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Comment by naberhausj | Hacker News Reader

I'm a _somewhat_ frequent flyer (5-8 trips a year). I've never experienced a plane being delayed by the time it take passengers to enter/exit the plane. I have, however, experienced delays because the baggage handlers are still loading the plane.

For that reason, I've never understood the obsession with loading the plane quickly.

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I don't think the claim is that boarding causes flights to depart later than scheduled. Of course they plan for the time it takes to board. The claim is that, despite being predictable, it significantly increases the turn-around time for airplanes.

If they’re not done loading the plane, they don’t have to make an announcement about it because it’s self evident, whereas if everyone is sitting down and ready to go, they will let everyone know what the holdup is.

Just yesterday I took a flight where they asked everyone to try to hurry up loading so they could get the plane off the ground sooner.

I've also been on flights where they asked us to hurry, and then we (flight attendants included) sat and waited for other things to be completed. Not saying that was what you experienced, of course! Nor am I complaining. My understanding is that gate attendants get penalized if they're the reason the plane is held up, so I understand why they'd play it safe and hurry people.

I'd love to see some hard data on this (I've tried to find it in the past, but there's so much fluff about this subject)!

I've often have the opposite experience. I fly a LOT (4+ times per month) and I hear the bag doors close and watch the handlers drive their ramp away while people are still staggering on-board more than 1/2 the time.

At least watching videos of loading planes on YouTube, it is pretty clear why! It is one tiny cramped tunnel and a whole lot of suitcases.

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