Starting September 2024, 9, Japan Airlines (JAL) will change the boarding procedures for domestic wide-body aircraft based on a joint study with Professor Toshiyasu Ohsaragi of the Tokyo Institute of Technology's School of Environment and Society. Using a simulation model, they found ways to ease congestion in the cabin and ensure smooth departure, and as a result, they have changed the boarding group divisions and the aisles used for the jetway.
東京工業大学によると、搭乗グループは従来、事前改札や優先搭乗（グループ1、2）が終わったあと、座席番号40以降の後方座席と非常口座席をグループ3、20番以降をグループ4、残りすべての搭乗客をグループ5として乗り込んでいたが、これを40番以降と非常口座席に窓側席のA、K列をグループ3、残りすべての搭乗客をグループ4とする方法に切り替えた。事前改札と優先搭乗はこれまで通りとする。
Previously, on aircraft with two boarding bridges, one was reserved for first class and Class J passengers, and the other for economy class passengers, but this new system has eliminated this and one is now reserved for first class, Class J, and economy class seats F, G, H, J, and K, and the other for economy class seats A, B, C, D, and E. This will ease congestion around the second door from the front on the left side of the aircraft.
JAL and Professor Ohsaragi used a 360-degree camera installed inside the aircraft to measure passenger movements and created a simulation model based on the data obtained. They then ran multiple scenarios, including changing the boarding order, over 1000 times to find the optimal method.
