Ease of loading is one of the big advantages of the freeloaders as opposed to panniers and one of the reasons I opted for the Xtracycle instead of a bike w/rear rack w/panniers.
The first bike I had as an adult had twin fixed (as opposed to folding) baskets, I didn't like the lack of security I felt with the baskets, so I went with racks and panniers--- I liked them better than the open baskets. Packing the panniers is/was a bit of a pain though.