Now it ain't just me who noticed this odd decision. The LA Times ran an article about the American Airlines "system" yesterday. Here is an excerpt:
...The airline says the new procedure, known as the "random" seating method, saves time because it minimizes the gridlock that occurs when people in the same row try to get to their seats at the same time.
"You definitely will not have 24 people in four rows boarding at the same time," said Scott Santoro, director of airport consulting for American Airlines. He said studies have shown that the random seating process reduces boarding times 5% to 10%.
The Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants disagrees. It contends the process has created "complete chaos" among passengers, forcing attendants to spend more time preparing the plane for takeoff. The attendants are irked, it says, because they are not paid for the extra time needed to load the plane...
"You definitely will not have 24 people in four rows boarding at the same time," said Scott Santoro, director of airport consulting for American Airlines. He said studies have shown that the random seating process reduces boarding times 5% to 10%.
The Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants disagrees. It contends the process has created "complete chaos" among passengers, forcing attendants to spend more time preparing the plane for takeoff. The attendants are irked, it says, because they are not paid for the extra time needed to load the plane...
And, indeed, the flight attendants are so irked that one of them gave me the official airline memo to flight attendants that attempts to rationalize the new procedure. You can find it here.
Open publication - Free publishing
It could be worse:
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