TN_traveler

Flying out of CHM (Columbus, OH) today, we were waiting to board a small regional jet to DTW. NW has a fairly small presence at CMH, with (I think) only 2 gates down at the end of the terminal. I say that because the mgmt structure may be such that the GA there can do pretty much whatever she wants.

The incoming flight was late, and after the GA announced the delay, she told us to line up at the gate in reverse order by assigned row, with passengers assigned to Row 13 at the front, and Row 1 passengers at the back of the line. She explained this was to speed boarding, and that the pre-board for Elites would not be done for this flight.

It was like an icebreaker at a party (or a typical day on Southwest), with everyone chatting as they lined up by row number, almost like a parlor game where you hold out your boarding pass for everyone to read. With my exit-row seat, this put me in the middle of the line, fine with me since my roll-on bag would be gate-checked anyway. However, a couple of passengers were visibly upset they couldn't board first, and I could see them composing TTU's in their heads as they went to the back of the line.

Well, we marched on board, and it was almost like we had practiced ahead of time. Everyone put their bags up, and everyone sat down, and we took off. I'm not saying I want this to be the new norm, but thought it was interesting that the GA did this.

Is this a NW policy option for boarding that I hadn't seen yet, or was the GA an ex-schoolteacher that knew how to get everyone in place a little quicker?

gldwebs

Personally I would send a TTU complimenting the GA on doing a fantastic job to speed things up and make a bad situation (delay) into a positive outcome. This should help in case a few do send negative comments...and it sounds like she deserves it.

ed1

I agree, although I'm normally in favor of elite pre-boarding, especially on the larger mainline flights, as overhead storage (especially in the bulkhead area) can be hard to find. IROPS sometimes calls for special measures. It sounds like boarding went very smoothly, and took a minimum of time.

MikeMpls

First line the elites up by row, then everyone else. Any elite standing in the aisle during general boarding is moved to the back of the plane.

Sounds like a resourceful GA who had time to organize it. I'd place a quarter on "schoolteacher".

DanTravels

When I first started flying NWA (early 2006) they used to board FC, then elites, then by groups of rows, from the back. They did away with it, but this GA obviously realized that some time could be saved during irrops by doing things "a little different." ^

jman4l

Row 1 on CRJ's has minimal overhead space even for your 1 bag. The pre-board is critical for me there. I agree with Mike, they should have lined up elites first, and then the regular passengers if this is what the GA needed to do

ksucats

I agree. I always try to get in 1B, since 1A seems to go out empty more than any other seat. (At least in my experience & I have 70+ CRJ flights this year as data points.) I always make sure I am one of the first 4 or 5 on, so that I can reach my bag without swimming upstream.

ed1

I've always gotten 1A or 1/2D (2D on the 700) bulkhead window seats, but the overhead is so tiny, especially up front, I just take my 17" laptop out and plane-side check the rest of my carry-on. It's just not worth struggling to find room for anything else when I'm in a CRJ bulkhead seat, but at least I get it back as soon as I get off the plane, unlike having to gate check it when there's no room in the overhead of a mainline jet.

mikey1003

Because seats are so cramped, I always try to board last regardless of where seated.

Always gate check carry-on

ControlTower

how about introducing elite overhead bin spaces reserved just for the elites,

aSiAnRiCk

Would be interesting to try to do this on their B744

hoosiereph

Seems like an RJ boarding would hardly benefit from this novel boarding procedure, given the size and the one mini-bag limit. Usually the only holdups are: 1) people having the gate-check tag attached to their bags, and many (most?) GAs are distributing these now before boarding begins; and 2) the wait for the gate-check bags to be loaded.

HeathrowGuy

Enforcement of the carry-on baggage rules would solve this problem instantly.

TN_traveler

I failed to mention that she also attached gate check tags to bags as she went down the row checking to see that we were lined up to board in the correct order.

All in all, she had all the bases covered. I expected someone that flies out of CMH often to chime in that they had seen this before, but given the size if NW's footprint at this airport, it is unlikely that another FT'er has seen this particular GA, in combination with a delayed flight.

beckduer

Her solution actually seems to be ideal, given all the circumstances. And, with your additional post, it appears she covered all the bases.

I would definitely send a note to commend her. She really figured out how to best accomodate the most people in this case, and get you in the air as quickly as possible. Good for her!