Getting in before this thread is locked, Delta doesn't care about any status other than Diamond, and at that they really only show their love in menial ways.

What Delta really needs to do with the new stanchion cattle zones is delineate a clear position for pre-boards at the gate before having ACAA pax being run over by the F/DM boarding lice.

Am I the only one who is not experiencing SP boarding as a cattle call?

Pigs don't know pigs stink? :D

Any airport without pillars is a disaster. Don't know if cattle call is the right name for it, but it's definitely a pretty painful exercise swimming through crowds to board. On a 739 with 90 people on the upgrade list (pretty common) that means a minimum of 110 people (90 status people + 20 people in F) board through the SKY lane. Add in at least 30 people with the credit card and you're at 140 people - that's about 80% of the plane boarding through the SKY lane.

I never understood why you need special boarding groups like Sky, First class, etc when you can just assign boarding zones/group numbers accordingly. For example:

Group 1: First class, DM, PM
Group 2: Gold, silver, Amex
Group 3: .....
Group 4: .....

Depending on aircraft and number of elites, boarding groups can be assigned differently.

[QUOTE=Qwkynuf;30422822]Alphabetically, by the 3rd letter in your last name. If you don't have 3 letters in your last name, you don't get to board -

Nooooo, I think it should be by the 4th letter in your last name! (my 4th letter, just happens to be /a/ but I am NOT thinking of myself, ---honest!) :D

This is not common in my experience, but perhaps it is just the routes that I fly. Also, remember that not everyone on the upgrade list gets Sky Priority boarding (FO's and others).

Yes, they are not SKY, but they board through the "priority lane" and not General Boarding (hence my comment about airports without pillars). It's not directly related to OP's point since my comment is more around lane crowding than it is whether Plats board ahead of SKY or not.

And fair that 90 is not exactly common - it is common on the routes I fly but that is not representative of all routes by any stretch.

Fair--but people without SKY status should not board there (but I know they sometimes do). Being on the upgrade list does not entitle anyone to any perk, it's just being on a list. Between FO's, ST elite and corporate contracts that add pax to the upgrade list, I would think there are plenty of flights with lots of people who are on the UG list who are not SKY. In this case, this is an enforcement issue.

A bigger problem IMO is zone 3 and 4 pax standing right in front of the SP section clogging it up at those airports that don't have separated lanes at the gate. It's a battle to get past because one feels compelled to ask people standing in the way if they are SP because there are invariably one or two who take exception when someone tries to get past them even though they seem happy to just stand there.

You what I see across all airlines is that now, since overhead space is now so valuable, (not when bags checked for free)
There is always a mad dash to board the plane just for the luggage.(after all the plane is not going to take off until all the passengers have boarded anyway)
Does anyone remember a time when this was not the case?

Just calling zones doesn't make people feel special. Look around for posts where people need to feel special. My favorite was the guy who thought the pet fee should be waived because he's Diamond.