The Plane Truth

Matt Yglesias rants about how absurdly planes are loaded:

Southwest Airlines uses the unassigned seat method: people get on the plane in their order of check in, but they have no assigned seat, and can just sit down wherever they like. Sadly, there is no video for it, but it is the fastest way to board a plane that any airline currently uses.

It works because passengers spend less time waiting in line in the aisle. If there's a line in front of you or someone taking a long time to put their bag in the overhead bin, you have the freedom to just sit down in the row you're standing at currently instead of waiting to get past. In doing so, you're clearing the aisle and making things faster for the people behind you.

Looking for a solution to getting people OFF a plane quicker? You're welcome, Earth:

I would like to introduce a new rule: The 30-Second Rule. When the seatbelt sign goes off, ONLY the people who think they can get their shit and themselves off the plane in 30 seconds are allowed to get out of their seat. That should clear out about ¾ of the plane, leaving the fuckwads who have apparently spent the flight laying out a royal wedding china table setting in the carrier bins to take their sweet time exiting the fucking plane.