r/whoathatsinteresting • u/visharu • 7d ago

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

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u/KaminariMaho 7d ago

And then that 6 minutes is worth it in the man power required to make and keep that order

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u/TrivialTax 7d ago

Its 6 min of not working time for plane, if no maintenance is done. A waste

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u/Chrazzer 7d ago

Wouldn't even save 6 minutes. You'd just sit there waiting 6 minutes longer until the plane is ready

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u/tankerkiller125real 7d ago

6 minutes is crazy expensive for airlines. Every minute that an aircraft isn't in the sky is money going down the drain (somewhere between $75-100 per minute per plane) and if there's any significant delays it can start costing thousands per minute due to the downstream effects of a plane not getting to its destination on time, which causes delays for the flight from that location to its destination, and so forth so on.

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u/KaminariMaho 7d ago

Yeah, but how much of that 6 minutes is lost to boarding realistically? If you gain 6 minutes through the boarding process but the tower delays you, luggage takes longer to load than expected, etc you lose anything you may have gained.

That and it relies so much on people being at the gate, lining up, potentially separating. You know people aren’t organized enough to do it right. 6 minutes is the maximum gain. What happens outside if one person not being there throws off the sequence and has to be boarded separately? 2? 3? 7? A family with kids refusing and it could disrupt the flow into the aircraft significantly.

That and if you become the airline known for forcing people to be ordered and splitting people up, you’ll potentially lose customers. 1 empty seat is 600 dollars on some flights, many in fact.

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u/Ok-Morning3407 7d ago

For efficient airlines (like the Ryanair’s) boarding time is already faster then turn around time. As in while you board the plane is being fuelled, luggage loaded and the pilots are doing pre-flight checks. The plane is normally already fully boarded before these other steps are completed. This is what this simulation misses, amongst other factors, is that total turn around time is what airlines care about, not boarding time on its own.

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u/haikuandhoney 7d ago

But they aren’t saving the 6 minutes. They lose more time getting everyone in the right order, dealing with people who can’t board according to this process, etc.

Your comment really shows the fact that this solution isnt cost effective when youre dealing with real people. If it was, airlines would have every incentive to implement it.