United Airlines has revamped its boarding process…and the new process looks rather familiar.
Here’s the rationale for the change:
The feedback from customers and employees was clear: we needed to improve our boarding process. As part of our ongoing efforts to put customers at the center of everything we do, we identified boarding as an opportunity to improve the airport experience. We tested a variety of different boarding processes on hundreds of flights across multiple airports. Best practices emerged from each test, and combined, they now form what we are calling “Better Boarding“.
Consequently, the new boarding process is as follows:
Pre-boarding (in this order)
- Unaccompanied minors
- Customers with disabilities
- Active members of the military
- United Global Services® members
- Families traveling with children age 2 and younger
- Premier® 1K® members
Group 1
- Premier Platinum members
- Premier Gold members
- Star Alliance™ Gold members
- Customers seated in premium cabins: United Polaris®, United First® and United Business®
Group 2
- Premier Silver members
- Star Alliance Silver members
- Customers who have purchased Premier Access® or Priority Boarding
- United℠ Explorer, Club, Presidential Plus℠ and Awards Cardmembers
Groups 3 – 5
- Economy Plus®
- United Economy®
- Basic Economy
If you’re a longtime United flyer, you’ll recognize this boarding line-up, for it closely resembles the way United used to board before the merger with Continental.
CONCLUSION
I just hit Platinum status for the year and was happy to move from Group Two to Group One. Now it doesn’t matter. But this is once again another example of the full circle we’ve seen from the ex-Continental leadership as they realize that the United way, not the Continental way, was the better way.
@ Matthew — 1K boards before paid F? WTH?
Yup, I saw that and was WTF.
“Paid F” that’s often times a $79 TOD vs. economy
I personally don’t think this is better boarding. If airlines want a faster turn around then the boarding process should be based on logic, not on membership. It would be much easier and faster to board from the back of the plane to the front, windows to aisle. This way people already seated don’t have to get out of seat to let another passenger get to their seat. It wastes too much time. Keep the pre boarding process. But group 1 should be window seats, 2-middle, and 3-aisle.
I don’t think that a faster turnaround was really their purpose. Thought I do suspect they thought that the process would go easier without a big gaggle around five boarding lanes where people are blocking other people. So they are hoping groups 3-5 will not stand around until they are called. We will see. But the idea of faster boarding without regard to first or membership does not take into account that their real logic is revenue management, and people in first and who fly enough to earn elite status generate a lot of revenue, so you want to keep them happy with your airline. A 1K in first who has to board last and has no place to put their carryon is not a customer you want to annoy. Even WN sells early boarding, and I don’t think those people are moving to the back of the plane.
I like that 1K’s will get higher priority, but it seems so pointless to prioritize it that way. Why not just board First Class first like every other airline worldwide? Then do GS/1K etc. Ridiculous to not do that.
I agree. On domestic flights I travel first class and pay for it out of my pocket. The other airlines give you at least equal priority to their high mileage frequent fliers. I am paying about 3X as much for a ticket on and on United get lowered boarding priority. I should get at least equal boarding priority to 1K members as in the past. Just today another full paying first class passenger was not at the front of the group 1 line and landed up having to put his luggage in the third row of economy plus–and thus getting delayed in disembarking. It used to be that we were thanked for flying United as they knew we had alternatives.
If they actually get Groups 3-5 to keep their asses in their seats, or at least away from the counter and boarding area, until their group is called, I won’t care what else they do! That’s a huge improvement.
Talk about making a big deal out of no improvements at all!
The reason people line up is that they want to make sure they get space in the overhead bins. If you guarantee that, people won’t line up.
That’s all there is to it. Very simple, and no airline has solved it.
I used to fly Continental a lot before the merger and its boarding process was just fine. The boarding line became chaotic when the airlines started charging for checked baggage back in 2008-2009.
I don’t fly United that often anymore but when I did, I found the group lines quite orderly actually. Now I guess we’ll go back to chaos and in a few yeears they’ll revert back to the 4-5 lines (unless UA stops charging checked bags…) 😉
Well AA flyers should adjust to this without problem I’d think since it’s basically what they do that is a mess as well.
Well at least at AA and Delta, premium cabin passengers have priority, right behind most top elites.
Maybe it’s just me, but this video makes the new boarding system feel really complicated and confusing. In practice, it will be the same or better, I guess, but this poorly made video just makes it seem confusing. As usual, United is the worst of the Big Three.
I like the 5 boarding group lines. I usually find that with the 5 boarding group lines people actually line-up in their correct lines, while in a 2 boarding group lines people try to sneak on with those in Groups 1 or 2 and sometimes even get away with it.
Even with 5 lines, you’ll have people trying to jump ahead. You’ll always have people from groups 4 and 5 trying to jump ahead in group 3, and people from group 5 trying to do the same with group 4.
Still have credit card holders boarding with silver premiere. Credit card should guarantee group 3, regular economy group 4, and basic economy group 5.
I find it odd that they board 1Ks after families. As if a 1K wouldn’t find their seats and board a lot faster than an entire family. Would make more sense to do GS, 1K, families both in terms of recognition and expedience.
Or is it that all of those pre-boarding groups board at the same time, before G1? I’m 1K, but I do find it odd that I would board before paid F or J. We will see how this works when I take my next flight in about two weeks, though I am often in F or J anyway. I would appreciate not having to push through a crowd of higher numbers clogging the lanes.
at least I’ve seen an improvement in the congestion at EWR, DFW and LAX so far. typically the lines at the gate would pour out in to the common walkway and create a massive human traffic jam.
Adding Star Gold to group 1 is going to be disastrous.
Group 1 is the new Group 2.. everyone and their brother in queue for that one