Originally Posted by
SWBKCB
The few times I've done it becuase (we had a really tight turnroad time), unloading pax by seat row was quicker - just takes more organisation/effort than a free for all
I recently had travel to South Africa, and had a few flights there on one of their low-cost domestic airlines (Kulula), and loading/unloading was notably different than my normal US experience:
Loading:
First class and premium economy loaded via jetway by row. Remainder of economy was called by row and boarded via stairs from the rear door.
Unloading:
Same as above, but they enforced a strict "stay seated until the FA tells you to leave".
It was
noticeably more efficient than my typical boarding experience, despite the level of carry-on baggage generally being higher than a lot of my US domestic flights; those overhead bins were packed (primarily since due to high pilferage, the airlines requested that all valuable items come onboard)