Originally Posted by ryane946
I recall going down rear stairs, onto the tarmac, and then up stairs into gate 79 at SFO (This was in August 2001 off a Shuttle By United flight). But to me that is a horrible idea because:
A) You need to carry all your bags down the jetway stairs
B) You need to walk across the tarmac at an airport (safety?)
C) You need to climb back up the stairs into the terminal
A double jetway is much more logical.
In LGB, jetBlue uses airstairs front and back. The airport is listed as a registered historic landmark by either the state or the city and even when they build the new terminal they are planning they won't be using any jetways just airstairs. Some customers are in shock when they arrive from NYC and walk forward and see the stairs. People even seem to have lost the feeling that they are actually going in an airplane. They go from a terminal to a tube onto a carrier and deplane the same way without ever thinking they
are moving across the country on an airplane. Kinda like they are just going into an elevator or some sort of "transporter device", Cracks me up!