Boarding planes could have been very different

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I used them once. As it was dark outside I had no clue why we were in a 'waiting room' after the boarding gate ticket check. Needless to say that I was even more confused when the 'waiting room' started moving 😅

I rode one of these at JFK in 1987. I borderline thought I had imagined the whole thing, so thanks for confirming this was indeed real.

I actually work at the Montreal airport and have for over 15 years. One of the main reason why Montreal uses these, is because the airport is right in the city and can barely expand. The PTVs are a good way for the airport to have more planes and passengers without actually having to build more. There's actually a plane parking where the PTVs go to and get the passengers back in the terminal. Another thing to consider is speed and space. While a plane is at a gate, it needs to be plugged for electricity and oftentimes the plane will be cleaned, refueled and more all while taking a lot of space at the terminal. The PTVs at montreal have 4 gate (show in the video) and they take the same amount of space of what 1 regular gate would. Montreal airport being so weirdly made and needed much space, this helps a lot to save space. By the way tom, you should do an episode during the winter on the snow equipement the airport has. Montreal airport is unique in the weather it has during the winter and oftentimes other airports come visit to see the equipment and methods they use. It's quite a sight to behold!

Big props to them for acquiring the blueprints and manufacturing rights, they really doubled down on being able to supply these things for decades to come

I have mobility problems and often use a wheelchair when out and about, and when I last flew, I was taken to and from the planes in a much smaller version of one of these. It really was a godsend, meaning no stairs, lounge to plane service without worrying about which gate to be at and so on. It would be so good if these larger ones had become the norm, as they would benefit everyone, not just disabled people like myself.

Tom Scott sightings are now becoming something of a rare pokemon in my life. I walked passed him outside my workplace when I lived in london. Then a few days ago saw "someone who looked just like him" walking down saint-catherine here in Montreal, and here we are getting a video from him in Montreal. Probably see you in another few years, Tom :D

As a life long, frequent user of Dulles, it surprises me to hear that other passengers don't like the mobile lounges. I still get excited every time I ride in one!

The entire Dulles airport feels like a monument to 60's Era techno-optimism and what became of it in practice. And no one who goes there frequently leaves without an opinion of these big "You thought you were there, but you're not yet" trucks.

Hi Tom. The transfer vehicle you rode was originally deployed at Montreal's now defunct Mirabel Airport (CYMX). The main passenger terminal was designed with these in mind and skybridges were only added later. Pilots used to nickname the vehicles "submarines" because the roof pillars resembled conning towers.

Gonna miss your videos Tom! Thank you so much for everything you have given us over the last 10 years, truly amazing!

Scott's ability to get behind the curtains and get an insider look at how many things work in our world is astounding. I wonder how many times he gets denied despite his vast connections....

As a frequent Dulles airport user, the main problem with these lounges is that you often have to wait 16 to 30 minutes for them to show up after your long flight.

The cynic in me says that making people walk through large pedestrian terminals means they can go past lots of shops, and that makes more money for the airport, and so that will also have influenced the choice to have skybridges as well.

A close cousin of these are in use for helping passengers with mobility issues board planes, at least in Reykjavik. My husband and I were there this past summer, and there were a lot of planes using the remote-boarding strategy. My husband was recovering from a broken foot, so we were flagged for mobility assistance. They loaded about eight of us onto a very small version of one of these that docked at one of the doors that wasn't being used for the main loading, and we were able to get off and on the plane without needing to navigate stairs.

As a VA native that’s been to Dulles a fair share of times, the “mobile lounges” are generally hated because it means more sitting and waiting to get to another terminal (they don’t go directly to planes). They’re phasing them out now that they have a subway to travel between terminals. Not sure if it’s actually faster but certainly feels like less waiting.

I rode one of the Dulles ones! They were using it as an inter-terminal transport, driving passengers between the three non-contiguous terminals. At the same airport, I've also traveled between terminals on an antique but normal bus, and a subway tram. I always got a kick out of the fact that they used three different vehicles to move passengers between different parts of the airport, and had no idea until now that what I was riding in was one of Saarinen's mobile lounges. In Dulles's defense, they have a unique need for lots and lots of motorized passenger transit between terminals.

I love when Tom admits he isn't allowed to do something like he does at the end of this video. Just a small reminder that while he is incredibly blessed to go see all these great things, sometimes there are small security reasons that keep him a little more relatable.

I think adding traffic to the tarmac was probably a consideration too. Add this to the baggage, fuel and maintenance vehicles driving around it could make things a bit more complicated to organise (not to mention adding another point of failure) which I'm sure was a consideration at large hub airports

I rode these often at Dulles when I used to travel for work. They're mostly gone now. Like a lot of others, I was never really a fan. I think it was mostly because you were getting off a cramped metal tube and were shoved directly into a cramped metal box right away. When disembarking the plane there was this feeling that you'd be able to decompress, but that feeling would fade once you got on the people mover. To hear that they were called "mobile lounges" is a riot. More like a city bus with an open floor plan!