lincolnjkc

It does show up on the boarding passes... In general see the Wiki at the top of this thread for where groups break and you can make a pretty educated guess as to what group you'll find yourself in...

zitsky

Thanks. I appreciate it. I have a good idea where I should be, just wondering if there was some magic way to find out in advance. Wouldn't we all like that.

NDN

Smart thing to do would be to analyze the travelers and reorganize the groups as works best. For example, W, M, A as separate groups makes no sense on a flight from SFO->IAD that is 30% GS, First, 1K, Platinum, 30% Gold and Silver, 20% credit card, and 20% WMA! Instead, group all the WMA into a single group, group the credit-card holders into their own group... Then make gold and silver board together before both the non-elite groups (including credit card).

Global321

Not sure if there is an agreement in *A about when Gold boards. Also, while it can be argued many different ways, I think the revenue difference between silver and gold warrants gold being grouped with Plat. Of course I think 1K should board just after First/G.S.

NDN

How about a points system?

Aisle = 1
Middle = 2
Window = 3
Credit Card = 1
Silver = 1
Gold = 2
Platinum = 3
1k = 5
First Class = 5
Business class = 4

Preboarding = GS, military, disabled
Group 1 = 6+ points
Group 2 = 4 or 5 points
Group 3 = 3 points
Group 4 = 2 points
Group 5 = 1 point

Passenger Examples:
silver, has credit card, and sitting in the middle = 4 points, Group 2
silver, no credit card, and sitting in middle = 3 points, Group 3
gold, has credit card, sitting in window seat = 6 points, Group 1

Under this system, the following are true:

(1) 1K and first class always get Group 1
(2) Platinum needs help to get Group 1 (needs 3 more points)
(3) Economy Platinum cannot get Group 1 in an aisle seat
(4) Economy Gold cannot get Group 1 unless in a window seat and holding credit card
(5) Economy Silver cannot get Group 1
(6) Non-Elite credit card holders in Economy cannot get Group 2 without window seat
(7) Economy Gold always gets Group 1 or 2 if holding credit card

jackal

I love it (and before anyone else posts and complains that it's too complicated, remember that this would all be done behind the scenes automatically by the computer), but can you imagine the wailing that will go on when a Plat has to board with Group 2 or a credit card holder has to board with Group 4?!?!

NDN

I wrote the system based on a few tenants:

(1) 1k should always get group 1.
(2) Credit card holders should not automatically get the same status as an elite.
(3) There should be incentives for holding the credit card as an elite.
(4) Preserve as much of the Window-Middle-Aisle boarding order as possible to speed up boarding.


UA Platinum is a tier that many other airlines don't offer. Any chance at Group-1 boarding for them is a bonus over other airlines. Elite passengers under this system can more easily get Group 2 boarding than a credit card holder, and Silver elite can outdo a credit card holder by just also getting the credit card.

teeceedee

This is pretty great! I like it - despite the lack of transparency (to the un-initiated).

I just cancelled my MP card cause I don't get any real benefits from it as an elite. This could improve retention on the cards, too

dnwaldmann

Makes perfect sense to me in principle. May need further review and tweaking, but great idea.

Unfortunately, that probably means that it doesn't have much of a chance of becoming reality.

JC5280

While not UA, and while many here believe that UA follows everything DL does, it will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Many of the reasons identified in this thread indicate that its their carry on that motivates the scrum to the front of the line. What if your bag was already placed on board for you?

http://www.flyertalk.com/story/delta...-boarding.html

NDN

I would welcome this service actually. If my bag were already placed on the plane, I would not care about when I board. If anything, I would wan to board LAST. That said, if overhead capacity is 100 bags, but there are 120 passengers with bags, if the crew collects 120 bags, will that mean 20 passengers will board the plane and find that their bags were checked?

dank0014

Good luck though trying to explain to passengers why they got the boarding group they did. It would also cause confusion if say someone was group 1 once and then group 2 another time

physioprof

Yeah, I don't think these are realistic. People really value certainty about what is going to happen when they travel.

PV_Premier

do you believe that SHARES can handle it accurately, 100% of the time?

photoagent101

I am one of the confused. I am United Gold and flew from MRY (small airport) to LAX in May, then to Cabo San Lucas. I also have a Pres Plus card. I was upgraded to biz class on both outbound and inbound (I think), but the small shuttle flight from MRY to LAX and back was all coach class.

In MRY, I did not look at my boarding pass and assumed that I was in boarding group 1. However, it turns out that I was in boarding group 2. At least half of the plane boarded before me, and I seriously doubt that they were all Platinum elite level flyers or over. It was embarassing because I tried boarding and was rudely told by the GA to move over to the side. My boarding pass says group 2.

For both longer flights LAX-SJD and back, my boarding pass says Group 1. I have the boarding passes in front of me. Why would I be Group 1 for these flights, and Group 2 for the shorter shuttle flights?

I did buy a coach ticket, so I can understand that I would be Group 2 for ALL flights. But I don't understand why half the flight from MRY to LAX was ahead of me.

It's not that big a deal, but embarassing to be berated by the GA (I have bad hearing and did not hear what she said initially, so she rudely and impatiently told me that I needed to step aside for the others to board first.

Knowing what to expect makes the arduous process of flying far more tolerable.