pptp

Hey guys (and gals), if there's someone in front of you who is casually digging through their bag, while standing in the aisle blocking traffic, could you politely ask them if you can pass? We make announcements along those lines but it has approximately zero effect.

I must be hyper-conscious of other people because when I board, I clear the aisle ASAP so that fellow PAX aren't inconvenienced, or worse, delayed.

walkerci

Uhh, no. I fly over 100,000 miles a year on CO alone and am tired of the benefits that I have earned being systematically diluted.

FC, then Elites by status, then general boarding.

Another thing that would help immensely is to limit non-Elites to a single carry on bag when the flight is more than 90% full.

MarkXS

If enough people complain about this, be careful what you ask for. We may end up with UA's 5-to-9 zone boarding.

Carpet Lice:
Real Special: GS
Sort of Special: 1K, Intl F, Intl C
(I've seen the above done anywhere from 1 to 4 separate calls)

Non-Carpet Lice:
Half-Special: 1P and *G
Tiny-bit-Special: 2P, 3P,*S, and fools who paid for Premier Line (Seating 1)
Unwashed Masses: Seating 2, 3, 4 (according to WiLMA algorithm)

UA's excessive use of a Caste System for all benefits may be coming to town. Along with multiple variants of "Premier Lobby". UA makes everything way too granular, to the point of po-ing anybody more than 2 or 3 levels down from uber-GS.

I like CO's "Special/Everybody Else" approach more. I've been a 1K down thru GM on UA and a Plat down to nobody (former Bronze) on CO. CO is more fair to everybody while still giving Elites a decent set of day-of-flight benefits IMHO.

pptp

That's great and all, but it doesn't solve the elite heavy bottleneck that happens, so we might as well just keep it like it is. We may be delayed a few times but oh well.

channa

Elites by status seems to do it. Or reduce who qualifies for initial pre-board.

TWA Fan 1

I have been Plat on CO and mostly U.M (unwashed masses) on UA.

I far prefer the efficiency of the WiLMA algorithm. Zone boarding is far quicker...

Critic

Except, of course, that boarding by status was never a benefit you've had in the past, except possibly on flights like the OP described. And even then, the decision to board by status was at the discretion of the GA.

Given an overloaded-with-Elites flight, loading Elites by status makes no sense. I'm a (lowly) Silver, and I usually sit in a window seat near the front of the Elite zone with minimal carry-on baggage. If I have to wait for a Plat to vacate the aisle seat (or, worse, a Plat and their companion in the middle seat) because they boarded before I did, that's going to take up just as much time as if we all boarded at once - maybe more.

UA's system has the same problem, compounded by the fact that most non-upgraded Elites will be sitting in E+.

I'd love to see CO try to implement a modified WilMA system for Elite-heavy loads (Elites by WilMA, then everyone else by WilMA), but I imagine implementation would be a nightmare.

sfogate

I bought atleast two flights a day. There is no simple answer for which is a better way to board; Elites vs Zones. It's all about the number and size of the bags people bring. I've had flights with 90 people onboard and still had to check bags at the door. And complete full flights with zero checked bags at the door.

I like our method of boarding. I like boarding First Class, Elites and then by row numbers. Sounds more personal than boarding by Zone Number. And I really don't want to call each Elite class by name either.

COSPILOT

This subject comes up every once in a while on the UA forum, but I think I still prefer the UA method. Guess it was another reason to shoot for 1K when I was a 1P or 2P. Even with UA's method the Red Carpet can be very busy at times.

I'm flying CO metal Tomorrow, will see what I think of the boarding method.

TWA Fan 1

But the zone method does board FC and elites first, too. The real difference is in Y, where it allows people to get into their window and then middle seats and then aisles.

As you write, the WiLMA algorithm does not affect carry-on bags, but it does speed up the basic boarding process, because it ensures that pax sitting in aisle seats don't board before those sitting at windows and middles.

Bushdog

FWIW, I'm not suggesting there is 1 right, cookie cutter way, either. I just think that when # of people with elite access exceeds X number, then what we do is
1) F
2) Elite Acess, BUT by seat number
3) Everyone else the usual way

I just think that might help the bottlenecks, etc...

Bushdog

I actually might try something like that. Usually I just stand there, waiting, hoping that folks would be self-conscious enough to get a move on it.

That rarely seems to work.

BTW, I'm like you, I try to grab my stuff in my carry-on and go as quickly as I reasonably can. Heck, sometimes I even remember to pull out what I want from my carry on before I board the plane. Crazy, I know. ;-)

AAExPlat

The idea of boarding elites by row is never going to fly. In an age where 50%+ of each flight are elites, this would be a serious devaluation of status for Plats and even Golds.

gawhite411

Charge double the price for gate checks. Or charge for carryons but not for checked bags. Nothing was more delightful thanflying in the week or two when there was a complete liquids ban. No one had any luggage. I loved it.

fireworksboy

Boarding SEA-EWR CO1580 yesterday morning when the GAs announced after F boarded that "we are going to be boarding by rows" and called the last 6 or so rows of coach to board. I thought they may have just forgotten to make the Elite call and walked up to board with my 21C boarding pass.

I was told that my row hadn't been called and when I questioned them about Elite Access I was told "everyone is Elite on this plane". They then made the announcement that there were so many Elites, they were making everyone Elite on the plane". The guy standing next to me (also Plat) said to me, "so why do I bother flying 100k miles on this airline??"

It a shame that even the few benefits of Elite travel that are left are being taken away these days.