Alaska Airlines Tests Solar-Powered Passenger Ramps
Alaska Airlines caught our eye twice in the last two weeks as we looked over our morning news feeds:
- At the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, the airline has been testing out solar-powered passenger ramps manufactured by Keith Consolidated Industries, White City, OR.
The company has been specializing in producing “all-in-one” ramps since early-2000. “All-in-one” means no switching between stairs, lifts or other boarding equipment. According to the company’s Web site, the utilitarian ramps can cut passenger embarking/disembarking times by as much as 60 percent.
As for the “green” ramps, if the weather doesn't cooperate, the solar ramps can be relatively easily plugged into a regular electric GSE charging station, says Michael Keith, sales manager for KCI.
"They are extremely efficient," he says in a local report. "There is a lot of savings, not just in fuel but in emissions as well."
Keith sent us a photo yesterday of the ramp included in today's blog.
- Alaska Airlines is also experimenting with letting passengers enter and exit Boeing 737s by not only the typical front door, but also by the aircraft's aft doors, the latter down a ramp or stairs to the tarmac.
The airline calls it “dual-boarding.”
The airline has been experimenting with variations on the technique at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, San Jose and Long Beach airports . The airline reports that letting people leave out the back can cut unloading time by eight to 10 minutes, while it currently takes 13-17 minutes to deplane and 22-27 minutes to load an Alaska Airlines 737, and 40 minutes between landing and the next takeoff.
