Originally Posted by LTBoston (Post 23486040)

I was on a United flight a couple of months ago where the gate agent came on the intercom and said very firmly that anyone who tried to board outside of their assigned zone would have their bags automatically gate-checked.

I was in Zone 1 so I have no idea if folks complied but she scared the crap out of me. I checked my boarding pass ten times!

Originally Posted by Seat 2A (Post 23486004)

So it's up to you then to determine the "reasonableness" of the rules? What if everyone else took the same approach you do? I suspect more than a few psychologists would not look upon your approach anywhere near as charitably as you do.

Originally Posted by Seat 2A (Post 23484563)

Should that perk be denied or overlooked just because you chose to purchase a less expensive ticket on a given flight?

Originally Posted by lhgreengrd1 (Post 23486205)

I'm certainly as entitled as any other passenger to make such a determination. The fact is, if the airline chooses to use efficiency of boarding as a rationale, that's defensible. If they choose to use revenue maximization and the awarding of perks to loyal customers or customers paying a premium, that's also defensible. An illogical mishmash of both rationales simultaneously and at cross purposes with each other is NOT defensible.

Originally Posted by lhgreengrd1 (Post 23486205)

I'm certainly as entitled as any other passenger to make such a determination. The fact is, if the airline chooses to use efficiency of boarding as a rationale, that's defensible. If they choose to use revenue maximization and the awarding of perks to loyal customers or customers paying a premium, that's also defensible. An illogical mishmash of both rationales simultaneously and at cross purposes with each other is NOT defensible.

Originally Posted by nlkm9 (Post 23483573)

technically, anyone can claim they need "extra assistance" and can board before everyone. I dont see too many folks do that, but still....

Originally Posted by Fly808 (Post 23487194)

Few years back I was waiting in the boarding area of a UA flight when the GA made an announcement that persons needing extra time are welcomed to board now. This guy standing a few feet away told his friend "watch this" and proceeded to the gate with a new very pronounced limp that he hadn't had a few minutes earlier. Breezed right by everyone else and onto the plane.

Originally Posted by Tchiowa (Post 23486610)

Their airplane, their rules. First they want to reward the people who spend the money. Efficient boarding comes next. Or they could decide that they want to board by hair color. Again, their airplane, their rules.

Originally Posted by writerguyfl (Post 23487029)

But, what if my test for reasonableness says that any conclusions regarding efficiency or revenue maximization are likely to be false when made by lay people without access to the proprietary data held by airlines? That would make your conclusions not defensible, right? After all, my arbitrary test for reasonableness would thereby trump your arbitrary test.

Thankfully, we live in a world where the vast majority of people follow the rules...even when they find them slightly unreasonable. If we didn't, chaos would ensue. In this case, no one is being forced by law to fly on a specific airline. If you don't like the rules, take your money elsewhere.

Originally Posted by lhgreengrd1 (Post 23488017)

And again, if their rules have no logical basis, such as hair color, I see nothing wrong with getting around those rules if I can - perhaps by dyeing my hair, or shaving it off.

Originally Posted by rstruthe (Post 23483420)

The boarding process is a condition of the ticket, if you don't like it, find a different airline that has a different process.
No need to break the rules that you agreed to when you paid for the ticket.
The question here is not if the process is correct, it's, are you going to follow the process you agreed to already by choosing this airline, or are you going to be an A-Hole and try to cheat the system.

Originally Posted by lhgreengrd1 (Post 23485600)

There are two choices - either you award boarding priority on the basis of status and amount paid, or you do it on the basis of efficiency of the entire process. You cannot blend the two in a haphazard manner and still have a "reasonable" set of rules. The rules are either there to maximize efficiency, or they are there to maximize airline revenue and perks to the most loyal customers - which also has a long-term revenue maximizing effect. They can't do both simultaneously. If they attempt to do so, they forfeit the "reasonableness" argument, and hence, it becomes a game with no singular purpose - thus getting around the rules is a winning game play - just as getting caught and sent to the back of the line would be a losing play.



Not if it in any way diminishes the overall efficiency of the boarding process - which was previously cited as the goal

Originally Posted by Tchiowa (Post 23488074)

"No logical basis" in your mind. But in their mind they do. Again, it's their absolute right to do that.

Premium customers and customers with status get perks. Sooner or later if you continue to travel you'll get those perks. Until then, if everyone viewed it the way you do then the entire plane would jam the gate instantly and we'd have a soccer stadium style crush.

We all have a better experience if we all follow the rules.