The American airline United Airlines presented to the public a new technology and strategy for boarding tourists in economy class. According to the plan, passengers who have a window seat will board first. The implementation of the new system will start next week, October 26.
This will speed up landing and minimize departure delays, the initiators are sure. The plan, known as WILMA (Window, Middle, Aisle), was tested at four local airports and one central airport. The first tests showed that the technology was 10 minutes faster than the standard one: all passengers were able to get on the plane in 14 minutes and 55 seconds.
According to CBS News, window seats will be seated first, then those in the middle, and then those in the aisle. However, families, for example, will not be divided. United has promised that such tourists will be able to board together. The plan will be applied on all flights.
Who will not be affected by the new onboarding process:
- business class,
- first class,
- passengers with disabilities,
- unaccompanied minor tourists
- military personnel,
- families with children under two years of age.
What is the new technology for?
It was clarified that the majority of complaints received from air travelers over the past 10 years are related to flight cancellations or delays. In addition, the publication’s research found that the aviation industry is short of about 32,000 commercial pilots, technicians and air traffic controllers, based on data obtained from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
It turns out that the management of the carriers is looking for ways to avoid delays, as the downtime has to be compensated for irritated travelers. And this is a loss of profit.