downinit

At least it makes more sense than the current system, where 'group 1' is still about the 4th or 5th group to board. I just cannot believe that an airline needs to break a 737 or A319 into 9 boarding groups. It is so painfully slow and dehumanizing being divided in so many castes. Most airlines can board a 747 or A380 in the same time that AA takes for 150 pax, while WN can board the same plane in 1/4 the time.

ashill

WN, and most airlines operating 747s or A380s, don't charge for checked bags. I think that has a lot to do with the slow boarding on US airlines other than WN -- checked bag fees mean much more demand for overhead bins. (That said, I haven't flown WN in years, maybe a decade, not because I avoid them but because they very rarely operate the routes I want/need to fly.)

I don't think the number of groups has much at all to do with the time it takes to board; there is essentially never a lull in the boarding caused by the next group waiting to be called. Quite the contrary; the next group is, in my experience, always called before the current group is done, and there's essentially always a logjam on the jetbridge. Fewer groups won't change any of that.

Fine Art Landscape Photographer

In December I had a flight and on my ticket it said Group 0

Often1

I presume that GA's, as they do now, will board smaller aircraft with lighter loads in combined groups. No reason to belabor the process if there are not that many people.

But, the current system of having 4-5 groups before Group 1 makes no sense and is particularly confusing for those who do not travel often or who travel on other carriers. When you see "Group 1" on your BP it ought to mean "Group 1". Now it does. If it says "5" it does not make you less valuable, it just means that you board after the "4's". That is all.

Dieuwer

Why comes MCE and PE AFTER purchased priority boarding??

Even worse, if everyone has a gold credit card and nobody buys basic economy, then Main Cabin Extra will board last!

ashill

Well, if everyone's CK, then F boards last. But they're not, so it doesn't. Similarly, it is not true that everyone has a gold credit card; there are always plenty of passengers in what will now be groups 6-8, despite FlyerTalk hyperbole about the entire plane being EXP. Let's be real; it's only half.

AAlwaysAmerican

+1 about LAX, add Dominican Republic routes.

I am ashamed to say that out of frustration I once rolled my carry on over the feet of people clogging the gate area as boarding began. I shouldn't have done it. Infrequent flyers don't understand what they gate agents mean when they make boarding announcements. Some of them have to be reminded to present their boarding passes by the agent at the jetway door.

AAlwaysAmerican

The smartphone boarding passes haven't helped very much. All too often, users struggle to locate the scan or get their displays to wake up. I don't know why gate agents don't ask them to step aside so boarding can continue. It is the modern day equivalent of elderly people who write checks at supermarket checkout lines: "excuse me dear, how much did you say it is?"

AAlwaysAmerican

Correct, the boarding groups serve two primary purposes. One purpose is pre-boarding certain groups (F, CK, etc.) The other purpose is to control the crowd. The size of the crowd determines how and whether groups 2 through 9 are used. If the crowd is small enough, or once the crowd becomes small enough, gate agents will say "now boarding all groups and all rows on flight XXX through gate XXX."

Lovethecabin

Add ST. Thomas and San Juan. The gate areas can't accommodate the crowds of people who are not frequent flyers.

Oh boy, it is a MESS. I joke with my husband that his Big Dog DYKWIA comes out at those gates with his "please step aside!" Our son and I just fall in behind him. He has issues with crowds and wants to get on that plane and settled, period, and the craziness at those gates nearly puts him over the edge.

txpenny

And according to FT, that percentage will be greatly reduced next year.

txpenny

I was guilty of slowing the boarding process as it seemed that nearly every time I boarded, somebody would call. I've now resorted to printing a paper pass at the AC.

Super80Fan

Guilty of that, although they usually work if I had the screen lit up. Had it dimmed on a WN flight and the agent told me to go to CS and get a paper boarding pass and right as he said it the boarding pass scanned. Now know to always put the screen brightness up.

Dieuwer

Regarding purchasing Priority Boarding, AA should consider changing it to purchasing Group Boarding. That is, if you want to board with Group 1, you pay $$$. If you want to board with Group 2, you pay $$, and with Group 3, $.

MrAndy1369

How about preboarders? Where do they fit in?