audidudi

I just heard about this, and will be curious if this could work for DL also?

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/18/unit...d-of-five.html

DawgmanOH

As a 1K on United and a Plat on Delta, I implore Delta to please NOT change their boarding process. It completely makes sense and, IMHO, the new United one becomes a cluster during pre-boarding.

SJC ORD LDR

I think the best boarding process I've seen is the old NW process of first class, elites, and then everyone else.

charlesdemar

The notification concept is great when you don't have something to put in the overhead bin (l Iove just camping at the SC until Zone 3 is boarding). But, even with the notification, I still think you're going to have campers waiting to be the first to board in their group if they do have that overhead space to battle for; especially in those later zones.

ethernal

Isn't this basically just the old DL process without the pillars - and the process that United currently uses for RJs?

Find it funny that DL is moving to the old United approach with the pillars and UA is now moving to the old DL approach...

In my experience the two boarding lane method works only if there are not tons of elites. If there are a ton of elites then its just a disaster. ATL on a flight with 150+ people in SKY/PREM/Zone 1 back when it was one lane for SKY/PREM/Zone 1 was a disaster.

Gig103

I was debating starting a similar thread. I read the UA system and it sounds pretty much the same as AA's, and I have to say I prefer the pillars. No matter what the sign or GA says ("stay seated" in particular), too many passengers are antsy about overhead bin space so they line up anyway. When you have pillars, at least the people who want to line up early are corralled. With AA (and probably UA now) passengers are trying to make their way to the gate without cutting off someone else that's eligible, but not standing behind later zone pax. Sometimes it feels like one of those NFL cheerleader "gauntlets" that the players run through as they enter the stadium.

Keep the pillars, DL

kop84

Maybe airlines should just take a page from elementary school, and we can all line up alphabetically

East Bound and North Bound A-Z
West Bound and South Bound Z-A

And 7 people on FT just changed their last name to Aaaaaadams

3Cforme

I don't get the 'XX does this. Will YY do it, too?' threads. The OP presents no argument that it's a good system that DL should adopt. People who want to discuss the UA system have a thread on the UA forum.

ryw

DL still has a mix of 2 lanes and the pillars. A lot of outstations (i.e. my 2 normal airports, SFO and OAK) still use the 2-lane Sky Priority & General Boarding process, and don't have the pillars. I feel like the pillars work to varying degrees depending on how much gate space is (some LAX gates with pillars really don't have enough space for that many folks to line up) I with overhead bin space having less supply than there is demand (especially for Zone 2/3 folks), there's always going to be a crowd around the gate area to be the first to board, no matter how many lanes are set up.

Whatever happened to good ole' boarding by rows? (I know it's not the most efficient, but I have a hard time believing it could be worse than what's going on now). Nowadays, WN's line up by numbers seems very civil compared to the onrush of folks running for Zone boarding in some airports

rickg523

Boarding line numbers printed on the BP.
It works on WN and it's self-enforcing. Just try and line up in the A 1-30 line with an A47 boarding number.
BTW, WN assigns the numbers by, essentially, order of check in. But that doesn't mean legacies can't assign boarding line numbers according to any Victorian system of class or status they prefer.

hi55us

That's a great suggestion. Now boarding passengers 1-20 (who happen to previously be PREM zone customers).

The only problem is they won't get to advertise "Zone One" boarding for Amex cardholders.

ryw

Hypothetically speaking, they could probably do a Zone plus Southwest-style numbered boarding system. They could probably do PREM as is (without numbered boarding passes), then SKY 1-30; then Zone One 1-30, 31-XX; then Zone Two 1-30, 31-XX; and Zone Three 1-30; 31-XX.

That way you'd still preserve Sky priority and Amex boarding benefits

walkertalk322

RealHJ

Most logical boarding, and proven to be the most efficient, is to simply let pax board at convenience.
Pre-boards first (as so required by law), F/J and elite second, then everyone else.

That is what is proven, over and over again, to work better and speed up the boarding process.

KDCAflyer