3 ms·
I don't understand some of the herd mentality at airports. For a long time, the budget airline Ryanair used to seat its planes first-come, first-served style.
by joosters 11y ago
I don't understand some of the herd mentality at airports.
For a long time, the budget airline Ryanair used to seat its planes first-come, first-served style. This meant everyone would stand and queue at the gate immediately, sometimes hours before the flight, just so they could get good seats. Fair enough, if that's what you want. But Ryanair switched to allocated seating over a year ago, and yet people still stand and queue long before the gate opens, even though there's little benefit. Can it be worth it just to get to your assigned seat slightly earlier?
- intelekshual 11y agoThe variable here is overhead bin space, not seats. People want to board first, regardless of their seating assignment, so that they're assured a space for their probably oversized carry-on luggage.
- joosters 11y agoAh yes, good point. Still seems excessive to me, in the past they have offered to check-in luggage at the gate (for free) if they are getting full.
- M2Ys4U 11y agoI wouldn't trust any budget airline to do anything for free. They're notorious for charging as much as they can for even the slightest convenience.
- rzzzt 11y agoTransfer buses can also serve as an excellent demonstration of how LIFO boarding would work. People who are eager to stand in front of the line to enter the bus may actually be the last to exit and board the plane.
- vacri 11y agoJetstar is a budget carrier here in Australia, and they used to have unallocated seating, flying often out of secondary airports. They switched to allocated seating because people would literally race each other across the tarmac to get the good seats... and sometimes even fight over them.