Why don’t airlines board planes back-to-front?

My husband and I recently flew from Sacramento to Cancun and back on US Airways.  We purchased our tickets two and half months ago, our seats were assigned and we checked in online 24 hours before flight. We don’t know the mystery of how boarding zones are assigned, but we were zone 3 on the outbound flight and seated in row 30. We were assigned zone 5 (last) on the return flight and yet we were seated mid plane. Jet2, JetBlue, Maxjet, Northwest and US Airways all use random boarding to load their planes. Ever wonder why airlines don’t board in an orderly fashion from the back rows forward? In a society that is fixated with a “me first” mentality and a transportation model that includes Southwest where zone A actually means you get to pick your seat before other passengers, maybe it is understandable.  But our seats were already assigned; the airlines know where every passenger will be seated on the plane. Wouldn’t it make sense and make an easier boarding process to assign zones so that the back rows were seated first?

Air Canada, Alaska, American, British Airways, Continental, Frontier, Midwest, Spirit and Virgin Atlantic all board from the rear forward. It seems much more streamlined. The passengers aren’t stalled in the isle as the person in front of us is trying to figure out which side of the plane they are on or where to put their carryon.  They are already tucked in the back as the boarding moves forward to the front. We don’t have to wait as the person with the oversized bag tries to stuff it in the overhead bin. You’ve seen them, clearly it is not even an approved carryon, but with increasing baggage fees, more and more of us are carrying our baggage on board. You would still see this, but in sections, as the rear compartments are filled.

And I personally would let First Class get on last so they could stay as long as possible at the airport.  Really, is it that much better to get on before the rest of us, just to sit in your seat on the plane. I’d rather stand or walk in the airport rather than start sitting early for a long flight. Either way, First Class could board first or last, but the rest of us could board from the back rows forward.

Turns out, studies prove that that back-to-front boarding, which is still commonly used by many airlines today, is one of the slowest ways to board an airplane. I was surprised by these results. Also, the amount of carry-on luggage significantly affects the total boarding time no matter what boarding strategy is used. Go figure?

What do you think?