Analysis of Parallel Boarding Methods in a Multi-Aisle Flying Wing Aircraft

Abstract: We examine the speed of different boarding methods in a proposed Flying Wing aircraft design with four aisles using an agent-based model. We study the effect of various passenger movement variables on the boarding process. We evaluate the impact of these factors on the boarding time when the boarding process runs sequentially and in parallel with the aisles of the Flying Wing layout. Then, we analyze the impact of an increase in the number of aisles on the relative speed of all boarding methods and conclude that methods utilizing boarding of the separate aisles simultaneously (parallel boarding) converge to the fastest boarding time given by the Steffen method. With parallel boarding of the aisles the relative advantage of the Steffen method compared to Windows-Middle-Aisle (WMA) or Back-to-front boarding decreases, from being 1.6-2.1 times as fast to being approximately equal for our fiducial Flying Wing seating arrangement. Standard methods such as Back-to-front or WMA are about twice as fast to board a four-aisle Flying Wing plane, compared to a single-aisle aircraft with the same number of passengers. We also investigate the difference between the optimal approach to parallel boarding, where consecutive passengers always enter separate aisles, and a less optimal but more practical approach. The practical approach is only up to 1.06 times slower than the optimal, meaning that the advantages of parallel boarding can be utilized without resorting to impractical boarding methods. Hence, the introduction of multiple aisles into aircraft seating design offers the prospect of significantly decreasing the boarding time for passengers, without the introduction of inconvenient boarding methods.