Jason Steffen has spent his career trying to crack the deepest mysteries of the Earth. He's an astrophysicist who studies exoplanets orbiting distant stars, dark matter and gravitation. In his spare time he also tackles another impenetrable riddle of the galaxy.

One of America’s largest airlines is changing its boarding process to make it faster. It could be even faster.

Other researchers who collaborated on the research include: Jason F. Rowe at Bishops University in Canada, Eric Ford at Penn State, Daniel C. Fabrycky at the University of Chicago, Darin Ragozzine at Brigham Young University and Jason H. Steffen at the University of Nevada Las Vegas

United Airlines is re-introducing its WILMA window-to-aisle boarding process, which the airline says saves an average of two minutes per flight. This is not an insignificant savings. Ground time costs airlines an estimated $100 a minute. A $200 savings per flight, multiplied over the 4,900 daily flights the airline operates, means nearly $1 million in daily savings.

United Airlines will start boarding passengers in economy class with window seats first starting next week, a move designed to reduce the time planes spend sitting on the ground.

United Airlines will start boarding passengers in economy class with window seats first starting next week, a move designed to reduce the time planes spend sitting on the ground.

The United system, known as Wilma, boards passengers in order of window, middle and aisle seats. But it may not relieve all the bottlenecks, industry professionals argue.

The airline said in an internal memo that it will implement the plan on Oct. 26. The plan – called WILMA, for window, middle and aisle -- was tested at several locations and deemed to shave up to two minutes off boarding time. Variations of the WILMA approach have existed for many years.