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The fastest way to board a plane, according to mathematics - Rachel Yang
The fastest way to board a plane, according to mathematics - Rachel Yang
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Subtitle (135)
0:00
[music]
0:06
>> After hours of delay, your red-eye
0:09
flight is finally boarding, and your
0:11
long-awaited nap is within reach. But as
0:14
the line grinds to a halt, you can't
0:17
help but think, "There must be a faster
0:20
way to board this plane."
0:23
You are not alone. Mathematicians have
0:25
been studying this problem for years,
0:28
devising a range of different boarding
0:31
methods and testing them with computer
0:33
simulations.
0:35
These models are designed to consider
0:37
the two biggest plane loading
0:39
bottlenecks. The first is seat
0:42
interference, when someone in a seat
0:44
closer to the window is blocked by
0:47
people already in their row.
0:50
And the second is aisle interference,
0:53
when passengers seated in the back of
0:55
the plane are stalled by folks in
0:57
earlier rows stowing their bags and
1:00
settling in.
1:02
Different boarding methods try to tackle
1:04
these problems in different ways, but
1:07
the most commonly used approach is
1:09
called back-to-front boarding.
1:12
It seems logical. Board the back of the
1:14
plane first, so passengers don't need to
1:17
pass others to reach their seats. And in
1:20
simulations using a 156-passenger
1:24
Airbus A320, where every person has a
1:27
carry-on, back-to-front boarding takes
1:30
around 23 [music] minutes.
1:32
Not bad, though it barely outperforms
1:35
the opposite strategy, boarding
1:37
front-to-back, suggesting it's not
1:40
actually doing much to reduce
1:42
interference.
1:44
Other airlines have tried to speed
1:46
things up by ditching assigned seating
1:49
altogether, assuming that passengers
1:51
[music] naturally spread out, easing
1:53
congestion.
1:55
Random seating shaves a few minutes off
1:57
boarding the A320, but it's not perfect.
2:00
The line tends to slow down at the end
2:03
as passengers search for remaining
2:06
seats.
2:07
And while the freedom might help you
2:09
avoid a crying toddler, it can also
2:12
split up groups who board later.
2:15
To keep assigned seating and further
2:17
reduce delays, [music]
2:18
mathematicians developed the outside-in
2:21
or WMA method,
2:24
>> [music]
2:24
>> which loads passengers in window seats
2:26
first, then middle, and finally aisle
2:29
seats, bringing boarding time down to
2:32
just 16.5 minutes.
2:35
Still, some experts, including
2:37
astrophysicist Jason Steffen, felt there
2:41
was room for improvement. Steffen ran
2:43
countless boarding order simulations
2:46
until he found the fastest one. His
2:49
order, aptly named the Steffen method,
2:52
can fully board the A320 in just 15
2:56
minutes.
2:57
So, why don't airlines use it?
3:00
Well, Steffen's method requires
3:03
passengers to load on in a very specific
3:06
pattern. First, it fills even rows, then
3:10
odd rows, using a combination of the WMA
3:14
and back-to-front [music] methods.
3:16
By staggering passengers across the
3:18
cabin, it gives everyone just enough
3:21
room to load their carry-ons all at
3:24
once.
3:25
But, Steffen's method demands perfect
3:28
execution. Not only does it require all
3:30
passengers to arrive at the gate on
3:33
time, but also that they line up in
3:35
their exact assigned order and be
3:38
willing to split from their families as
3:40
they board.
3:41
While this level of passenger
3:43
cooperation might seem far-fetched, it's
3:47
not unprecedented. In the early 1970s,
3:50
Southwest implemented a policy where
3:52
planes would land, unload, board, and
3:56
push back all in under 10 minutes.
4:00
As soon as the plane touched down,
4:02
attendants began unloading bags into the
4:05
aisles. By the time it reached the gate,
4:07
new passengers were already lined up on
4:10
the tarmac, boarding as others [music]
4:13
deplaned. People were still finding
4:15
seats as the plane taxied toward the
4:18
runway. [music]
4:19
Such a system wouldn't fly by today's
4:22
aviation standards.
4:24
There are also engineering options to
4:26
explore. Loading a plane with 240 seats
4:30
through two doors instead of one can
4:32
potentially speed up boarding by 5
4:35
minutes. Another proposal, the side-slip
4:38
seat, offsets the middle seat, allowing
4:41
the aisle seat to slide over it and
4:44
temporarily widen the aisle, potentially
4:47
reducing boarding times by up to 20%.
4:51
However, while faster boarding times may
4:53
save airlines on operational costs, it's
4:57
unlikely they'd actually invest in these
4:59
redesigns since there's also value in
5:03
keeping the process aggravating.
5:05
Long lines mean passengers are more
5:08
willing to pay for tickets that allow
5:10
them to get on the plane first.
5:13
It's frustrating, but before you cancel
5:15
your tickets, it's worth noting that
5:18
there really isn't much time to be
5:20
saved.
5:21
Even the most perfectly executed
5:23
boarding strategy would likely only save
5:26
us
5:27
about 10 minutes.
5:29
So, perhaps the best solution is to take
5:32
a breath, allow your fellow passengers
5:34
some grace,
5:35
and try to enjoy the ride.
5:38
Ready to keep learning? Watch these
5:40
videos to either challenge what you
5:42
think you know or learn more about what
5:45
you don't. Subscribe and stay curious.
