Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles
Reload this Page >

Delta simply does not know how to police their boarding!

Delta simply does not know how to police their boarding!

Old Oct 5, 2018, 5:08 am
  #211  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: HSV
Programs: Bellevue Lifetime Premiere Mega Elite Supreme
Posts: 1,495
Standard practice on prettymuch every DL flight I've ever taken. They call-out the zones, but it's generally a free-for-all. It's routine to see gate lice board when PREM is called. I rarely see anyone rejected by a G/A, and half the time they don't even look at the BP they're scanning. I'm sure it's awkward for a GA to send a person on the Walk of Shame, so most don't bother.
TheHorta is offline  
Old Oct 5, 2018, 5:49 am
  #212  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: Delta Plat
Posts: 3,349
I've seen GAs plenty of time send people away. Even seen them tell family only 1 parent can board with the kid when there are like 50 people in the same party
btonkid12345 likes this.
HWGeeks is offline  
Old Oct 7, 2018, 6:32 am
  #213  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: NYC
Programs: United 1K
Posts: 7
Flying from LGA-YUL the other day. The gate agent told a family with kids/stroller who were lining up to preboard that family boarding would be called after SKY and sent them away. Red coat was at the desk too so presumably wasnt a rogue GA. Not sure why they changed from the norm here.
Bourbonfan is offline  
Old Oct 15, 2018, 8:54 am
  #214  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
Boarding process

Delta needs to rethink and reconfigure their boarding process. Way too many pre-boarders and half the plane standing by the access lanes completely blocking it. I have to fight my way through the crowd just to board. Ridiculous and makes the flying process more of a hassle than it already is. Come on Delta, do something.
Maggnum99 is offline  
Old Oct 15, 2018, 9:03 am
  #215  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: Delta Plat
Posts: 3,349
What was your zone?
HWGeeks is offline  
Old Oct 15, 2018, 9:03 am
  #216  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: DL DM; Marriott Ambasador Elite
Posts: 624
Because of regulatory rules, there isnt much they can do about the extent of preboarding (which I agree is sometimes outrageous). The rule is that the airline has to offer a preboarding opportunity, and they are not allowed to inquire as to the basis for the preboard. I once saw an entire group of about two dozen or so able-bodied police officers on the way to a union conference preboard as a group - that was a substantial percentage of the capacity of the CRJ we were on.
acrophobia is offline  
Old Oct 15, 2018, 9:20 am
  #217  
pvn
Suspended
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MEM
Programs: Starbucks Green Card
Posts: 5,431
Delta simply does not know how to police their boarding!
pvn is offline  
Old Oct 15, 2018, 12:23 pm
  #218  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
I almost always board Premium, and it never fails, Huge crowds gathered around the access lanes and I cant get through with having to push and say excuse me over and over.
Maggnum99 is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 11:45 am
  #219  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO/TPA
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 199
I hope this experience yesterday isn't a taste of things to come. T2 at ATL yesterday, boarding is slightly delayed. This gate is 100% e-gate so no one single boarding lane. Rather there are several routes to the jetway. Also this gate employs the pillars.

Some folks are patiently lining up behind Sky/Zone1/2 pillars. The Prem pillar is marooned by itself in the square-ish open area in front of the e-gates where people who want to speak with a GA need to pass, and where people in wheelchairs, families with strollers, confused people, people who want to stretch their legs, and, presumably, some Prem passengers are milling around.

There is no discernible line for Prem. I have a Prem ticket but I have no idea where to park myself. A loose aggregate is spilling into and beginning to block the concourse and I don't want to add to that congestion. I spot an empty seat buried behind the forming crowd and "excuse me, pardon me, excuse me" my way to it and sit.

No Prem line ever materializes because, I think, there just does not seem to be an obvious place to form one. It's in a spot where you'd put a sign reading, "Wait here if you just want to be in everyone's way."

As the pre-boarders make their way into the jetway, the amorphous group presses forward and when Prem is called our blob pushes toward the e-gates, each of us jockeying to position ourselves in front of one or another e-gate. It's like a toll plaza that doesn't have distinct bright lines on the ground telling you early on what lane you are in and to stay there, so cars don't just dart out wherever and whenever to jump into a different lane. And the e-gates do back up because either they are finicky or people don't know how to use them yet or something, idk. So people get impatient with the holdup and switch to another "lane".

It was unorganized and unpleasant and honestly, things looked a lot better over in the Sky/Zone1/2 area where at least actual lines had formed.

I'm not usually one to get my feathers rumpled about a messy boarding process, but this really was quite a mess, at least as far as the Prem "lane" went. Not the end of the world but not a "premium" experience either. IOW, for all the fancy e-gate equipment and the pillars, this was actually a worse experience than usual.
dalehill is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 11:50 am
  #220  
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,991
Originally Posted by dalehill
I'm not usually one to get my feathers rumpled about a messy boarding process, but this really was quite a mess, at least as far as the Prem "lane" went. Not the end of the world but not a "premium" experience either. IOW, for all the fancy e-gate equipment and the pillars, this was actually a worse experience than usual.
I think the PREM lane needs to have a rope to separate out premium passengers versus pre-boarders. It is very confusing otherwise. This is especially true in Atlanta where you may have 30+ Diamonds on a flight.
ethernal is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 11:53 am
  #221  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by dalehill
I hope this experience yesterday isn't a taste of things to come. T2 at ATL yesterday, boarding is slightly delayed. This gate is 100% e-gate so no one single boarding lane. Rather there are several routes to the jetway. Also this gate employs the pillars.

Some folks are patiently lining up behind Sky/Zone1/2 pillars. The Prem pillar is marooned by itself in the square-ish open area in front of the e-gates where people who want to speak with a GA need to pass, and where people in wheelchairs, families with strollers, confused people, people who want to stretch their legs, and, presumably, some Prem passengers are milling around.

There is no discernible line for Prem. I have a Prem ticket but I have no idea where to park myself. A loose aggregate is spilling into and beginning to block the concourse and I don't want to add to that congestion. I spot an empty seat buried behind the forming crowd and "excuse me, pardon me, excuse me" my way to it and sit.

No Prem line ever materializes because, I think, there just does not seem to be an obvious place to form one. It's in a spot where you'd put a sign reading, "Wait here if you just want to be in everyone's way."

As the pre-boarders make their way into the jetway, the amorphous group presses forward and when Prem is called our blob pushes toward the e-gates, each of us jockeying to position ourselves in front of one or another e-gate. It's like a toll plaza that doesn't have distinct bright lines on the ground telling you early on what lane you are in and to stay there, so cars don't just dart out wherever and whenever to jump into a different lane. And the e-gates do back up because either they are finicky or people don't know how to use them yet or something, idk. So people get impatient with the holdup and switch to another "lane".

It was unorganized and unpleasant and honestly, things looked a lot better over in the Sky/Zone1/2 area where at least actual lines had formed.

I'm not usually one to get my feathers rumpled about a messy boarding process, but this really was quite a mess, at least as far as the Prem "lane" went. Not the end of the world but not a "premium" experience either. IOW, for all the fancy e-gate equipment and the pillars, this was actually a worse experience than usual.
This seems to be the norm now. I have a similar experience on every Delta flight now and I fly weekly. Doesn't matter what airport or what gate. The boarding process is a huge mess and in serious need of overhaul.
Maggnum99 is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 1:33 pm
  #222  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: Marriott, IHG, Delta, United
Posts: 570
Having been on some flights of other international airlines that didnt offer pre-boarding.... it was actually much worse if you can believe it.

They boarded their elites and priority boards first, and then some of the pax with needs (who would qualify for preboarding in DL) started to board. You had elderly people in wheel chairs, parents with car seats for infants/toddlers, etc. all trying to get in with the rest of the other pax. It was a mess.

Watching the elderly with mobility issues trying to get around other pax who were already seated, it just made everything grind to a halt. Then you had the parent trying to figure out how to assemble their car seat in a row with another passenger in the aisle seat, who had to get up from their aisle seat and stand in (and block) the aisle while the parent took a few minutes putting it together.

Long story short, it was bad all around. And it gave me a new appreciation for preboarding. Even if I am flying F, I want the wheelchair people and infants to get on first while the plane is empty. After observing that, it was obvious that preboarding is better for everyone.
kavok is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 3:06 pm
  #223  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHX, SEA
Programs: DL Silver, Avis President's Club, Hertz President's Circle, Global Entry (Former AA Plt/Gold)
Posts: 4,417
Originally Posted by kavok
Having been on some flights of other international airlines that didn’t offer pre-boarding.... it was actually much worse if you can believe it.

They boarded their elites and priority boards first, and then some of the pax with needs (who would qualify for preboarding in DL) started to board. You had elderly people in wheel chairs, parents with car seats for infants/toddlers, etc. all trying to get in with the rest of the other pax. It was a mess.

Watching the elderly with mobility issues trying to get around other pax who were already seated, it just made everything grind to a halt. Then you had the parent trying to figure out how to assemble their car seat in a row with another passenger in the aisle seat, who had to get up from their aisle seat and stand in (and block) the aisle while the parent took a few minutes putting it together.

Long story short, it was bad all around. And it gave me a new appreciation for preboarding. Even if I am flying F, I want the wheelchair people and infants to get on first while the plane is empty. After observing that, it was obvious that preboarding is better for everyone.
Re: ineffective preboarding, on a DTW-CDG Air France flight, the GA called preboarding and then immediately Prem/Sky (I can't remember if AF has only the latter). We all shuffled in and found a logjam on the jetway, because the FA was smart enough to block until the wheelchair assistance had been completed (including getting the wheelchairs off the plane). It would have been better to call preboarding, and then wait until it was done. Also, on topic of gate lice, there were all these people standing around the Sky area and were just blocking the way. One passenger was standing right at the entrance to Sky and was checking everyone's boarding pass presumably so he could jump in as soon as they deemed fit.

Last edited by Gig103; Oct 16, 2018 at 3:12 pm
Gig103 is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 3:48 pm
  #224  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: Rapid Rewards, AAdvantage, SkyMiles
Posts: 2,931
Boarding right now is even worse than normal at the end of the concourses at ATL under construction. I forgot what gate I was at a couple of months ago (end of the A Concourse) the pillars were useless as two of them were up against the wall and impossible to line up around, that and all the wheelchairs parked against the wall as well.
DCP2016 is offline  
Old Oct 16, 2018, 5:24 pm
  #225  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: Marriott, IHG, Delta, United
Posts: 570
Originally Posted by Gig103
Re: ineffective preboarding, on a DTW-CDG Air France flight, the GA called preboarding and then immediately Prem/Sky (I can't remember if AF has only the latter). We all shuffled in and found a logjam on the jetway, because the FA was smart enough to block until the wheelchair assistance had been completed (including getting the wheelchairs off the plane). It would have been better to call preboarding, and then wait until it was done. Also, on topic of gate lice, there were all these people standing around the Sky area and were just blocking the way. One passenger was standing right at the entrance to Sky and was checking everyone's boarding pass presumably so he could jump in as soon as they deemed fit.
I observed a similar situation boarding a DL flight in PDX a few weeks back. Preboards were announced, and about 30 seconds later it was Prem/Sky. The problem was there were several families with kids and car seats who were with their families in the seating area. And frankly 30 seconds was not enough time for them to gather the car seat, stroller, kids, etc. (Note there was no preboarding will start in x minutes announcement, the first announcement was the preboarding is commencing announcement).

And as soon as the preboarding was announced the families started gathering their belongings and kids, so it wasnt as if they werent trying. Just traveling
families need a bit more time to even get from the seats to the gate. So if the GA had waitied til the wheelchairs got off, there would have been no issue. But that didnt happen.

Instead the onslaught of premiums resulted in families trapped behind us in the premium group, and of course that slowed the process of car seat assembly once on the plane.

Another long anecdote, but I concur. Get the wheelchairs off before boarding premiums, and things run better for everyone.

kavok is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.