halls120

That IS one of the problems. I've witnessed first-hand on more than one occasion a CC holder arguing with the GA about when he was entitled to board.

RedElmo

Ya, no signs, pamphlet, or anything will help these rotten apples. You're just going to get a bad one in the batch once in a while no matter what.

mgcsinc

I don't think they're (all) rotten apples, I think they're just normal people who like to cut corners a bit.

There is a contingent here (and I'm one of them) who thinks that there is actually a lot that can be done to discourage cheating, starting with using named boarding groups rather than numbers. It's all about perception. My intuition is -- and I think there's a bit of research out there to back it up -- that everyone cheats a little, but when you make a small cheat look bigger, people are less likely to do it.

When someone has a 2 on their boarding pass and boards with group 1, they think "oh, they meant to give me a 1" or "oh, it's only different by 1." If they hear "platinum," and their boading pass says "EXPLORER," they're a lot less likely to do that.

AdamUK

These are the types that think they'll be safer queuing outside the toilet than being strapped in when the seat belt sign is switched on through a bumpy ride, even when a FA tells them to sit down .

CarletonSloth

Some LGA agents used to do that years ago. I was always a little taken aback until I spent 2 years as AA CK where that is the way they always (ok, 80%+ of time) boarded. Most of the time, even on intl flights, there are only <5 GS or so. Just would make sense to have preboards for disability (usually only a couple people), active military (only usually a couple, if any) and GS (same, usually 2-4 people) called up and board through whatever lane doesn't already have 15 people lined up. I don't need a fancy carpet if I don't have to push my way to front every time.

wmute

I agree with the named groups (effectively PMUA process).

The 5 line system could be helpful for larger birds, but really it does nothing to address the root problem. Other airlines don't need that many lanes to efficiently board, but somehow the UA does?

Unless UA shrinks groups 1 and 2 back down, fixes the process confusion for CC holders/less frequent fliers (named groups), enforces boarding groups, the boarding mess will continue.

dorisrpas

Absolutely agree

abaheti

In the Sunday paper I noticed that Citibank's AA card advertising promises you "Group 1 Boarding" in big bold print, not "priority boarding". Much less confusing. (And AA otherwise looks a lot like pmUA, with named groups for elites/business/first, then numbered groups. But at least the credit card holders show up thinking specifically "Group 1" and can wait for that to be called vs "I have priority" and trying to jump to the front.)

aacharya

How so? Many kettles would assume Group 1 is the first set of boarding, wouldn't they?

UA-NYC

The AA sign doesn't say "Group 1", that's the key difference. UA's sign says Premier Access, which is exactly what they are advertising to the world.

abaheti

Exactly. UA has it muddled a bit because so many different people are entitled to "Premier Access", and those people can be in multiple boarding groups. So infrequent flyers and credit card holders get confused (and, of course, make Groups 1/2 so large that elites lose).

AA boarding area/GA just says "First/Exec Plat" then "Plat" then "Group 1".

AA's website even sells it as "Purchase Group 1 Boarding" as an upsell/addon so it makes sense to purchasers when they hear their boarding groups. http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/yourChoice_group1.jsp

aacharya

Thanks to both for the clarification. Not all of us made the switch to AA, and hence don't know (with only one line descriptions of the ad) how this is better than UA. I agree - that approach is smart and sound. http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/boarding.jsp

Duke787

It doesn't help that at some of the "smaller" airports like DCA the GA get confused about the order itself. I've had a few recent experiences leaving DCA where the GA calls for people with disabilities, military, GS, and then skips right to zone 1 and 2, in essence skipping over all 1Ks and PPs. This single actions causes a huge scramble because suddenly all the 1K and PP who were waiting for Group 1 get pushed out of the way while everyone with a CC, etc., who is in Group 2 is suddenly rushing onto the plane. I respect the right for GS to board before me, but this pretty much forces me to be walking through the Premier Line when I think the last GS has gotten in line (something that I had doing because I hate when others do it ahead of another Group), or be part of the dreaded gate lice that gets up to the front

aacharya

At smaller airports, there aren't usually enough GS to form a line.

abaheti

I don't think this is limited to the smaller airports. I've seen all sorts of variations even at hubs. Once UA finds a process that works and stays with it for a while (two big contingencies, I know), I think the staff will start doing it consistently in the right order.