They announced military pre-boarding on my recent PDX-YVR flight, which I was surprised by; I didn't think that was a thing AC did. (Is it A Thing in the US, or just a one-off mistake by contract outstation staff...?)

Speaking solely for myself as someone who's ex-military, I'm more chuffed about the checked luggage allowance then the notion of pre-boarding. Most of us who've been in the military end up with a fair deal of baggage.

In all seriousness, I really don't need to be sent down the jetbridge before older folks, families with kids, and any number of people who may or may not technically qualify for pre-boarding but could use some extra time to make it onto the plane and get settled. I feel like it's a bit of an unnecessarily showboat-y thing (again, just speaking for myself here, the opinions of others may certainly differ.)