May 21, 2013, 10:43 am
Last edit by: aacharya
Source: https://hub.united.com/en-us/News/Co...g-process.aspx
Pre-Boarding
Premier Access Boarding
*A Star Alliance Silver who is not a Premier Silver is not eligible for Premier Access boarding.
General boarding (Window Seats, then Middle Seats, then Aisle)
Note: If you’re traveling with a companion and one of you has a higher boarding status, you both may board with the earlier group.
Note: Self Boarding Gates are being tested at the following gates...
sUA Boarding Times by Aircraft (AFA)
Pre-Boarding
- Customers with Disabilities
- Global Services
- Uniformed Military Personnel
- Families with Children Age Two and Under
Premier Access Boarding
- Group 1: Premier 1K, Premier Platinum, BusinessFirst, and First.
- Group 2: Premier Gold, Star Gold, Premier Silver*, MileagePlus Presidential Plus, Club, Explorer and Awards, purchased Premier Access
*A Star Alliance Silver who is not a Premier Silver is not eligible for Premier Access boarding.
General boarding (Window Seats, then Middle Seats, then Aisle)
- Group 3 - Window Seats
- Group 4 - Middle Seats (Aisle Seats on UA Express)
- Group 5 - Aisle Seats
Note: If you’re traveling with a companion and one of you has a higher boarding status, you both may board with the earlier group.
Note: Self Boarding Gates are being tested at the following gates...
- IAH - Gate C25/C26 - See Post 2960, Includes YouTube video from CO777DAL
- IAH - Gate E4 - Old test from pmCO days, See Thread Here
- BOS - Self boarding gates are now back in *LIMITED* use at least at gates B25 and B26
sUA Boarding Times by Aircraft (AFA)
United's Current Boarding Process (with Wiki) [Revised, May 2013]
Jan 10, 2013, 10:16 am
#751
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: UA 1K MM, HHonors Diamond,PC, Marriott Rewards Gold
Posts: 1,117
1K second class citizen
1k (note use of small k) is simply not what it used to be. This new boarding process that combines platinum with 1k confirms this. Many 1k fliers travel well in excess of 150k per year.
I agree with GS preboard, but why not 1k as well? Put platinum in group 1, but at least let loyal 1ks preboard.
With 50 pages of comments, mostly dissenting, on a board with lots of 1k fliers it seems my comments could be lost in the shuffle, but hope not.
I agree with GS preboard, but why not 1k as well? Put platinum in group 1, but at least let loyal 1ks preboard.
With 50 pages of comments, mostly dissenting, on a board with lots of 1k fliers it seems my comments could be lost in the shuffle, but hope not.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:16 am
#752
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NYC
Posts: 945
does anybody know what was going on at IAH E and C gates yesterday, they had cameras positioned at 3 different places around boarding lanes at several locations and saw some people working the cameras when the boarding was announced
....
....
Jan 10, 2013, 10:20 am
#753
Join Date: Jun 2004
Programs: UA
Posts: 239
Boy am I glad I made Plat this year ... If I were still a Gold and had to fight in the same group with the Explorer card holders, I'd be furious.
Great upgrade for cardholders, big downgrade for Gold & Silver.
.. And I do relish that the 1K's have to deal with us Unclean Plats.
Great upgrade for cardholders, big downgrade for Gold & Silver.
.. And I do relish that the 1K's have to deal with us Unclean Plats.
Not a great way to recognize loyalty and it's been a diasaster at EWR. Miss pmUA.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:22 am
#754
Join Date: Jun 2004
Programs: UA
Posts: 239
1k (note use of small k) is simply not what it used to be. This new boarding process that combines platinum with 1k confirms this. Many 1k fliers travel well in excess of 150k per year.
I agree with GS preboard, but why not 1k as well? Put platinum in group 1, but at least let loyal 1ks preboard.
With 50 pages of comments, mostly dissenting, on a board with lots of 1k fliers it seems my comments could be lost in the shuffle, but hope not.
I agree with GS preboard, but why not 1k as well? Put platinum in group 1, but at least let loyal 1ks preboard.
With 50 pages of comments, mostly dissenting, on a board with lots of 1k fliers it seems my comments could be lost in the shuffle, but hope not.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:23 am
#755
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Sounds like something a process engineer would want to do to observe the boarding process and figure out ways for continuous improvement -- that, or Team TSA wanting to waste yet more money checking out passenger's stripped bodies? Of course there are some other possibilities beside that, both those are the first two that came to mind given this thread.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:23 am
#756
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,638
Jan 10, 2013, 10:23 am
#757
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: New Orleans
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 655
At EWR, today, flight to BOS.
Agent calls for, "...Passengers with disabilities, military in uniform, and our GLOBAL SERVICES passengers through the Premier Access lane."
There were about five people queued in the lane, but it was wide enough for me to pass them easily without disruption (there were no disabled nor military). I presented my BP to the agent, and the conversation went like this:
wxguy: Hello.
agent: You're in Group 1. You should wait until your group is called.
wxguy: You called for Global Services. I'm Global Services.
agent: Your boarding pass doesn't say that, it says Group 1.
wxguy: Look at the itsy-bitsy-weenie-teenie "GS" here (pointing to it on the BP).
agent: Global Services BPs are supposed to have it in big letters.
wxguy: I just got this BP is Austin.
agent: Boston? This flight goes to Boston.
wxguy: AUSTIN, as in TEXAS. This is the BP the check-in agent gave me.
agent: [scans and grunts]
Agent calls for, "...Passengers with disabilities, military in uniform, and our GLOBAL SERVICES passengers through the Premier Access lane."
There were about five people queued in the lane, but it was wide enough for me to pass them easily without disruption (there were no disabled nor military). I presented my BP to the agent, and the conversation went like this:
wxguy: Hello.
agent: You're in Group 1. You should wait until your group is called.
wxguy: You called for Global Services. I'm Global Services.
agent: Your boarding pass doesn't say that, it says Group 1.
wxguy: Look at the itsy-bitsy-weenie-teenie "GS" here (pointing to it on the BP).
agent: Global Services BPs are supposed to have it in big letters.
wxguy: I just got this BP is Austin.
agent: Boston? This flight goes to Boston.
wxguy: AUSTIN, as in TEXAS. This is the BP the check-in agent gave me.
agent: [scans and grunts]
Such a simple thing, an orderly and cordial boarding process. It doesn't cost anything, but it was one of many nice touches AA used to win me over. (well, 100 % domestic upgrades and several transpac itineraries, for 2 travelers had upgrades clearing on booking, or months or weeks before, on cheap tickets may have been factors...)
Jan 10, 2013, 10:25 am
#758
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,638
now with boarding group 2, you're not just "in", you're "IN!"
just ask DBarrett, he was there from what i hear.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:26 am
#759
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NYC
Posts: 945
i was just wondering if it was something related to the boarding procedure improvements
Jan 10, 2013, 10:31 am
#760
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Pikes Peak COS
Programs: 3 Month Delta Plat, UA PP 2.4mm, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, HH Lifetime Diamond, National EE
Posts: 426
One of the things remembered most about 55K+ BIS recent miles on AA (EXP via status match) is pleasant boarding. On domestic flights, F boards first, usually my BP is scanned and the AAgent says "thanks for flying with us bucketlist".
Such a simple thing, an orderly and cordial boarding process. It doesn't cost anything, but it was one of many nice touches AA used to win me over. (well, 100 % domestic upgrades and several transpac itineraries, for 2 travelers had upgrades clearing on booking, or months or weeks before, on cheap tickets may have been factors...)
Such a simple thing, an orderly and cordial boarding process. It doesn't cost anything, but it was one of many nice touches AA used to win me over. (well, 100 % domestic upgrades and several transpac itineraries, for 2 travelers had upgrades clearing on booking, or months or weeks before, on cheap tickets may have been factors...)
Jan 10, 2013, 10:36 am
#761
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA EXP, UA former 1K (1.9MM and gone), Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 1,111
I never did get to see the new boarding lanes in action because I flew out of B on UX. There was only one lane and everyone was called at once.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:53 am
#762
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Hiding under the trees in Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K 2.5MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,306
As a process analyst (which I happen to be on occasion), I'd want to collect some data on the boarding process and then tweak as needed. UA knows how many elites it has on each flight, and this may be how they've decided to balance the loading of bodies & bags. A lot of Platinums fly in elite classes, so there may be a lot of overlap in this population anyway.
It's easy to gripe about the lack of specialness of 1K, but it's important to remember that Platinum is pretty special too. 75k BIS miles is a lot of miles -- and a lot of loyalty. If this boarding configuration works well enough, I think the Platinums should have this perquisite.
Jan 10, 2013, 10:57 am
#763
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: PDX
Posts: 2,284
Don't airlines have staff meetings? You know, where a manager/supervisor gathers everyone together, goes over new procedures, makes sure everyone is up to speed, answers questions, etc. That's standard operating procedure in the rest of the business world.
Lately, between this and how the crew in First is left to their own devices as to how to implement meal selections, among other things, this airline is coming across more and more like "United, the confused and befuddled."
Surely, someone's KPI rating for process implementation must be low enough to be noticed by now.
Lately, between this and how the crew in First is left to their own devices as to how to implement meal selections, among other things, this airline is coming across more and more like "United, the confused and befuddled."
Surely, someone's KPI rating for process implementation must be low enough to be noticed by now.
Jan 10, 2013, 11:10 am
#765
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,645
1. A 1k can fail to get upgraded with higher priority than anyone else, and
2. A 1k can get some GPUs and RPUs that won't clear