Unfortunately the title is not a set up for a humorous punch line. Boarding is often the worst part of flying on a commercial airliner. On just about every flight passengers endure being stuck in line in a gerbil tube (jet bridge) and then in the aisle on the plane. In many countries, passengers also have to battle the crowd to even get to the boarding lane. Surely, there must be better ways.

Several studies have looked at the issue. These studies characterize the current process as a front-to-back system in which business/first class boards first and then everyone else follows in zones from back to front. That is a good approximation but not exactly how it works in practice. A typical study that is a quick read is here.
Experts agree that airlines get one thing right even though it may seem counterintuitive: it is faster to let slower passengers, those who have physical issues or are with small children, board first. That is about the only part of the current system that promotes efficiency.
Studies and simulations have demonstrated that the fastest way to board is achieved through variations of the WILMA method. WILMA stands for window, middle, aisle. Under WILMA scenarios, passengers in business class board first (1), window seats board next (2), followed by those in middle seats (3), and people sitting in aisle seats (4) last.
WILMA’s advantages were confirmed by no less of an authority than Myth Busters. See the short 3-minute excerpt below.
Random boarding without assigned seats can be slightly faster than WILMA but is very unpopular with customers in the studies.
Airlines Like Things Just The Way They Are
It seems unlikely that airlines will ever adopt a version of WILMA or deviate much from the current system. They profit form passenger distress.
The studies correctly recognize the reality that passengers in business class who usually pay higher fares will always board first.
On the other hand, the studies I’ve read fail to recognize that business class passengers aren’t the only ones who board early under the current system and they ignore the effect of pre-departure service in business class. Elite members in an airline’s frequent flyer program or airline alliance also get priority boarding in recognition of the amount of business they generate. Airlines also sell priority boarding to the general public separately or as part of the benefits of buying preferred seats.
In addition, priority boarding is often used as a perk to promote signing up for an airline-affiliated credit card. Selling miles to banks to reward people for using those credit cards is usually more profitable than flying for most airlines. In short, a lot of passengers, in addition to business class, pay (in one way or another) for the right to board early, and airlines aren’t about to give up that revenue to make boarding faster for the rest.
Airlines have no operational incentive to speed up boarding because loading and unloading passengers usually doesn’t take as long as unloading and loading baggage, cleaning the plane, performing catering functions, fueling etc.. If each plane could operate an extra flight per day by making boarding faster, airlines might have addressed this problem long ago.
How I Would Improve Boarding
If I found a magic lamp and a genie granted me a few wishes, these are some of the things I’d do to make boarding a commercial airliner faster and less of a pain.
1. Increase the size of gates and concourses. My home airport, Charlotte-Douglas International (CLT) is the second largest hub of American Airlines. The gate areas are so tiny that the scrum for boarding not only makes it difficult for those on the flight, it also blocks the concourse and affects people trying to go to and from other flights as well.



2. Assign agents to keep lines orderly. Creating separate boarding lanes for different groups of passengers is a good idea but doesn’t help much if there are no agents to enforce the system.

3. Improve jet bridges. Jet bridges in the U.S. are claustrophobic torture chambers. They have no view and can be hot is summer and cold in winter. If one must be stuck in a gerbil tube, at least provide heat, ventilation and a view.

4. Use front-to-back and back-to-front boarding where feasible. Boarding using doors at the front and back simultaneously is incredibly fast. I have had great experiences with this type of boarding several times in Asia.

This method can work with jet bridges too. This photo was taken from the amazing Qantas first class lounge at Sydney’s Kingsford-Smith International Airport. Jet bridges are attached to the first, economy, and business sections (L. to R.) of a Korean Airlines A380.
The jet bridges (metal hot boxes in effect) could be repositioned to allow front-to-back and back-to-front boarding.
5. Standardize seat and row numbering. There is no standardization in the way seats and rows are designated. Often there are variations in the way seats and rows are numbered for the same aircraft type on the same airline. Boarding would go faster and with fewer issues if passengers didn’t have to devote so much effort to ensuring they are in the right seat.
Here are seating charts provided by SeatGuru for two versions of A321 aircraft flown by American Airlines. Note several differences.
I didn’t spend a lot of time looking for examples. This was the first random attempt to come up with one.
On a China Southern Airlines flight a few years I was assigned row 31 in economy. Thinking it must be towards the back of the plane, I didn’t pay attention to rows until I got to the first exit row. It turned out that Row 31 was the first row of economy right behind Row 3 in business class! Fighting the flow of passengers to get back to my row delayed others getting to their seats and was not appreciated.
6. Improve baggage handling so more people check bags. Even though I can have one or two free checked bags I never check a bag no matter the duration of the trip. There are places to get clothes washed everywhere there are people. I always schlep my overly stuffed roll-aboard suitcase on the plane. It is better than trusting the airlines to get it to the destination at the same time I arrive and it saves wear and tear (and potential theft) that it would be subjected to by baggage handlers.
If more people checked bags, boarding and disembarking would be faster and safer.
Final Thoughts
Making boarding faster and less of a hassle will be difficult because airlines have no incentive to do so. In fact, they figure that the worse the experience, the more people will sign up for credit cards, get elite status, or pay to board early. Similarly, the fact that cramming more people into the same space in economy not only increases revenue by putting more seats on a plane, it also increases the desire to pay for more expensive seats in premium cabins to escape the discomfort of economy.
I question the feasibility of WILMA systems because they count on everyone being present at the gate when boarding starts and actually following instructions. Plus WILMA doesn’t account for people, like families, who want to board together.
What do you think of my ideas for improving boarding? Do you have other thoughts on ways to improve boarding? Thanks for considering this issue.
It would really help if a lot of people could actually count as why you have to stop and look at the row number 15 and then look at each individual row and looking at each side after stopping to do this when your in row 36 is beyond me.
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It is kind of ridiculous when people sitting in row 45 are looking at the row numbers in first/business class. On the other hand, airlines seem to want to confuse people by not always numbering rows and seats the same way. American Airlines is the one I fly most domestically. On some planes the first row of first/business class is row 1. On others it is row 3. I was in row 31 on China Southern and, with my vast experience with planes, assumed it was near the back.😄 It turned out that row 31 was the first row of coach which I didn’t realize until I’d passed it and had to fight the flow to get back. The way airlines designate seats (A,B,C,D,…) on widebody aircraft varies greatly. Sometimes airlines skip row 13. Who knows what numbers are considered unlucky in other cultures. Airlines could make it easier on us.
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Got to laugh at that , but then again great reason not to fly cattle class 😂😂
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Indeed!😂😄
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just seeing this scene made me want to stay home John.. lol. Loved the video.. I’m with them/🌞🌞
and this Now if I could figure out a way to get followers to pay me for not having to read my posts.
😂😂😂😂😂
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Myth Busters is the definitive authority on everything!😄
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I knew there would be a lot of comments on this one, John, as we all want improved methods to expedite the process. Loading the airplane back to front makes more sense, yet from someone who typically chooses on the first two rows behind first class, I fear that all of the cargo space would be taken by the time I got on. I like having my bag near me at all times.
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Not as many comments as you get Pete.😊 You bring up another reason why airlines won’t adopt WILMA or some form of pure back to front boarding. Being among the first to board also guarantees access to overhead bin space. The rows immediately behind first class often are preferred seats that go to those with elite status or who pay a higher price for priority boarding and a bit more leg room. Airlines are always thinking of new ways to get more money out of our wallets. There have been some improvements in products and services, but most of them go to folks in business class. Thanks for adding the point about cargo space.
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My wife is one of those who don’t mind paying a bit more for more legroom. It’s a small price to pay to have her happy.
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It is worth paying a little more to escape the torture of 29 or 30 inches between seats in standard coach. Now if I could figure out a way to get followers to pay me for not having to read my posts. I try to make them bad enough that getting out of any obligation to read them has great value.😊
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I’m sure you’re just poking some fun with self-deprecating humor, but I enjoy your posts, even if I don’t comment.
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I was only partially joking. I wish there was a way to make some money from all the effort that goes into blogging.😉😄
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We encountered the strangest boarding order I’ve ever seen when in Brazil. Seat numbers and letter were shone onto the floor and you were to follow the light as it moved forward in the line. The numbers and letters seemed to be haphazard and you had no idea how to anticipate when your seat would be listed. People were crowded around the aisle waiting for their turn. It was very strange. I have no idea what strategy they used. But your first line made me laugh. Maggie
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I’ve heard that Azul uses a system like that. It sounded nice, but I guess in practice not so much. Thanks for reading and sharing, Maggie.
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Great ideas, John. Hope someone listens.
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Ha ha! Airlines only listen to their consultants and Wall Street analysts.
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😉🤔👍
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Your ideas are great, John. I would love to see front and back boarding, less carry-on luggage, and agents in the jetways to keep people moving. But you’re correct about the greediness of the airlines. These days it’s all about the money no matter what business we’re talking about.
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You’re right about that Kellye. Our economic system seems to produce great results but when it comes right down to it, that no matter how much businesses say they care about customers, for the vast majority of big businesses what they care about most is getting the maximum amount of money from us and providing as little as possible in return.
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Agreed!
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I’ve said so many times that it would faster to board window seats first. It seems obvious to me, so I’m glad to see that validated. Not that I expect the boarding process to actually change anytime soon.
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I bet WILMA in reverse would be faster for getting off planes too.
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It’s amazing how inefficient the boarding process can be. I agree that the people ruin the boarding process. People try to sneak in a different group, act like they’ve never flown before, etc. The only time it’s not a pain is when you get business class and can turn left after getting on the plane and go into the nice seats.
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Sad. Airlines have us right where they want us. They intentionally inflict pain so we pay more to avoid it. I think we’ve both been appropriately trained.😄
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Much of the boarding problem is exasperated by the passengers themselves. People are in a hurry to get on the plane. They forget that everyone leaves the ground at the same time. This is why I usually hold back and line up at the back of the queue. This helps relieve frustration.
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Everyone leaves at the same time and arrives at the same time. That airlines can charge widely divergent prices to different people for delivering essentially the same service is one of the wonders of market segmentation. Ensuring access to that overhead bin space may be part of the desire to get onboard as soon as possible. It wouldn’t seem that people would want to spend more time in cramped conditions than they have to.
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Human behavior is baffling.
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Airlines love it when they make boarding or economy class so bad people to want to pay more to escape the pain.😄
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start by actually enforcing standards with carryon baggage. Sometimes you board a flight and people have more hand baggage than i have checked over three of four large bags. they take so long to put it away. honestly its a nightmare though John and little can be done unless they board people from back exits on big planes which would require new bigger different gangways which i cant see happening. I flew to Dhaka one flight business and one economy. the economy flight was a joke and that was Singapore Airlines. and not because it was economy. they had a system to board from the back but they do security checks at the gate, and by the time i was through they were already boarding. it was a disaster.
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Hey Andy! Its great you’ve started your latest world journey. Carryon bags definitely slow down boarding. Changi is one of the few airports that does security at the gate. Usually I like that especially if I’m running late. I assume they won’t close the boarding door if they see me at the gate.
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Very well explained..
Yes, that is the best way..☺️☺️
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It would be nice if some improvement could be made. Don’t hold your breath😄😄
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