Originally Posted by
Delta Hog
I'm not implying anything. I'm directly saying it. I don't believe more than 3-4 people would have beaten me to the button given the time of day. All the others ahead of me are explained by the various groups that are outlined in this thread. And that is fine.
Sitting now in a Row 4 window. Pretty remarkable, only made possible because a couple was already seated aisle-middle and I guess everyone else in front of me wanted to hunt for something better.
One more thing I learned is the "extras bucket" at the end of A. A gaggle of about 8 random people were able to board after A but before B when she called something like "A-list, preferred, and anyone else with an A boarding pass without a number."
I call it the A61 boarding position. A-list with B or C, active military with ID, and family boarding. Like you said, that will bump B1 further down. The other bucket is A0 AKA preboard + 1 companion.
Another factor is very few A-list do standby anymore, who often have to wait until the end of the Cs to find out if they get on. Now they are part of A61 with a same day change. I sat in a lot of middle seats because of standby. Not anymore.