nycityny

And really, that's the main reason this thread even exists. The competition for bin space exists for almost everyone entering the plane. Without that competition and given that seats are assigned, nobody in any group would care when they boarded. So the groups have just forced that competition to be an intra-group one, rather than an aircraft-wide one. Those "lucky" enough to be in Group 1 don't have to compete with Groups 2-5 but do compete with their fellow Group 1 flyers.

Kacee

Except that people behave irrationally. The condition known as "gate lice" reflects mostly irrational behavior. You will see plenty of pax lining up for no good reason at all - i.e., without a carry-on that requires overhead space.

It's still inter-group. When I line up, it's not to get ahead of pax in Group 1, it's to make sure I'm on board before the pax in Groups 2 and 3 take all the overhead space.

LarkSFO

Have you ever not found overhead space, even if you were the last person in BG1?

I never have had a problem - perhaps it is route dependent though.

I agree with you - I try to get to the boarding area before BG1 has completed boarding. Even when I get there a little late, and BG2 has started boarding, I walk up the BG1 lane and still have not missed overhead space.

I would not wait until the very end unless I don't have anything to put in the overhead (rare).

State of Trance

Any reason why a non-UA *G would get Group 1? I'm not complaining, but according to the UA regulations, shouldn't I be Group 2?

Global321

I think 'gate lice' is one of those overused terms. While I also wonder why people without carry-ons line up early, it is also up to them. Most of the people who complain about 'gate lice' are the same ones that want to board first, but are too lazy to wait in line. (Lazy comment not aimed at you Kacee.)

If I am in First class (domestic) (737/A319/A320), absolutely yes. I have watched it happen several times - the last 1 or 2 people in first who come in late head back several rows in coach. I would say the space is all gone on full flights long before BG1 is done.

On a 757 - if you are in coach in row 8 or 9, you are probably heading several rows back if you are in the final quarter of BG1.

Of course not always. In fact, if you say in only happens 20% of the time, you could be right. But, why take the chance?

Personally, I like standing for 10-15 minutes before a long flight... a good chance to stretch the legs and know I will get my bags on the flight above my seat.

LarkSFO

I am usually running before my flight! In SFO, from security line or because I wanted to spend more time in the Centurion.

I think I understand what you are saying now - I have experienced the situation where I was not able to put my bag directly overhead of my seat, or even within a couple of rows, when I have boarded late in BG1 or after BG2 has started boarding.

truncated

I'm OZ*S, no other status; flew UA86 EWR-PVG solo in Y on Thursday and my BP had Premier Access / Group 2. Also I did get premier access at check-in and security as well (just that there was no crowd at the checkpoint and they seemed to be directing people to random lines FWIW).

Also .bomb says *S gets premier access; no idea if this is new or not.
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...s/default.aspx

Is this some sort of one-off or should someone update the wiki?

azzurro

True, Kacee - I appreciate most of your posts - but why hold everyone to being rational per someone else's definition when they are not hurting anyone else? Standing before you are required to sit for an extended period seems like a very rational reason to me. Wanting to be done with the boarding process is another. Some people just live their lives differently.

UA did well over the years to create the group lanes that fixed the cf that occurred when many of these same people would stand in the way of the single (or double for elites) boarding lane and block the way for those who should actually be boarding at that time, effectively making boarding similar to negotiating a maze of stationary people, not knowing in advance which of them would move forward when your time to board was called. Remember asking "Are you ___ level?" multiple times as you moved around them, before you finally reached the moving line to board?

The term gate lice is kind of offensive. If someone wants to wait in line for a longer time than someone else, why use a pejorative term to describe them? We don't need to make 'judgment day' come any sooner than it already will.

lincolnjkc

I just have to say that I completely agree. Despite only putting things in the overhead when I'm in a bulkhead, and usually being in the F cabin for domestic, all the other reasons apply to me -- I want to stand before sitting for the duration of the flight (and doing so in the appropriate boarding lane is usually the most out-of-the way to do that anyway), despite being a frequent traveler the time between leaving for the airport and taking off is some of my least favorite/most stressful.... But once I'm strapped in to that seat there's nothing I need to do for a successful outcome until we land. In general the quicker that happens the happier I am.

^^^

Kacee

The only time I line up early is if I'm in F on a narrowbody with a carry-on and I have a tight connection.

If you're sitting in row 1, and you're forced to put your bag in Y, and you have a 50 minute connection at ORD or DEN, that can be a problem.

I'm not a big fan of the term "gate lice" (and I detest "kettle"). But it does describe a commonly observable condition whereby pax swarm the boarding area for no good reason at all. I'm not talking about the people who line up early, but the people who just stand around and make it impossible to figure out where you're supposed to line up and/or get through to your line.

People have the right to do it, but it's annoying. In any event, I was not so much labeling or criticizing people, but identifying an irrational type of behavior that adds to the chaos of UA's current boarding process. The fact is, people do it, and it's not rational, and it's one of the reasons why the current boarding process sucks.

azzurro

Thanks for the clarification. I don't think you are one to judge, based on the quality of your posts. I agree that it was a BIG issue in the past when we didn't have clearly defined lanes, but I actually think the current lane system is eliminating most of that. Most lanes are easy to identify, or at least ask if this is group 1 or 2, etc. Back before the 5 or 7 lane thing, that was perhaps where that term would be more descriptive. Who should go into which group is still a reasonable debate...

dank0014

I disagree though that the boarding lanes are eliminating most of that. You are correct in that it does where it is set-up correctly (remodeled gates or gates that have space). The issue at hand is that UA put these lanes in place at gates that have been in existence forever. There is no room for the lanes at these gates, thus causing passengers to mingle all into a big blob.

I see it as the same issue with TSA security checkpoints. Many airports that are dated were not designed for this, and then checkpoints were squeezed into spaces that make it a cluster.

The flip side to the issue is that the groups UA has are WAY too big. I don't have problems with "gate lice," but rather UA trying to bucket too many passengers into single groups, yet provide lines that can only hold 5-10 paxs. If you went to the line and asked how many would be interested in sitting until they had to board, I bet it would be a healthy balance of those wanting to stand or sit. The problem is since groups are so big, all pax end up standing, and then crowding the boarding area again.

sexykitten7

Gate lice (both those lined up before being called and especially those loitering) are "hurting" pax who need to board and sometimes even "hurting" passersby by blocking the entire walkway of the concourse.

The general consensus on this thread is that people would not line up ahead of time if UA didn't make lanes in the first place!

Yes the term "lice" is offensive. I will come right out and say these are bad people. BAD BAD BAD PEOPLE! That is 100% a judgment based on the facts above.


I always wait to hear "now boarding group 2" before packing up my laptop and getting in line. I wish others would do the same

Global321

1. try decaf. It will help.
2. Why do you care if people line up early as long as there is a lane open for pre-boards?
3. "bad bad bad people"? So in your world it is ISIS, rapists and gate 'lice'? wow!
4. again. try decaf.

gobluetwo

1. This is what bugs me the most about the lines. If they want to stand around, that's fine, but please don't block the concourse. I've seen a number of times when the carts, wheelchairs, and passengers are blocked from getting by due to lines stretching more than halfway out into the concourse. That's just silly. At the very least, GA's should tell people not to block the concourse if they're going to line up.

2. Disagree there. It's been going on WELL before the lanes were implemented.

4. I usually hang out somewhere until around boarding time listed on my BP. That usually gets me to the gate just before or just after group 1 boarding starts. I usually have a carry-on, so I do try to get there not too late on mainline. For regionals, don't really care.