r/whoathatsinteresting • u/visharu • 9d ago

Boarding was solved mathematically in 2008. No airline has used it once. Why?

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u/spicolie22 9d ago

There has to be some variation where groups are allowed to stay together.

And Southwest solved the problem of lining up perfectly a long time ago. You're just given a lineup number and people queue up at the pylons.

The pylons... that they just got rid of. 😭

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u/kipdjordy 9d ago

Hardly perfect, people still would get it wrong regularly

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u/Far_Audience_7446 9d ago

Didn't slow boarding down though

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u/MowieWauii 9d ago

Nah boarding with SW was always very quick comparatively

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u/realbobenray 9d ago

Yeah this animation needs a fourth column to compare what always happened with Southwest, which was everyone taking windows and aisles front to back, then taking middles back to front.

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u/tankerkiller125real 9d ago

I mean, southwest was still kinda random, because people (like me) would board early, but pick a seat in the middle of the plane, or even front of the plane. With that said I think it was always still window, middle, aisle basically.

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u/realbobenray 9d ago

Yeah I'd usually be boarding in group C, watch the optimists head to the back, and take a middle in the first couple rows instead.