Happened to me in 2015 with one of those ancient sCO 757-300 out of SFO. FC pax were penned into a corner and allowed to board after group 3. Initially no explanation, eventually stated as catering. Every minute in the boarding area/united club is valuable and translates into comfort (e.g. changing clothes for a redeye, picking up a bottle of water, ability to store your bag in the overhead, what have you.) Many times in EWR/IAH, the 757s are boarded out of the front door, making the first class experience less special. I presume, the entire boarding process is delayed whenever there's a catering delay in theses instances.
Last edited by goalie; Mar 20, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Reason: off topic comments removed-not a ua vs co discussion