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Boarding strategies of blended wing body passenger aircraft considering pedestrian overtaking behavior

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  • Dong, Yuming
  • Jia, Xiaolu
  • Feliciani, Claudio
  • Yanagisawa, Daichi
  • Nishinari, Katsuhiro

Abstract

Flight delays have been a persistent issue in the civil aviation industry, with the boarding process recognized as a major contributing factor. Although the boarding processes of modern aircraft have been extensively investigated, how a significantly larger cabin influences the boarding process of future blended wing body aircraft remains unexplored. In this study, a blended wing body aircraft boarding simulation model was developed to evaluate the effects of overtaking happening on the aisles of the blended wing body aircraft. An experiment was also performed to evaluate how passengers react to opportunities for overtaking in real life. When combined with an appropriate boarding strategy such as Outside-in and Double Outside-in, a moderate increase in aisle width (20–30 cm) can significantly improve the boarding speed while reducing the standard deviation of boarding time. While increasing the aisle width naturally increases the chance of overtaking, overtaking can also happen more because of limited carry-on baggage and encouragement.

Suggested Citation

  • Dong, Yuming & Jia, Xiaolu & Feliciani, Claudio & Yanagisawa, Daichi & Nishinari, Katsuhiro, 2026. "Boarding strategies of blended wing body passenger aircraft considering pedestrian overtaking behavior," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 683(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:683:y:2026:i:c:s0378437125008647
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2025.131212
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    References listed on IDEAS

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