Unusual Boarding Order
Nov 11, 2024 | 11:12 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: SFO/SEA
Programs: 100K
Posts: 270
Unusual Boarding Order
Flight 624 SEA to PHX-agent boarded those needing special assistance and “First Class”. I am 100K and ended up as #1 on the waitlist with PRiI on my boarding pass. Agent stopped me and said “we are only boarding first class”. And then let me pass
Nov 11, 2024 | 12:43 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS Titanium (OW), HA Platinum, SK Silver (ST), UA (*A), UR, MR, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 4,829
Nov 11, 2024 | 1:46 pm
#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 42,473
Just curious - because I could smell an ADA (or similar) issue - don't know if ADA applies on the ground prior to boarding an aircraft. If a hearing-impaired person reads the sign and then is publicly-embarrassed by a gate agent ... just sayin'.
Nov 11, 2024 | 1:53 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS Plat, AA EP, Bonvoy Plat, Hilton Dia, Hyatt Glob, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 21,424
You don’t even have to be hearing impaired to not be able to understand the announcements at some gates. Too much noise, poor PA system, …
Nov 11, 2024 | 2:05 pm
#6
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 42,473
And what if Charlie Brown's teacher is the most brilliant and efficient gate agent in the history of the airline, but put her on a PA - what to do!
Nov 11, 2024 | 5:51 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS Titanium (OW), HA Platinum, SK Silver (ST), UA (*A), UR, MR, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 4,829
Nov 12, 2024 | 8:42 am
#10
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Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 42,473
Nov 12, 2024 | 10:42 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA 1K/AS Titanium …Bonvoy Titanium..Hertz Presidents Club
Posts: 1,346
This is true especially at SFO, half the flights are full of elites.. A couple of weeks ago, I was flying PEK-SFO and they had 5 groups and everyone lined up correctly. It was magical. I would still take UA over AS boarding any day of the week.
Nov 13, 2024 | 6:37 am
#12
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS Titanium (OW), HA Platinum, SK Silver (ST), UA (*A), UR, MR, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 4,829
People do what you do, not what you say. When pre-boarding is announced for people requiring special assistance, others will pick up quickly if a gate agent lets someone through that doesn’t fit the group. And for any group. If the gate agent lets that person through, it doesn’t matter what the gate agent says later. It”s a whole lot easier to take care of the situation before it snowballs, or preferably before it even starts. I find that Alaska gate agents often aren’t adequately upfront. They let it slide in the name of being nice and have a mess on their hands at a time when it takes a lot more effort to clean it up.
Nov 13, 2024 | 8:37 am
#13
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
Programs: Jumbo mas
Posts: 42,473
People do what you do, not what you say. When pre-boarding is announced for people requiring special assistance, others will pick up quickly if a gate agent lets someone through that doesn’t fit the group. And for any group. If the gate agent lets that person through, it doesn’t matter what the gate agent says later. It”s a whole lot easier to take care of the situation before it snowballs, or preferably before it even starts. I find that Alaska gate agents often aren’t adequately upfront. They let it slide in the name of being nice and have a mess on their hands at a time when it takes a lot more effort to clean it up.
I've only been a FFer for thirty-something years. Boarding in the USA has always been an issue, and airlines have been trying to "fix" it the entire time. (And yes, that includes when everyone could check a couple of bags for free.)