halls120

It was GS/1K/F/C, and that lane was available to that group only through the entire boarding process.

Opening the carpet to all elites and CC holders was a huge mistake, one which I believe UA is now slowly beginning to realize.

edcho

Well I'm annoyed because they are causing this Group 1 to grow. Under the previous boarding system, I didn't mind showing up to the gate at boarding time (although I'd still prefer being at the UA club a bit longer) but always sat down until they called Group 1. This new boarding process would (like I said) now force me to be a gate lice as I am pretty sure it will board (on some routes) most of the plane.

... and like I said, I don't want to even think about boarding a 747 (which I will several times within the next few months). That line felt like a mile long just for Group 1! I whole heartedly agree that less boarding groups is part of the answer but smaller groups within those boarding groups is the other part of the answer.

That being said, i'll give it a chance and write to UA about what I see and thought of the entire process (which I encourage EVERYONE to do).

UrbaneGent

I applaud them for trying to make the change, but it makes one wonder who the heck are making these decisions.

I think the new "over-entitled" are the high-level executives at Willis Tower, they get to fly positive space in FC and obviously don't know what it's like to really travel for a living. It's like Marie Antoinette deciding what the peasants should eat. They are detached from their best customers, us Road Warriors.

Can you imagine putting Million Milers in the same category of those who have a credit card?! It's really incredible. NOTHING makes sense and yet I can see all of them in a board room saying there are going to be groups of people that are just collateral damage. It is what it is.

I've lost all respect for UA and I'm expecting many more changes down the pipeline.

STS-134

The solution isn't to create more groups. The other solution to this (other than getting rid of the bag fees to make the overhead bin space problem go away) is to create groups A, B, C, D, etc. with numbers in each group like WN does (A1-A60, B1-B60, etc). Except unlike on WN, where your position is based upon check-in time, on UA it should be based on status. People with disabilities would get to preboard, and the GS with the most expensive fare would get A1. Then after all the GS people, the premium cabin passengers go, followed by 1Ks, Platinums, Golds, Silvers, CC holders, and then general boarding. But this would ensure that ALL Platinums go before any Golds, and ALL Golds to before all Silvers etc.

Wish I had video of the WN boarding process when it was just groups A, B, and C, compared with after they added the numbers. It's so much more orderly now. There's a reason they have numbers 1-30 line up on one side and 31-60 on the other: when one group is actually boarding, the other can be lining up, and you don't get a rush of people trying to crowd the area around the GA.

RenHoek

In spite of everything that's changing, the plane still won't take off until I get on, and I get on last! @:-)

Andy Big Bear

Yes, I fly 250K miles a year. I'm just trying to get everyone to chill a little.

glasnost7

(The most restrained gesture I could think of)

edcho

Yea -- I think everyone is just frustrated and it's now boiling over from the changes since the integration.

DocTravel

This is going to be very interesting.

The confusion, 90 percent of the plane pre-boarding, I bet it pays to go last

qvzn

+1

If the cabin door isn't closed by the time my a** hits the seat, then I must've boarded prematurely

iahkid2014

This is an absolute joke for Gold and Silvers and I am really glad I didn't bother with MR's to make gold this year. I was already upset that the Club cardholders boarded in Group 3 with the Silvers but throwing the Explorer cardholders into this new Group two is insane. Flying out of IAH, everyone and their mother has the Explorer card. This boarding process will make the last few processes look functional.

PV_Premier

mine has boiled over to a status match on AS, which will be fired off by email first thing tomorow AM.

everyone has their straw that breaks the camels back. mine was nearly broken when i went from 100->50% bonus RDM and saw the frequency of TODs post 3/3. now the further devaluation of gold status by piling everyone in zone 2 that they dont know what else to do with is all i can handle.

its a shame because since 9/15, things have been pretty good for me. my CPUs have been clearing, service has been better in the air, and delays less frequent. but i can only take so much.

i have 50k booked on UA already in 2013, now until June, so maybe i will be pleasantly surprised by this 'enhancement' and not need the match. but better to start on the AS requalification sooner than later, i guess. those $290 fares from CA to HI will be back soon enough, 8 of those and i am all set for better benefits with fewer needed PQMs.

goalie

Bolding mine: Way way way to slowly if you ask me (and imho, this is e pluribus unum about COdbaUA slowly realizing that they broke things that were already fixed and working just fine)

Critic

By that logic, does Silver now some with a credit line?

USFdonWill

Maybe this is why the red carpets are in storage at the airports. :