Southwest is a fan-favorite airline for a reason, with affordable flights, friendly staff, and of course — snacks!
Southwest is currently on a mission. For an airline, time spent on the ground can be costly — both from a financial standpoint as well as a passenger satisfaction standpoint. Much of the extra time spent on the ground is from the boarding process — and the speed of which can’t always be controlled. However, Southwest is experimenting with ways to get passengers to board the plane faster.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Southwest performed an test in Atlanta to see if they could reduce boarding time by just two to three minutes, and ultimately shave five minutes off the total ground time. What they did to speed up this sometimes horrific process might surprise you!
Firstly, boarding “countdowns” were displayed on screens at the gate and boarding area, showing how much time remained for guests to board. Further, these screens flashed when important announcements were taking place as well as showed when each boarding group could expect to make their way to the gate.
The boarding ramp was filled with disco music! Southwest said that people were more likely to move faster onto the plane if upbeat music was playing. The airline said they’d also been experimenting with hip-hop, electronic, and kids’ music.
Colored carpeting is also being experimented with to see if that will help boarding become more accessible for those in wheelchairs or living with disabilities. So far, they’ve ruled yellow carpet out “because it shows stains.”
Other changes to some Southwest gates include a specific area for passengers needing assistance and families boarding together, plus a boarding countdown that plays on the monitors where passengers line up to board.
Lastly, the boarding ramp showed framed travel tips rather than advertisements, as well as reminders that there was no assigned seating and that passengers could take any open seat they’d like.
Southwest said they planned to study the results of this Atlanta experiment and potentially implement it into their routine boarding processes if the results indicated boarding efficiency and happy passengers.
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What do you think of these potential changes with Southwest? Let us know in the comments!
Biggest problem is that people take all their luggage on board, and need time looking for space when boarding, and time retrieving them when deplaning.