Originally Posted by Efrem

It has been stated that boarding order can (a) reward elites and high-paying pax or (b) speed the boarding process. This is true.

It has also been stated that attempts to combine both of these are silly. This is hogwash.

The field of multi-criteria decision making has been around for years and has a number of methods for combining two (or more) criteria for an optimal decision. A standard classroom example is students who want a section of a large course in which they will (a) learn a lot, (b) not have to work hard, (c) be graded easily and (d) not have to get up too early. While it may not be possible to get the best of all four worlds at the same time - the best teacher who assigns the least homework may not also be the easiest grader, or may teach at 8 am - there are many well-known methods for eliminating some of the options and finding the best of the remaining ones. The same concepts apply to boarding.

As an example, suppose an airline put passengers in five groups for speed of boarding. Next, any elites or full-fare passengers who ended up in group 5 would be moved to group 4, and any mid-level or top-level elites then in group 4 would be moved to group 3. That would have little to no impact on boarding time, but would effectively guarantee overhead space somewhere in the vicinity of their seat to all mid-level and top-level elites, and almost guarantee it to bottom-tier elites and full-fare passengers. I'm not saying this is an optimum solution, but it is one approach that provides measurable benefits to those whom an airline wants to reward while not impacting the overall process.

The question of enforcing boarding order is a separate issue. To me, deliberate poachers rank about two levels below pond scum. Tearing up their tickets seems a bit extreme, but forced gate-checking of their carry-ons sounds like a cure.