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[billroper]

Back from the Microsoft lab and really tired. Enough so that I took a nap when I got home. But I woke up in time to see the White Sox's second glorious victory over the Red Sox.

FYI for those of you flying United who like to carry on luggage and aren't in the uber-flyer class: United has changed its boarding policy. Window seats board first, then middle seats, then aisle seats. It's not clear to me that this makes boarding more efficient, but it means that you should try to get a window seat if you're planning to put something large and obnoxious in the overhead bins.

Comments

[fleetfootmike.livejournal.com]

Dear old Untied.

Useless bunch of....

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

If the people getting on the plane were just getting into their seats and sitting down, boarding from outside in would be a big help. Given that people getting on the plane spend much more time futzing with getting their luggage in the bins than sitting down, it's not clear how helpful it will be, although having 1/3 of the people spread out through all of the coach section putting luggage away might get in each others' way less than 1/3 of the people all trying to cram into the back 1/3 of the plane.

In any case, I fly rarely enough that I'm still interested in seeing the view out the window, so I always want a window seat. So, I'm in favor of this change as long as I get my ticket early enough that the now more valuable window seats aren't all taken...

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

Hmmmn.... so people traveling together ... sitting next to each other ... will be boarding in different groups.

[drawshad.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought. How weird. What if you have kids?

[billroper]

If you're a group, they board you together. I assume (but don't know) that you'll board based on the "outermost" ticket.

[pheltzer.livejournal.com]

The problem could be solved easily if the airlines and airport workers were quicker about getting checked luggage to baggage claim and would stop losing things. In my estimation, most people carry on luggage because they don't want to wait an hour for their luggage to arrive at baggage claim. If they could fix this then people would probably be down to small carry on luggage with essentials like jewlery, medication, documents, etc.

Or another suggestion... instead of boarding 10 rows at a time... only board 5 and actually enforce the boarding. "Listen buddy I called rows 25-30... last time I checked 18 wasn't between those two numbers... so sit your ass down and get away from my boarding door."

Of course none of this would apply in Miami where people board whenever they want and the gate agents do nothing to stop it... and I kid you not... I've seen people try to put a fully assembled chandelier in an overhead bin. How many people had to be asleep at their job to let that get even as far as the gate, let alone on the plane?

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

My own feeling is that I wouldn't mind waiting for my luggage that much if I were confident that I would actually get it and it would be undamaged and unpilfered when I got it. I can't help the feeling that if the airlines actually cared, they could give me that confidence without actually increasing their costs much. Since my experience suggests that they don't consider disgruntled customers a real issue, maybe they should have a policy of $1000 cash or triple the replacement cost (whichever is larger) for anything they lose or break legislated on them?

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Delta has instituted that boarding policy, too. It makes things a lot easier.

B