I've never flown on Delta, but this is exactly what United and American do.

My impression is that many airlines do this as a matter of routine. I can't speak for my regular airlines, though, because they help me to time my arrival at the gate to be about the last to board - which is exactly what I want - so I seldom see what they're actually doing.

OK, please specify the airlines that don't do this. Gramma Ethel may have been either elite or "passenger needing assistance". Otherwise, all the majors that I fly board the rear passengers and passengers in window seats first, then middle sections and front middle seats, then front section.

One problem is that "elite and pax needing assistance" is sometime 70% of the plane.

Unless you are flying Southwest with their "cattle call" boarding method. Is there another airline that follws that pattern?

It seems to me that this is the intention.

It certainly used to be when they would actually call row numbers and now I guess it's similar, but refined with the Zone system.

Big ^ to NMs answer, but given that reality, I think the real problem is with enforcement.

I actually tend to try to be the last to board, so I haven't paid close attention, but I don't recall often seeing any GAs actually checking to see if the right pax are boarding or more importantly sending away those that are trying to jump ahead.

And we all know what happened to them :td:

The incredible amount of carry on bags/hand luggage in the US is indeed the problem. Many European airlines enforce draconian regulations about what can be brought aboard the plane. They then call for all rows to board at once, which seems disorderly but works pretty well when many passengers have absolutely nothing to stow in the overhead bins. Not that I advocate harsher rules about carryons in the US, but if the rules in place were enforced it might help matters.

I just prefer to stay in the lounge (Qantas Club lounge at home) and have another "complementary beverage" (i.e. beer :) ) rather than queue and then just sit staring at the back of the seat in front of me while other passengers queue down the aisle. Much more civilised in my mind.

By the way, I boarded an AA 777-200 this morning in Miami. The flight was full so the gate agent said they would commence boarding 40 mins before scheduled departure in order to get everyone on board on time. Earlier in the week I boarded a CX 777-300 in KUL. Again a completely full flight and that only took 20 mins to board the entire aircraft. Something tells me the overall boarding process is somewhat less efficient in the USA.

Ignoring Group "1" (elites) in AA's Group Number boarding policy, does it assign lower numbers (i.e. early boarding opportunities) to those in the back???

I've boarded from the rear a few times (ooo matron! ;)) One time was on a BAA319 at LHR, pity I was in 1A and had to get right to the front. The other was through the rear door of an MD-87 at AGP...also in row 1 and caused a hassle with the pax heading the opposite way!

Agree with you there. On a US airline it took as long for everyone to board an A320 (about 80% full) as it did for NZ to board a completely full 747! It just beggars belief.

I've never really understood why F/Elites think they have to board first. What sane person actually wants to spend more time crammed into a plane seat? Unless they just want all the people from steerage to see them.

F or not, the lounge is always preferable IMO. Boarding staring with the back rows seems to me a lot more sensible. No delays, no crowding, no climbing over people who are perplexed by the logistics of putting a bag into the OH.

I'm usually one of the last to board and really have no desire to spend more time than necessary on the plane.

Air Croatia does
 

On a flight from FRA to SPU, they boarded FC from the front, cattle class from the rear. Found it odd, and particularly annoying since I was seated on row behind FC. Everyone disembarked from front though.

Believe it was an Airbus 320 or 319. Took a bus from terminal to plane out on tarmac. There the cattle were herded to the back, and F/C allowed to board from the front.

However, the biggest challenge was the planeload of "enthusiastic" German tourists. Their behavior was, shall we say, exhuberant and interesting. Felt like I was in a beerhall.

The aircraft has to approach the terminal nose-first so it's engines are blasting back behind it. If the procedure was reversed so it was pushed in by the tractor but powered away from the terminal then the gate windows would be blown in on departure.

Plus the pilots wouldn't be able to see where they were up to, to apply the brakes at the stopping position, so the tractor (whose brakes are not very effective with an aircraft under push) would run the risk of pushing the aircraft tail through those same windows. And because of the rearward sweep of jet wings the space between each gate where ground equipment like the jetways is stored would have to be cleared for the wings.

Putting the aircraft sideways-on so both front and rear doors were equally presented would require double or more the length of piers and groundspace that the present arrangements do.

Jetways to the rear door would be so enormous and lengthy with the aircraft in the conventional nose-in position that it would not be practical to get them folded out of the way of the wings for departure.

I trust the above explains that the airline operations department do know what they are doing in organising things the current way :)

Here in Europe open ramp boarding is more common than in the US, and most of the low-cost carriers with 20-minute turnarounds certainly do use both front and rear doors with open steps as otherwise they are unable to maintain their turnround times. You also find it done elsewhere on mainline carriers. Travellers from the US are prone to comment on it like it's something from the Wright Brothers days !

I take advantage of early boarding not because I need overhead space, but because 1) to prevent seat poachers and 2) I would rather sit on the plane than in the airport. Spending more time on the plane lowers my cost per hour of airplane time. ;)

Just to confirm - I do NOT mean that the plane should back-in or that the plane should have a back door entry...

what i do mean is that the people who are sitting in the back should enter first... this way they go straight to the back, no waiting, no pushing, etc.

im sure this would cut 25% time off boarding.