Originally Posted by
canadiancow
i think UA is the only one that puts non-invite tiers (1K) ahead of F.
AA puts "front-cabin" ahead of EXP (it seems like J on 3-cabin boards with EXP).
DL boards Diamond with the front cabin.
I'd be fine with any approach except UA's.
As for more numbers (or unnumbered zones), that can work too.
But you're right, of course. There's no point adding a 7th zone if they often screw up before they even call zone 2.
You're right about
DL and
AA. I was definitely on flights last year where EXP/DM were boarded before J, but seems that was incorrect procedure (and not all flights were boarded like that. I wondered whether part of it was domestic vs international or something. I didn't do a huge number of DL or AA segments last year). AC isn't the only one that can be inconsistent
(And maybe with DL I'm thinking back to 4-5 years ago when there was no "premium", just DM then J/F was in "Sky Priority". My DL memories are a bit hazier because I've flown a lot of similar itineraries)
Regardless, I think there's better differentiation in their systems. With AC, priority boarding is a joke. With the US3, it's a bit more sane.