piemel

And yet parents do get lumped in all together?

I'm also a 1k and I also travel light.

And when I board with my baby I guarantee you I'm not holding up or delaying anything

sterlinginc

The biggest Problem with lumping all pre boards together is that they all take different amounts of time to get on the plane. GS should board first as they are usually quick, then people needing more time. There should be more than a two second wait between the pre boards and group one to allow them to shuffle up the air bridge or you just get a back log of people who make the pre boards uncomfortable.

piemel

The risk that you as a Group1 don't have upfront luggage space is minimal. Matter of fact I have never seen that happen. Never.

To offset this minimal risk to make sure that parents get on board and have their overhead is a no brainer.

And yes I made that point about company travelers and it's unfair. But so is the point of lumping parents in a group as if they can't board just as fast as the business dude that has ignored the carry on rules, brings on a coffee and needs extra time in the aisle to nearly fold up his expensive jacked and give it to the FA.

pruss2ny

My wife frequently travelled with 2 infants solo....I guarantee you she caused no delays to anyone...but that doesn't mean she's not concerned with the blanket preboarding of families with infants

piemel

Luggage space for the group 1 travelers? Not an issue and I have enough miles to be pretty sure about this. No way will your front cabin overhead space be full by letting parents that are seated in the back board before you.

Worried that parents are slow? Some are. And yet I don't hear anyone complain about the business traveller with too much lugs holding up boarding because he has to take off his expensive jacket and hand it over to the FA while juggling a coffee and trying to get the charger cord for his laptop out of his carry on.

Baze

Wow, you really have a grudge against "business" travelers. And you really don't get what the main gist of this thread is about. There is no discussing the issue with you. If you actually have something constructive to say that would make the process work I am more than happy to discuss it with you. But as your tone is pure disdain I am through discussing with you.

And if you think parents with children can board just as fast as the "business" person why do you need to board first and get more time to board? Then that makes the whole discussion moot and the need for families to board first unecessary so the whole thing should just go away.

NH_Clark

{T}he preponderance of posts are about UA's inability to actually implement the change.

halls120

@:-)I watched it happen last October on a BZN-DEN 319 flight. Last person arriving in F was greeted with no overhead space thanks to passengers not sitting in F using the forward bin. When the FA came to assist, I pointed out the offending bag and she took care of it.

During the five years we flew with infants/toddlers, we never asked for or needed special accommodations. If you were reasonably organized, traveling with children isn't that big of a deal.

JBord

And the poster above has proven your point that early boarding for families isn't necessary by posting that s/he has no trouble boarding and settling quickly without holding anyone up.

I'm not quite sure what the argument is at this point. Families need more time, except that they don't? Only families that are slow need early boarding? What about other people that are slow boarders or have a lot of bags to carry on?

halls120

There are some people with children that need special assistance, and some that don't. UA has chosen to reward all of their passengers with early boarding, even those that don't need it, which coupled with the lack of adequate overhead storage, is the perfect storm of boarding disasters.

Upthread, a poster reported on his conversation with 1K voice, and I'm hoping that UA comes to their senses and adjusts this option by limiting it to those families that present themselves to the GA before boarding and a determination is made that it is truly necessary. They could also adopt the BA method of pulling early boarders aside into an area close to the gate so that when it is time, those that need assistance don't have to wade through the mass of humanity that is already in the queue.

piemel

For parents to have no overhead space is a big deal.

Based on that allow early boarding for parents BUT enforce the rules.

exerda

Funny, I've had no overhead space remotely near my seat several times recently as a group 1 pax. In one instance I was really annoyed as I watched pax in front of me put stuff in the F bin and head back to Y, but in all the cases, there was no space near me. God help those who have the bulkhead on a 752... even boarding in group 1, it's a challenge. And as someone paying for F out of my own pocket, yet, I am getting more and more annoyed by the problem.

Will parents boarding early make that problem worse? Probably not, if they are held to the same rules as everyone else and put their diaper bag and purse or laptop bag under the seat and not in the overhead. I just have very little faith that UA will do so.


How often do you get delayed in boarding by a pax having a jacket hung up in F?

I can guarantee you I have been delayed more often by parents getting their kids situated--even before this change--than by pax removing jackets, "expensive" or otherwise.

JBord

One parent has at least one seat, maybe two. Two parents have at least two seats, maybe three. Essentials for a baby can't be stored underneath 1-3 seats? And that's assuming there is not even the smallest space available to fit a diaper bag in a bin anywhere on the plane.

Alternatively, if parents want to guarantee space because they are in groups 4 or 5, and for whatever reason can't bring bags that fit under seats, they have the option of purchasing premier boarding, the same as anyone else in those groups concerned about bin space.

Again, this is just a "me, me , me" response that doesn't seem to hold up to logic, in my opinion. What you're suggesting is a problem has other solutions, as I've noted.

There have apparently been enough complaints about boarding delays that UA is already considering tweaking the process, according to another poster. Nearly 61% of people here think it's a bad idea, and even more think it will impact boarding negatively. What are we all missing?

goalie

Closing this thread for a cool down period and clean up of numerous off topic posts

goalie
UA Forum Co-Moderator