Originally Posted by
CBear
There already is pre-boarding for anyone that needs extra time or help boarding. Why the need for another pre-boarding call for all those 65 and over that needs extra time or help boarding? Is that not covered in the "people needing assistance" boarding? And if you do not fall in that category, why do you need to pre-board?
Originally Posted by
DavisCalifJr
The OP was not asking for an additional pre-boarding call for those 65 an older exclusively. No need for raising your blood pressure over this..A couple of minutes extra to show some respect to elderly folks is a noble attribute. The plane will land with the same amount of people as it departed with.
If it makes you feel any better, folks that need additional time to board the plane are usually the last ones off, in my experience, as they don't want to get trampled if they are flying in Y class while they are gathering their canes, CPAP machines or have mobility issues.
The OP didn't mention the method of priority board either.
It could be very simple. By law (at least the US, perhaps also in Brazil?) you have to provide your date of birth (primarily for identification purposes) when you a book a ticket. Voila, the airline can simply put anyone over a certain age into the first boarding group if they wish! No need to call anyone other than just the first boarding group.
At airlines that have a special "priorirty boarding" group before the regular groups, a person based on age could be put into that if the airline wanted (or was told to by its government, as the OP says is the case in Brazil). But again, that goes on the boarding pass, so then all that needs to be called is that special "priority boarding" group. (I know that's called Priority AAcess at AA, I don't know what it's called at other airlines but I presume something similar exists at other airlines that have status levels.)
CBear, people in first class generally don't need special assistance, so why should they be the first to board (after "pre-boarding")? The active military in uniform generally don't need special assistance, yet many USA-based airlines invite them to board early. So early boarding (aside from "pre-boarding") is a "recognition" of something or other, not a "need-based" thing. And the OP was only talking about "priority boarding", not "pre-boarding".