Enplaned
For the last couple weeks I've been reading enplaned, a blog about the airline industry that I found via ongoing. Reading this blog is a little bit like reading my mom's issues of JAMA — all the words make sense, except the acronyms, but taken as a whole I really have no idea whether it's bullshit or not. Still, it's a fascinating view into the giant clusterfuck that is the US airline industry.
Today I saw this graphic and got really exited. For a long time I've fantasized about decoupling the passenger loading process from the plane landing process. Every time a plane arrives late from the previous leg, we're stuck in the waiting area while they unload passengers and bags and clean the plane. It seems like it should be possible to have a removable passenger and luggage compartment that could be filled before the plane arrives. When a plane arrives, the arriving compartment would roll out and the departing compartment would roll in. You'd still have to fuel the plane and do safety checks, but I imagine it would reduce turnaround time considerably. In my mind every passenger row has DeLorean-like doors on each end that would make the boarding and un-boarding process much less of a hassle. Woohoo! No more single-file lines.
Now, this could never happen. It would require a massive change in airport infrastructure, completely new plane designs, and would add a whole new level of scheduling hell (you'd have to keep track of the locations of passenger compartments in addition to actual aircraft and flight crew). Plus it would be a disincentive to shell out for first class. This image is actually a rendering of plane used to transport plane fuselages, but still, standing in line waiting for the thirty rows in front of you to exit the plane, one can dream, right?