open the door to the tarmac and stick a staircase at the back door. I'm always amazed at how fast planes board and unload in super-podunk third world airports where the terminal is basically a glorified shed and the entire airport is basically one runway with turnaround points at either end and an apron that is a a walmart* parking lot. Loading and unloading the plane at both ends makes the process seem incredibly fast.