canadiancow

VIPs and people with disabilities already have zone *

I do agree that age could be easily validated at time of booking... but I don't think they need to be anywhere but 2.5.

allbrosca

I remember my first United flight in zone 1. I was going to Hawaii from either SFO or LAX. They called about 5 groups and I thought I must have missed zone 1 so I tried to board. I was turned back and told to wait. Zone 1 would be soon. I think the plane was over half full by the time they called zone 1!

Joeyjo

I didn’t realize this. So do you have to have * to board before zone 1? Or is it zone * + people that come up and say they need extra time?

It doesn’t really matter as boarding is done now. But it would matter if you made the machines responsible for validating the zone on the boarding pass. Something that would be trivial to do.

I agree that zone 2.5 is the right time for families as long as it’s families with kids under 2 or 3. I have sympathy for getting settled in with young kids and making sure you have overhead bin space close to you for the extra crap you need with young kids. But that seems easily doable at zone 2.5.

Edit: And I wouldn’t call it zone 2.5. No need for fractions here! It’s now zone 3 and everyone in zone 3 gets bumped back. Everyone gets a zone and boarding is just done one zone after the next and you can board anytime after your zone is called. Think how easy it would be for gate agents!

bocastephen

I’ve seen quite a few celebrities on my flights from and back to LA and never saw anyone preboarded or hidden onboard from walking up the jetway. They all boarded with Zone 1 since they sat in first, even suffering from being cut in front of while boarding.

YVR4Ever

Most celebrities don't get VIP status. My colleagues were on a flight last night with the CEO of our company, and reported that he was escorted on board before everyone else. VIP status is pretty rare, and generally goes to people responsible for spending a lot money on Air Canada (the reason for our CEO having it).

bocastephen

Ah, so that would explain Shawn Mendes clawing his way through the back of the Zone 2 scrum to board at LAX when he made the mistake of leaving the zone 1 line to sit down, or the home renovation guy (can’t remember his name, but not a twin) being elbowed out of the way by someone’s hyperactive grandparents while we boarded at YYZ.

I guess it’s a good thing Harry and Meghan don’t fly AC

vernonc

Back to basics. Get the execution right.
Get rid of those signs that say Zone 1/2 and Zone 3/4/5. Just do seperate Zone 1 and Zone 2. Once Zone 1 is complete replace with Zone 3.
When you have multiple zones on the same sign why would you expect customers to sort themselves out ?
LCC Southwest can figure this out.
Otherwise you need a hell of a lot more space and a lot more staff like the Asian carriers who also manage boarding very well.
Carryon stack vertically on some of the new planes. Announce at the gate before boarding.

yvr76

One of the perks of Zone 1 / 2 is that you can board at any time. If the Zone 1 / 2 lanes are gone, and you show up late then you have to wait behind everyone.

vernonc

Why, they can still board you at any time.
Unless on a widebody, boarding late is increasingly becoming tough to find bin space. I was in J last evening on a A321. The last person to board in J near the end of boarding had to do a bit of jenga for his backpack as all the bins were full by Y pax putting their bags there. And they still had to gate check before doors closed.
Obviously do not want to board late in Y.
If anything, this new policy will make it worse.

bocastephen

Bolded part is a major failure by the flight attendants - they should be aware the F cabin is booked full, be aware there are still empty seats not yet boarded, and block the use of F bins by Y passengers until all F customers are boarded, seated and bags stowed.

vernonc

Yes, its not even that the bags were put there towards the end of boarding. Maybe half the plane was boarded and bags were already being placed there by Y pax. I think a bunch of bulkhead and first rows in Y boarded halfway thru and since the bins over their seats were full, they just placed them in the J bins.

c224488

Wouldn't be a bad idea to write in to express our concerns (as some on here have already done).

vancouver25k

Which already happens. Last several flights zone 3+ people were in the zone 1 and 2 lanes because "they said zone 3 could board". I keep having to say "are you zone 1?" and push my way through them.

TheViperOne

I also sent in an email about boarding/Lounges to Mark Nasr and got this reply from Scott O’Leary today (VP loyalty and product). I’m curious if anyone else that sent a message in got a similar reply.


Thank you for your email. I was discussing the topics you raised today with Mark (copied), and I hope you do not mind that I’m responding to you directly.



First, on the topic of our hub lounges, you are right – they are overcrowded. This is an industry-level phenomena, and we have studied this quite a bit. You may find it interesting that our overall visits are actually lower vs. 2019, and premium credit cardholders continue to be an insignificant minority of visits. Our main driver of overcrowding is actually dwell time -- meaning our customers are spending more time in our lounges than ever before. While flight delays can add to this, most of our increased visit durations come from much earlier arrival times at the airport and longer flight connection times. We’re hopeful these behaviours will return to normal over time, but we’re not banking on that alone. For now all I can ask is that you please stay tuned, because you’re going to see us focusing efforts on a number of fronts in the year ahead to ensure our lounges are more consistently available to eligible customers. Especially for our Super Elites.



Next, on the topic of boarding, we agree with you that one of the top benefits of being a Super Elite is boarding in Zone 1 (and having Zone 1 really mean Zone 1). At the same time, we are continually looking at ways to make the process of accommodating families travelling with small children more efficient and less stressful. It’s a noble task -- maybe impossible – but we’re committed to finding a way to do it that does not degrade the top tier Elite and Business Class customer experience. This is something we will test extensively before ever considering a permanent change, and to that point, please know that your feedback is very well noted.



Thank you for your loyalty, and for taking the time to share this feedback with us.



Best,

Scott

vernonc

Thats a good response. At least they are aware of the problem and looking at solutions.