Originally Posted by Jet Yi
The unknown here is whether the crew members were on BP3 tickets. If they were "deadheading" that would mean that they had been scheduled by UA to get moved from Station A to Station B by UA on BP3 tickets and were entitled to board before the OP. In such cases they need not be in uniform unless they would have to work immediately after arriving at Station B. If they were "commuting" then they would be travelling BP-8 and should not have been boarded before the OP.
While I don't know for certain, I would give the crew members the benefit of the doubt and assume they were granted some sort of priority by UA. As for the girlfriend, it's hard to imagine how she got status over paying customers, but as I said before, the lines between "positive space" and "space available" can blur. I even have some sympathy for the GA - what's he going to do? Say, "You can board, because United needs you working at Station B later today, but your girlfriend stays behind"?
Originally Posted by Jet Yi
In the future the OP should always verify his BP status at the gate. Then if a boarding priority deviation is perceived to be occurring, the OP need simply ask "What was the BP of those folks you just boarded?".
Like I said before, I don't think that's likely to help me. Making a stink before the fact can only irritate the GA, and he is the person who ultimately decides if I get on the plane or not. It seems to me that the wiser course is to see if I get on, and if I did, "no harm no foul", and if not, I can worry about it then.