Bonus points for teaching me about maritime history (starboard and port). I have boarded and exited several aircraft from the right. They were aboard US aircraft carriers, where the Island and ship's access was to the right of the landing deck.
When I was 13, my flight to London on Pan Am was diverted to Shannon after flying in circles waiting for the morning fog to clear. The air stairs were placed on the right side on the second floor from the front. I disembarked and bought a Toblerone from the duty free gift shop and then reboarded. The descent and ascent we're the deepest and most beautiful green that I had ever seen. It was 1981.
If you have to use a handicap elevator they use the same door as the food truck so they would use the right side. More common in Europe where they still use stars to board. In the US where entry from the gates are wheelchair accessible.
Of course I have emplaned and deplaned from the right side--the Convair 240 (1948) and the turboprop 240 conversion Convair 600 had the passenger door/airstair assembly on the right. I was a mechanic for Central airlines when it placed the first Convair 600 conversion in service in 1965. Later Convair models included the 340 and 440, produced after 1951, and they had the passenger door and airstair on the left. The airstair mechanism on the 340/440 was greatly improved in function over the troublesome installation on the 240. Jetways are the real reason that left-hand boarding is now standard, but jetways generally cannot be used on propeller driven aircraft.
It may all possibly go back to mounting horses - traditionally always from the left to avoid the soldier’s sword (kept on the left hip) getting in the way…
I've boarded and exited a 747 on the right hand side exactly once each at Melbourne (Australia) airport in the early 1980's. Both were international flights. What's more, the exiting was through the front door, so you had to walk through economy and first class to exit the plane. This was rather odd, I always wondered why that happened.
Its quit clear that it is the maritime tradition - you normally board ships from the port side - this is as you stated due to the vikings ships having their steering oar on the right side of the ship : this is in danish called "styrbord" = starbord - styr = stearing and bord = bord or plank of the ship - In danish the other side is called "bagbord" or back board in swedish "hamn" = English port. You would not put the ship to the dock with the right side and risk harming your steering oar, so you would choose to use the other side. it is interestering how a technology from pre 1000 influences us today !!!
Oddly enough, I am watching this video today (23/2/22) after boarding a Ryanair flight that boarded using R1 and not L1 which was said to be exceptionally rare - I wrote it down in my logbook and asked the Captain to sign it which he duly did
I have boarded and deplaned from an exit door mid way down the right side of a Boeing 767-200 parked on a remote stand at the Delta terminal at JFK twenty some years ago on a foreign carrier which had a more lenghty ground time from a transatlantic flight. All preflight services including baggage loading/unloading had been accomplished or would be accomplished on arrival. The more numerous economy passengers did not have to wait for front cabin passengers to and from a lift mobile lounge and the aircraft could start engines and move off the remote stand without a pushback.
Posh is supposed to be Port out, Starboard home that being the East/North side which was in shade. That gives the lie to the idea that the port was to the left and the stars to the right as that would change on the return trip compared to the outbound trip. Steering boards stopped being standard sometime in the 14 or 1500’s (Mary Rose didn’t have one). So we are boarding planes due to a constraint that disappeared 4-500 years before planes were invented.
I boarded or exited a plane from the right once. I only remember because I actually thought, 'oh, this is the wrong side.' It was a smaller plane. We had to check our carry-on baggage at the gate too (super tiny overhead bins.) So that might have had something to do with it?
The problem is that Right side Doors are smaller than left side Doors, as they are designed mainly as emergency exits. I think Capitanjoe has a video about it
@@AnotherPointOfView944 it could be feasible with jet bridges in other hand, I would also assume most widebodies load pallets or containers into the cargo hold, same with the A320, so not much hand work necessary, in comparison to a lower height cargo hold (the 737 and A220 come to mind). Weight distribution should be made carefully tho of course, and I suspect you couldn't use the same amount of doors on both sides because of stuff like loading food and drinks like you mention.
@@Kalvinjj most of the time with what you just said you would be right however there are times where loading pallets can take longer then loading up a 737 and a220 such as the cargo hold flooring has water all over it due to the place it came from having rained heavily meaning the pallets won’t move at all or there is no power to the rollers on the floor of the cargo hold meaning we have to manually push the cargo which can get quite troublesome since I’ve dealt with China airlines a330 where there was no power and had to manually push 4.5 tonne pallets which is a nightmare situation in a quick turnaround
I have actually gotten off the plane on the right once. There was construction everywhere and we parked on the far side of the field and the left side of the plane was blocked by all sort of construction equipment. It was early -teens and if im not mistaking - Varna arport.
I once deplaned a Boeing 737-200 from the front right door. It was very odd to me. But the plane was parked facing the starboard side to the little San Tome (SOM) terminal in Venezuela. We were few passengers deplaning there. The rest of the passengers were continuing to Barcelona (BLA), also in Venezuela. Therefore there was very little ground handling at that stop.
Airliners are boarded from the left despite having doors on both sides. Non-legacy and jet general aviation aircraft are built with with left side entry.
I recall boarding (747s) from the right at Melbourne, back in 80's. Maybe just one or 2 gates were like that, and haven't seen it for many years - maybe temporary ??
Western airlines back in the 1970s ran prop planes which I believe were two engine Convairs Denver-Cheyenne I took a couple of times and in Cheyenne we boarded from the right and luggage was hand loaded from the right I think because they kept the number one prop spinning as it was a quick turnaround and all the cabin services cleaning and bathrooms and soda and ice were all done down in Denver
Goód point and somtching unlikely to ever change. Many years back the aft and fwd doors were smaller and defined as galley doors. To this days galleys are still on the right side of the cabin, though the doors are now all the same size.
doors on the left hand side where passengers are boarding from are also bigger than on the right hand side. This means it has to be a little more reinforced and actually reduces the over all strength of the aircraft, the service doors as they now are called on the right side are smaller and thus add strength, if both where large it would reduce the aircrafts safety and passengers boarding from the right is actually very unsafe.
I strongly suspect this is total bull. The main constraint on door size is there use as an emergency exit which applies to both sets of doors. You have to be able to clear the plane in 90 seconds with any 2 doors blocked so both usual entry doors can be blocked. Also there is one group of passengers often boarded from the right, those needing wheelchairs who are often put on via a service lift. The group who need the widest doors.
"They board from the left so ground grew can work on the right" errr... well if they boarded from the right the ground crews couldn't work from the left? How is that an explanation ?
l was taken as wheerchair assistance off at Muscat on arrival was expecting staff assistance as early moring arrival on step no jet walk ones but one other Glasgow was also wheelchair but on back of plane boarded left side
Is it just me, or when paratroopers jump, or even just regular sky-diving planes; it's always the right hand door? But when watching documentaries, they always board on the left side? Or am I losing my mind here?
Yes, and what is even more interesting is that a helicopter pilot sits on the right side, unlike its winged counterparts. The question is why did one adopt the maritime system and the other did not. In the end, I'm right-handed, and flying a helicopter with a right hand on the control and the left on the less tactile important collector makes more sense. Strange, no?
American Airlines originally boarded the DC-3’s on the right side of the aircraft. I know some of you do not even know what a DC-3 is. On the left side the Captain could watch when it was clear of passengers to start engines. 👍👍👍. 2-13-22
It's cool seeing how the time-lapsed clips show the planes getting lower as the passengers board.
thats exactly what i noticed
Bonus points for teaching me about maritime history (starboard and port). I have boarded and exited several aircraft from the right. They were aboard US aircraft carriers, where the Island and ship's access was to the right of the landing deck.
When I was 13, my flight to London on Pan Am was diverted to Shannon after flying in circles waiting for the morning fog to clear. The air stairs were placed on the right side on the second floor from the front. I disembarked and bought a Toblerone from the duty free gift shop and then reboarded. The descent and ascent we're the deepest and most beautiful green that I had ever seen. It was 1981.
I didn’t know why before watching this video. Great job!
I've boarded at the front, the back, through stairs and jet bridge but I don't ever remember boarding a plane on the right.
If you have to use a handicap elevator they use the same door as the food truck so they would use the right side. More common in Europe where they still use stars to board. In the US where entry from the gates are wheelchair accessible.
Of course I have emplaned and deplaned from the right side--the Convair 240 (1948) and the turboprop 240 conversion Convair 600 had the passenger door/airstair assembly on the right. I was a mechanic for Central airlines when it placed the first Convair 600 conversion in service in 1965. Later Convair models included the 340 and 440, produced after 1951, and they had the passenger door and airstair on the left. The airstair mechanism on the 340/440 was greatly improved in function over the troublesome installation on the 240. Jetways are the real reason that left-hand boarding is now standard, but jetways generally cannot be used on propeller driven aircraft.
It may all possibly go back to mounting horses - traditionally always from the left to avoid the soldier’s sword (kept on the left hip) getting in the way…
Second most popular has to be the DC-9, et all, out the air stairs in the rear. Did that several times back in the day!
The 727 also had the cloacal exit. It was popular among skydivers.
I've done it on the MD-80's a few times as well
@@gteixeira That's why D.B. Cooper chose the 727. :)
Super interesting, never thought about this before… 🤔
Always wondered that! Thanks! Another “dad fact” I can bore my kids to death with next time we’re in an airport!
Too bad they aren't into it, cause to me it was the opposite: my dad would tell me all those things and it would just get me more curious.
I love listening these "dad facts"!!!
I've boarded and exited a 747 on the right hand side exactly once each at Melbourne (Australia) airport in the early 1980's. Both were international flights. What's more, the exiting was through the front door, so you had to walk through economy and first class to exit the plane. This was rather odd, I always wondered why that happened.
I can't ever remember boarding from the "'Starboard/right side, however growing up in Alaska ( USA), I've flown quite a few times!
Its quit clear that it is the maritime tradition - you normally board ships from the port side - this is as you stated due to the vikings ships having their steering oar on the right side of the ship : this is in danish called "styrbord" = starbord - styr = stearing and bord = bord or plank of the ship - In danish the other side is called "bagbord" or back board in swedish "hamn" = English port.
You would not put the ship to the dock with the right side and risk harming your steering oar, so you would choose to use the other side.
it is interestering how a technology from pre 1000 influences us today !!!
And the first passenger airplanes followed suit because they were flying boats before wheel landings became the norm years later.
Oddly enough, I am watching this video today (23/2/22) after boarding a Ryanair flight that boarded using R1 and not L1 which was said to be exceptionally rare - I wrote it down in my logbook and asked the Captain to sign it which he duly did
Answer to the question: So that the Ryan Air flyers don't get to see the 5 star service their baggages recieve.
I have boarded and deplaned from an exit door mid way down the right side of a Boeing 767-200 parked on a remote stand at the Delta terminal at JFK twenty some years ago on a foreign carrier which had a more lenghty ground time from a transatlantic flight. All preflight services including baggage loading/unloading had been accomplished or would be accomplished on arrival. The more numerous economy passengers did not have to wait for front cabin passengers to and from a lift mobile lounge and the aircraft could start engines and move off the remote stand without a pushback.
I asked the same question to my Captain friend. His answer was the same.
You learn something everyday. I thought Port and Starboard (…and the word Posh) derived from ancient routes and the view to land, rather than a paddle
Posh is supposed to be Port out, Starboard home that being the East/North side which was in shade. That gives the lie to the idea that the port was to the left and the stars to the right as that would change on the return trip compared to the outbound trip.
Steering boards stopped being standard sometime in the 14 or 1500’s (Mary Rose didn’t have one). So we are boarding planes due to a constraint that disappeared 4-500 years before planes were invented.
From memory, accessibility lifts that board wheelchair passengers do use the right side, is that correct?
It blows my mind to suddenly realize that the "port side" is the side that the port is on.
I boarded or exited a plane from the right once. I only remember because I actually thought, 'oh, this is the wrong side.' It was a smaller plane. We had to check our carry-on baggage at the gate too (super tiny overhead bins.) So that might have had something to do with it?
Could you do a video on airports that are no longer around and why? Like the Denver Stapleton Airport.
That would be interesting.
Once deboarded an aircraft (at Port Elizabeth airport) on the right side due to weather.
Could boarding on both sides of the plane help speed up turn around of wide bodies with 2 aisles?
The problem is that Right side Doors are smaller than left side Doors, as they are designed mainly as emergency exits.
I think Capitanjoe has a video about it
You would then hold up ground crew access to the baggage areas and catering supplies. So probably wouldnt speed things up.
@@AnotherPointOfView944 it could be feasible with jet bridges in other hand, I would also assume most widebodies load pallets or containers into the cargo hold, same with the A320, so not much hand work necessary, in comparison to a lower height cargo hold (the 737 and A220 come to mind).
Weight distribution should be made carefully tho of course, and I suspect you couldn't use the same amount of doors on both sides because of stuff like loading food and drinks like you mention.
@@Kalvinjj most of the time with what you just said you would be right however there are times where loading pallets can take longer then loading up a 737 and a220 such as the cargo hold flooring has water all over it due to the place it came from having rained heavily meaning the pallets won’t move at all or there is no power to the rollers on the floor of the cargo hold meaning we have to manually push the cargo which can get quite troublesome since I’ve dealt with China airlines a330 where there was no power and had to manually push 4.5 tonne pallets which is a nightmare situation in a quick turnaround
@@liamharding9338 Damn, manually pushing LD3s and heavy pallets on a widebody sounds like a hellish task...
Though not passengers but I have seen flight crew boarding from right side, it was on KE 777F which was parked at passenger gate at YVR.
I have actually gotten off the plane on the right once. There was construction everywhere and we parked on the far side of the field and the left side of the plane was blocked by all sort of construction equipment. It was early -teens and if im not mistaking - Varna arport.
I once deplaned a Boeing 737-200 from the front right door. It was very odd to me. But the plane was parked facing the starboard side to the little San Tome (SOM) terminal in Venezuela. We were few passengers deplaning there. The rest of the passengers were continuing to Barcelona (BLA), also in Venezuela. Therefore there was very little ground handling at that stop.
very interesting again!
Airliners are boarded from the left despite having doors on both sides. Non-legacy and jet general aviation aircraft are built with with left side entry.
I recall boarding (747s) from the right at Melbourne, back in 80's.
Maybe just one or 2 gates were like that, and haven't seen it for many years - maybe temporary ??
Western airlines back in the 1970s ran prop planes which I believe were two engine Convairs Denver-Cheyenne I took a couple of times and in Cheyenne we boarded from the right and luggage was hand loaded from the right I think because they kept the number one prop spinning as it was a quick turnaround and all the cabin services cleaning and bathrooms and soda and ice were all done down in Denver
During monsoon season, in Mumbai, India, it is a regular practice to board the passengers from the right hand side
I was thinking this yesterday !
REALLY INTERESTING VID!! Just when you think you know all there is to know about aviation, ha....
Goód point and somtching unlikely to ever change. Many years back the aft and fwd doors were smaller and defined as galley doors. To this days galleys are still on the right side of the cabin, though the doors are now all the same size.
There are some aircraft that are loaded from the left like CRJ 700, 900, and 1000 series.
CRJ planes are boarded from the left...as opposed to the vast majority of passenger aircraft that are boarded from the left??
🎶🎶Board the cabin on de left-hand side
🎶🎶Board the cabin on de left-hand side
once boarding on ATR was from right side.
No, and I’ve never boarded a plane from the right hand side. Though, I have disembarked a from the right hand side once.
Always from the left (port) or the rear (tailgate).
doors on the left hand side where passengers are boarding from are also bigger than on the right hand side. This means it has to be a little more reinforced and actually reduces the over all strength of the aircraft, the service doors as they now are called on the right side are smaller and thus add strength, if both where large it would reduce the aircrafts safety and passengers boarding from the right is actually very unsafe.
I strongly suspect this is total bull. The main constraint on door size is there use as an emergency exit which applies to both sets of doors. You have to be able to clear the plane in 90 seconds with any 2 doors blocked so both usual entry doors can be blocked. Also there is one group of passengers often boarded from the right, those needing wheelchairs who are often put on via a service lift. The group who need the widest doors.
ehm, does anyone remember that Convair Twin Props had the airstairs on the right, so passengers boarded the plane form starboard side?
You could also have mentioned that the Boeing 737 has a smaller door on the right
I did once get on a 1943 Stinson 2 seater from the right.
Not just that, some aircraft have smaller doors on the right side to save weight and cost.
No, it's because the Douglas DC3 had its loading door on the left or. Port side.
Many early DC-3s had right side doors, it was an option and prior to the DC-3 aircraft like the Ford Tri-motor had right side boarding doors only.
@@25mitchel You learn something new every day.
The Port side, cargo ships generally berth port side to.
It's not about the side you board from. It's whether you need to go left or right once you do.
Or upstairs, sometimes.
I think first class and pilots take a left (front of plane), while economy is to the right (rear of the plane).
It’s something that I never questioned.
The doors are different on most planes aswell, much smaller on the right side :(
"They board from the left so ground grew can work on the right"
errr...
well if they boarded from the right the ground crews couldn't work from the left?
How is that an explanation ?
I have boarded planes often from the right in PNG and ABS.
Up next - Why do planes have engines?
Portside, the side the port is on.
*me tired and want to rest*
Why do passengers almost always board tfrom the left?
me: "hmmm... interesting..."
l was taken as wheerchair assistance off at Muscat on arrival was expecting staff assistance as early moring arrival on step no jet walk ones but one other Glasgow was also wheelchair but on back of plane boarded left side
Why is it that SAS, a small airline, moonlights in so many airline videos? Cheers from 🇸🇪
Yes, it is both because of nautical tradition, and the fact that the British drive on the wrong side of the road
Remember the Boeing 727...
Is it just me, or when paratroopers jump, or even just regular sky-diving planes; it's always the right hand door? But when watching documentaries, they always board on the left side? Or am I losing my mind here?
C-47 paratroopers jumped from the left side; most military jump planes now use doors on both sides to get everybody out faster.
Port Side where the port is ....airport ..
That's the port side
I enter the aircraft from the right on every flight as I use the ambulift
Is this why the left side is called the Port side?
2:36
Yes, and what is even more interesting is that a helicopter pilot sits on the right side, unlike its winged counterparts. The question is why did one adopt the maritime system and the other did not. In the end, I'm right-handed, and flying a helicopter with a right hand on the control and the left on the less tactile important collector makes more sense. Strange, no?
Welp, I thought since we board mini-bus taxies ,buses, trains & escalators from the left - why not aeroplanes.
Ships load from the port side, airplane passengers board from the port side and see the stars on the sta board side :-)
I've entered from the rear on air stairs before.
American Airlines originally boarded the DC-3’s on the right side of the aircraft. I know some of you do not even know what a DC-3 is. On the left side the Captain could watch when it was clear of passengers to start engines. 👍👍👍. 2-13-22
The door on the B-17 that most of the crew uses is also on the right side.
@@ghost307 Thank you for that information. Passengers boarding is just a little different. Passenger safety is the Captains responsibility.
I've entered an airplane from the rear stairs before.
i’m just shocked we don’t board through the right in the UK
The correct side to board and drive
Next Video: Why Do Captain's Always Seated at the Left :3
The right hand rule.
Was more fun boarding up the middle (727).
Commercial aviation began with seaplanes, so they copied the ships
Video starts at 1:24
Now i know
Because that’s the side the door is on.
On the 737 , it's so you don't smack your head🤣
Very simple answer! The skipper gets to check out the pretty girls and as he sits on the left..............
Only one in my lifetime
It’s because Beyoncé said so
Another joke, so captain can judge their passengers when they are boarding hehe
Because the British drive on the wrong side of the road
Horses. It all goes back to horses 😉
you only board on the right you are getting asdints
You board a vessel from the port side. Convention for humans for 2000 years. No reason to make a long video about it… yawn.
Not first