Originally Posted by
fastflyer
Last two Delta flights ticketed in First Class, I experienced chaos at boarding. Although I was perhaps tenth in the scrum to board, I was the first person who sat in First. In front of me, all I saw were a bunch of rear-ends headed to the back of the plane.
While AA has its own problems, they have gotten better about enforcing First Class boarding. Smarter AA gate agents will call the Concierge Key pax by name and preboard them, so there is no confusion that Zone 1 should be only the sixteen passengers seated in First.
Depends on the route but that just sounds like par for the course if you're on a business heavy route. I am a Diamond that flies on mostly H, M, and B fares (never see S for some reason) and I usually end up somewhere around 10-25 on the upgrade list (meaning there's probably at least 10-20 more diamonds with lower fare classes below me) and in row 30-35 in coach (C+ is an exceptionally rare gift - maybe I pick it up on 10-20% of flights). You might see me trucking to the back of the bus with 10 other folks and think we just boarded early... but chances are most of us are Diamonds.
I just don't see that much evidence of people boarding out of turn. Maybe the occasional person here or there, but I don't think it's endemic. Delta would have stats on it and they clearly don't see it as a big enough issue.