@kristiolive0208 wrote:
As someone who is a bag checker, I never put anything in the overhead bins. How about the people with nothing in the overhead bins get to deplane first so we don't have to wait for the many travelers with luggage in the overhead bins. I could be off the plane in less than 10 seconds.
Interesting idea; however, as a frequent flyer, I'm not sure how Southwest (or any other airline) would be able to execute this on a full-sized plane.
For just about all my trips, once the plane arrives at the gate and the captain turns off the seatbelt light, I see many people get up to get their bags from the bins and wait standing in the aisle as the crews dock the jet bridge. Once crews dock the bridge and open the door, passengers usually exit very quickly.
Having the passengers with overhead bin luggage wait in their seats until the bridge is docked so that passengers with no overhead bin belongings could de-plane first would most likely add excessive unproductive gate time to the exiting process (a big no-no in the industry)...and asking people to sit back down to clear the aisle after they collect their bags would not work from a practical standpoint as there would be very limited space in the seat area for the baggage.
A possible remedy for anybody desiring to exit the plane quickly who are not A-List is to purchase Upgraded Boarding (or Business Select) and pick an open seat toward the front of the plane. That way, you'll be near the front and one of the first to get off. However, that benefit may be negated if one has checked bags as I've sometimes seen the baggage merry-go-round doesn't even start until most everybody is off the plane and in the claim area.
