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Boarding time is a big factor in the cost structure of airlines. If they have to check ID of everyone who boards, it’s a lot slower. And in fact European airlin
by fshbbdssbbgdd 2y ago
Boarding time is a big factor in the cost structure of airlines. If they have to check ID of everyone who boards, it’s a lot slower. And in fact European airlines have a much slower turnaround time than Southwest. There’s already an ID check before you get airside, so another check during boarding is not needed for security. If all it accomplishes is revealing this edge case, which can be deterred by detection and enforcement after the fact, is it really worth making everyone wait and increasing costs?
- quacksilver 2y agoMany airports I have been through do a facial scan during the first ID check and then have cameras at any other point the boarding pass is needed. If your face doesn't match the one stored against your boarding pass an hour or two ago then you have to seek assistance from an employee who will hopefully find out why that is.
- shmeeed 2y agoI find it a bit strange that the concept of multilayered security would need explaining on HN, of all places.
- fshbbdssbbgdd 2y agoIf somebody was trying to do something serious, they’d have some kind of ID that would get them through the actual security checkpoint. It’s only this bizarre scheme (that didn’t even work) where checking ID again would matter. If we’re making an analogy to internet security, it’s like when websites use JavaScript to disable standard input into the password field. Just a pointless waste of everyone’s time.
- sofixa 2y ago> And in fact European airlines have a much slower turnaround time than Southwest Comparing apples to apples, Ryanair (low cost, optimised to hell, 737 only, 3rd in the world by amount of passengers carried in front of Southwest in 4th for 2022) has a turnaround time of around 25 minutes, meanwhile Southwest's is around 35 minutes (official figures of what the airline says for both).
- bombcar 2y agoRyan air will speed that up by just not deplaning passengers and flying back with the same load.
- fshbbdssbbgdd 2y agoRyanair got there by emulating American operators! https://simpleflying.com/how-southwest-inspired-the-ryanair-we-know-today/ https://simpleflying.com/how-southwest-inspired-the-ryanair-...
- lupire 2y agoI find it hard to believe that paying $50 for a even 30 more minutes of staff time at boarding is going to break the cost structure.
- fshbbdssbbgdd 2y agoIt’s more about how many planes you can get through the expensive, scarce gates you have in a day. Those staff could be boarding another batch of paying customers instead of checking IDs.