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> It was designed for 60s-style boarding via air-stairs on the ground (rather than modern jetways from the terminal) Note that boarding a plane in the middle o
by kd5bjo 3y ago
> It was designed for 60s-style boarding via air-stairs on the ground (rather than modern jetways from the terminal)
Note that boarding a plane in the middle of the tarmac via bus+stairs is still quite common at many major European airports. Using jet bridges exclusively requires the planes to all be parked in one long line beside a building, which can never be as space-efficient as a 2D-grid parking lot.
- agsnu 3y agoIsn't that mostly through mobile stairs though? Airstairs are specifically the foldable stairs built into the plane, which enforce a stricter limit on the height that the door can be from the ground. I'm sure Ryanair uses them to save on ground handling fees, but if you were designing a plane from scratch these days you wouldn't include them.
- rsynnott 3y agoThere actually are A320s with integrated airstairs, though it isn't as common as it is for 737s.
- ExoticPearTree 3y ago+ it is more expensive to park the plane at a jet bridge. Most low cost airlines prefer the air stairs + bus option because it is the cheapest option.
- rsynnott 3y agoThe air stairs thing is a _bit_ of a red herring. 737s are arguably designed to be ideal for them, whereas A320s do support them, but they're a bit taller and sometimes steeper than you'd like. But the taller A320 can and does operate with air stairs.