Originally Posted by
nycityny
Yeah, I saw a ridiculous fake on my Saturday LAX-JFK flight. An overweight (obese?) guy was the first person in the group 3 line for the many minutes we all lined up before boarding. When the gate agent called for those needing assistance to board this guy decided he was one of those and just walked up and boarded the plane, and he walked just fine. No comment from the woman scanning his boarding pass.
Two things strike me about this. First, the guts and gall of this guy to do this in front of so many eyes. If he had not been standing in the group 3 line for many minutes already it would have been more believable. And the fact that everyone is so sensitive to the issue of people with challenges that nobody said a word is interesting. We're all little sheep now (myself included, I guess).
I saw this - but worst in Seattle a few years back - a whole group of "pre-boards" were standing in line (for about 20 minutes) when they announced a delay of 30 minutes. After another 10 minutes one walked over and asked if UA could provide them seats in the line! The look on the gate agents face was priceless!
If you really need to board early, submit your handicapped sticker info to UA and it will be part of your record and you all your boarding cards will be labeled Zone "PB". Then, besides wheelchair, board with your zone or board last! Imagine the look on some faces when the agent asked them to sit down and wait for everyone else to board... then they can take their time. My guess is we would see a lot of miracles at the gate!