The Jetpacker

Are people getting less interactive as technology gets better?

We break-up with significant others via text message instead of having the courtesy to do it in person.  We skip office parties to catch up on movies in our Netflix queue.  And now we use self-boarding airplane tickets instead of handing them to the gate attendant.  Why?

Because according to aviation analyst Michael Boyd, “Any reduction in human contact between employee and customer is good these days.”

So for the first time in the U.S., self-boarding turnstiles are being introduced.

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Continental Airlines has installed a turnstile similar to the one you see on subways.

You simply scan your boarding pass to open the turnstile’s arm and board the plane.  No more inconvenience of having to interact with a nice person who welcomes you and tells you to have a nice flight.

While self-boarding turnstiles have actually been used at some international airports for years, the one in Houston is just a test to see if self-boarding could catch on in the U.S.  (Something tells me it will.)

What I want to know is: will passengers be able to board whenever they want?  That would alleviate the problem of feeling inferior as we all stand around in a huddled mass watching the first class people board.

Then after that we wait around while they call out boarding group letters, and you’re stuck in group double-Z, watching helplessly as the plane fills up and the overhead bin space disappears.

If this new self-boarding pass means I can board the plane whenever I want, I’m jumping on as soon as the doors open so I can carve a nice butt groove into the seat before I fall asleep.