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Rear Hatch Boarding

In conjunction with a giant Lazy Susan
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The plane approaches the terminal gate nose-first and stops. Passengers disembark from the front (first class section) to the rear, as normal.

After the last passenger leaves, the flight crew does cleaning of the passenger area; baggage handlers remove checked bags from the baggage compartment; the plane is refueled, and so on -- but all this happens while the entire plane is slowly rotated on a giant Lazy Susan platform (just after the gate-extension has moved aside to not be in the way).

The gate-extension is then moved to connect to a rear hatch of the plane, and boarding begins, with first-class passengers as normal. They might have to walk a bit farther to reach their seats, but they won't be in the way of the horde of passengers following them, from low-numbered seats to high-numbered seats.

Note some fuel is saved because the plane doesn't need to turn around while leaving the terminal --it has already been turned around by the giant Lazy Susan.

Vernon, Dec 30 2016

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       // some jet fuel is saved //   

       No, it isn't. Aircraft don't pushback from the stand using reverse thrust because of FOD. They're moved by special pushback trucks.   

       Go to an airport and watch how ground handling is done. Then come back and fix the idea.
8th of 7, Dec 30 2016
  

       [8th of 7], I'm aware of the existence of special pusher trucks. I am not aware of EVERY jet ALWAYS getting pushed back by such trucks. (not to mention that those trucks use fuel, too, while the giant Lazy Susan can be electric --and the source of the electricity can be solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, ...)
Vernon, Dec 30 2016
  

       Make the pushback truck a PHEV, and put photovoltaics on its large, flat upper surface. Now, that really would make sense. No gearbox needed, and electric traction can deliver huge torque. Mass doesn't matter, they need to be very heavy anyway to get the grip needed to shift a 200 tonne aircraft, so NiFe or lead-acid arrays are fine.
8th of 7, Dec 30 2016
  

       The main purpose of this Idea relates to getting the passengers seated more quickly. Typically, with front- hatch boarding, the aisle is full of people that are blocking other people from reaching their seats. When disembarking, though, there is an orderly front-to-back flow of passengers. Well for an orderly front-to-back flow while boarding, we need to have the passengers board from the rear. The thing about fuel savings is minor, compared to that.   

       [8th of 7], the pusher trucks wouldn't need to exist if the giant Lazy Susans existed (which also would have fewer parts to break down).
Vernon, Dec 30 2016
  

       You haven't thought about the rate-limiting step of the process, have you ?   

       When disembarking, the cattle collect all their bits and pieces and then stand in the aisles, waiting for the door to open. Then they rush out to join the queue at Immigration.   

       On boarding, they find their seat and then have to stow their gear. This is what causes the delay. Doesn't matter whether they're herded on from the front or the back; the rate limiting step is how fast a passenger of average intelligence (if any) can stuff their possessions into the overhead lockers with one hand, while fighting off other passengers trying to do the same with the other hand.   

       Pushback truck fails; tow it, bring in another. Fix the broken one else where.   

       Lazy susan fails; bring in a pushback truck, then later take the stand out of service while the maintainers work on the turntable.
8th of 7, Dec 30 2016
  

       Also, this entire idea is only applicable if you share your plane with other people in some sort of commie-style collective arrangement. I can't see it catching on.
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 30 2016
  

       Don't worry, it's only for proles.   

       Just treat as an intellectual exercise. Don't let it bother you ... of course, all real people have their own fleet of aircraft.
8th of 7, Dec 30 2016
  

       I'd hardly call "one plus a spare" a fleet, [8th].
MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 30 2016
  

       Show a little compassion... Barack's not exactly free of commitments in other areas, it's all the U.S. can afford having squandered all those borrowed billions on providing free healthcare to wetbacks ....   

       Of course "two" isn't a "fleet", but leave him a few shreds of dignity. He's probably not a bad person ... misguided, yes. Incompetent, yes. A waste of oxygen, yes. But he meant well ...   

       Only a few more days, and sanity will return.
8th of 7, Dec 30 2016
  

       How about boarding from above? A belly-dump arrangement drops the incoming passengers and their hand luggage onto a conveyor belt and then closes; a similar mechanism above the plane then drops the departing passengers into their new seats.
Wrongfellow, Dec 30 2016
  


 

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