Originally Posted by pinniped

I also find that the WN boarding process is the most civilized and least "cattle call" of any airline I fly. Even with priority boarding on Star and Oneworld, it always feels like I'm pushing through the masses to board...or I have to show up early and stand in front of the hordes. Since WN deployed the poles in all of their gate areas, the boarders organize themselves more or less into a line. (We can fuss about whether 21 should go before 22 or not but in reality it's irrelevant.) That puts people on the plane faster and more orderly.

Add in the fact that the early boarders are headed to different parts of the plane and people seem to load faster in general. (e.g., an A-List couple on a 90% full flight might prefer Row 17. The next guy wants Exit Row. Others on tight connections want Row 2. Etc. People scatter more once they're on the plane.) On a legacy, elites preboard and, for the most part, we're all waiting for each other to stuff bags into the same overhead bins in the F cabin and then in the first few rows of coach where elites sit.