That Was The Week That Was 23-27 October 2023
Get On-Board for Priority Boarding
What is the single hardest thing in aviation? The thing that try as we might, we cannot get right? The thing that we struggle over and eventually give up on? Getting the priority bags up first. That is a challenge beyond the scope of all the great brains of aviation operations. The second biggest challenge is getting a streamlined boarding process. That has direct financial implications so whilst we shrug at the question of getting bags up, we have really thrown money at the boarding conundrum.
That is, of course, great news for the academics, who get to do studies about it, involving crazy formulae and even crazier acronyms. And according to United, the winner is WILMA. It is to hoped that if we go down the WILMA line Fred Flintstone and Barney can get work as baggage handlers, even if, by saying that, I show my age. Happy to explain to younger readers.
In fact, WILMA is second best, but calling each passenger by name is never going to be a winner.
In any event, United is again trying to implement the WILMA boarding system, otherwise known as the Window, Middle, Aisle system, to speed up boarding. In other words, board by location, with the window seats going first, then the middle seats and then the aisle seated passengers. We wish them luck. By the time the aisle seats are called forward the overhead bins will be full. Does anyone else foresee a mutiny? Particularly as many, maybe most, senior status frequent flyers opt for aisle seats. Or is that just me?
In any event, this announcement has stirred the creative juices of some people outside the aviation industry as well. We would be well advised to take notice of what outsiders are saying, particularly as in this case, the suggestion merely calls for an entirely new airframe and indeed airport gate concept. So that is likely to be taken on-board.
The alternative, of course, is to ban luggage as carry-on. All over the world, packhorses carry incredible amounts of luggage in the hope of not having to wait at the carousel for their luggage to show up. That has got to stop! We are back to the priority tagged bags. Get them up first and boarding will be less of a nightmare.