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The fastest way to board a plane, according to mathematics - Rachel Yang

IntermediateAmerican accentAnimated lesson6 min

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  1. 0:07 After hours of delay, your red-eye flight is finally boarding, and your long-awaited nap is within reach.
  2. 0:14 But as the line grinds to a halt, you can’t help but think: there must be a faster way to board this plane.
  3. 0:23 You are not alone.
  4. 0:24 Mathematicians have been studying this problem for years, devising a range of different boarding methods and testing them with computer simulations.
  5. 0:35 These models are designed to consider the two biggest plane-loading bottlenecks.
  6. 0:41 The first is seat interference; when someone in a seat closer to the window is blocked by people already in their row.
  7. 0:50 And the second is aisle interference; when passengers seated in the back of the plane are stalled by folks in earlier rows stowing their bags and settling in.
  8. 1:02 Different boarding methods try to tackle these problems in different ways, but the most commonly used approach is called back-to-front boarding.
  9. 1:12 It seems logical - board the back of the plane first so passengers don't need to pass others to reach their seats.
  10. 1:20 And in simulations using a 156-passenger Airbus A320, where every person has a carry-on,
  11. 1:29 back-to-front boarding takes around 23 minutes.
  12. 1:33 Not bad, though it barely outperforms the opposite strategy, boarding front-to-back, suggesting it’s not actually doing much to reduce interference.
  13. 1:44 Other airlines have tried to speed things up by ditching assigned seating altogether, assuming that passengers naturally spread out, easing congestion.
  14. 1:55 Random seating shaves a few minutes off boarding the A320, but it's not perfect.
  15. 2:01 The line tends to slow down at the end as passengers search for remaining seats.
  16. 2:07 And while the freedom might help you avoid a crying toddler, it can also split up groups who board later.
  17. 2:15 To keep assigned seating and further reduce delays, mathematicians developed the outside-in, or WMA method,
  18. 2:24 which loads passengers in window seats first, then middle, and finally aisle seats, bringing boarding time down to just 16.5 minutes.
  19. 2:35 Still, some experts, including astrophysicist Jason Steffen, felt there was room for improvement.
  20. 2:43 Steffen ran countless boarding order simulations until he found the fastest one.
  21. 2:49 His order, aptly named the Steffen Method, can fully board the A320 in just 15 minutes.
  22. 2:57 So why don't airlines use it?
  23. 3:01 Well, Steffen’s method requires passengers to load on in a very specific pattern.
  24. 3:07 First, it fills even rows, then odd rows, using a combination of the WMA and back-to-front methods.
  25. 3:17 By staggering passengers across the cabin, it gives everyone just enough room to load their carry-ons all at once.
  26. 3:25 But Steffen’s method demands perfect execution.
  27. 3:29 Not only does it require all passengers to arrive at the gate on time, but also that they line up in their exact assigned order
  28. 3:38 and be willing to split from their families as they board.
  29. 3:42 While this level of passenger cooperation might seem far-fetched, it's not unprecedented.
  30. 3:49 In the early 1970s, Southwest implemented a policy where planes would land, unload, board, and push back all in under 10 minutes.
  31. 4:00 As soon as the plane touched down, attendants began unloading bags into the aisles.
  32. 4:06 By the time it reached the gate, new passengers were already lined up on the tarmac, boarding as others deplaned.
  33. 4:14 People were still finding seats as the plane taxied toward the runway.
  34. 4:20 Such a system wouldn't fly by today's aviation standards.
  35. 4:24 There are also engineering options to explore.
  36. 4:28 Loading a plane with 240 seats through two doors instead of one can potentially speed up boarding by five minutes.
  37. 4:36 Another proposal, the Side-Slip Seat, offsets the middle seat, allowing the aisle seat to slide over it and temporarily widen the aisle,
  38. 4:46 potentially reducing boarding times by up to 20%.
  39. 4:51 However, while faster boarding times may save airlines on operational costs, it's unlikely they'd actually invest in these redesigns,
  40. 5:01 since there's also value in keeping the process aggravating.
  41. 5:06 Long lines mean passengers are more willing to pay for tickets that allow them to get on the plane first.
  42. 5:13 It’s frustrating.
  43. 5:14 But before you cancel your tickets, it's worth noting that there really isn't much time to be saved.
  44. 5:21 Even the most perfectly executed boarding strategy would likely only save us about ten minutes.
  45. 5:29 So perhaps the best solution is to take a breath, alow your fellow passengers some grace, and try to enjoy the ride.

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