As Easy as ABC: American Airlines Boarding Process to Be Enhanced
Jeff Edwards February 23, 2017
Starting next month, American says that it will “simplify” boarding procedures through the creation of nine distinct boarding groups.
Following closely on the tails of the introduction of the new “basic economy” fare class, American Airlines has announced that it will be reworking its boarding process beginning next month. The new process will see the introduction of an exclusive pre-boarding for ConciergeKey members and a new zone nine boarding group for those traveling on the recently introduced ultra-low-fare seats.
“On March 1 we’re launching a new, simplified boarding process,” the carrier divulged on the American Airlines website. “The order will stay the same but group names may change.”
While the creation of nine separate boarding groups (not including the new pre-boarding group) might not exactly feel like a simplified process, there appears to be at least some method to the madness. For example, in the past, “group one” was actually the sixth group of passengers; under the new system, group one is slotted to board immediately following pre-boarding.
Rather than specifically inviting passengers to board based on how they earned status in the first place, boarding passes will already be printed with the appropriate boarding group. A PlatinumPro level passenger flying in the rear cabin will automatically be assigned to boarding group three and a passenger with an economy-plus booking might have a ticket marked “boarding group five,” – likewise, a passenger purchasing priority boarding for an additional fee would be assigned to group four at check-in.
In addition to creating an exclusive pre-boarding group for the airline’s most elite passengers, American will add a brand-new ninth boarding zone for its thriftiest flyers. The bulk of the rest of the boarding order will, however, remain the same for most passengers with elite status or premium class tickets.
As always, the new boarding procedures will in no way affect the boarding procedures for those passengers who insist on lining up and jockeying for position long before any boarding announcements have been made.
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This should make the boarding process better. In the past all the priority groups boarded first by name and then they asked for Group 1. People who weren't familiar with flying American and had a boarding pass that said Group 1 naturally assumed they'd be the first to board so they moved closer to the gate as soon as it looked like they were going to start. Now those people will have a boarding pass that says 4 or 5 or something like that and may not be rushing the gate as much.
It would be nice if the gate agents actually enforced the boarding policies. I achieved Platinum for Life several years ago. About half the time I notice passengers with Group 5 or 6 printed on their boarding passes boarding with the Platinum or Gold group and the gate agent let's them go rather than making them wait until their group is called.
A lot of people try to rush on to get overhead space. The rules are there for oversize and extra purses etc but not enforced. The other thing they should do is print Cabin or seat number or row on a carry on bag strip. So often when you are in First you see regular travelers flying in the back wedging portable wardrobes into First overheads. I
I don't know AA's priority boarding system by their numbering system, so it's not clear from the story if passengers with elite standing can have their position in the queue downgraded by purchasing a cheaper ticket. Can't imagine that's the case. Just to compare, United's system doesn't undercut your priority based on fare class.
Not like the lower statuses follow the boarding anyways. Platinums are quite frequently jumpy for earlier boarding