Yes, I remain amazed they don’t load from the back or other sides more often, as well as unload. As I have written in other places, we have this idea that a good airport is one with raised waiting rooms and enclosed jetways. Now I have to admit in certain climates the argument is stronger, but I blanch at the fact that San Jose is going to tear down its great, fast terminal C which uses roll-up stairways (ideal for this climate) for a “modern” very expensive, slow jetway terminal.

Admittedly even San Jose doesn’t use multiple stairs all that often, though they sometimes do. One reason I guess they shy away is the have to do extra safety stuff if passengers are going to be going past the engines and luggage to the back. I like how Hawai`ian airlines uses those older jets with the automatic stairs at the back built into the plane, except it doesn’t always lower those stairs at the jetway gates in Honalulu.

Southwest used to suck until they added print at home boarding pass so they didn’t punish me with a middle seat for arriving at a decently short interval before the flight. Of course home printed passes are a horrible security hole and thus will probably eventually be lost.