United gives up on double-duty jet bridges

After testing so-called “dual-end” jet bridges at its Denver hub for several months, United Airlines has decided against using them, according to a report in the Denver Post. The jet bridges branched out into two separate units, allowing passengers or board or deplane from the front and back of an aircraft simultaneously. According to the report, United found that the double bridges significantly reduced boarding and deplaning times – e.g., on an Airbus A320, average boarding time was cut from 18 minutes to 12, and deplaning went from 12 minutes to four and a half. However, the computer-guided devices were not totally reliable in positioning themselves to the aircraft doors. In one case, as the rear portion of the jet bridge was moving over the wing of a 757, it hit the wing and damaged it. So United made the decision to stick with single-door boarding bridges, the newspaper said.