Jan 19, 2017, 11:05 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Source: United Boarding Process
We encourage you to make yourself comfortable while you wait for your group to be called, and we’ll let you know when we’re ready for you to board. Late arriving customers in Groups 1 and 2 are welcome to continue boarding through the blue lane at any time.
* Customers who have purchased a Basic Economy ticket will be in the last boarding group, except for Premier members, Chase Cardmembers of qualifying cards and Star Alliance Gold members, who will still receive their priority boarding.
================================================== ==============================
Pre Sept 2018 process
Pre-Boarding
General boarding (Window Seats, then Middle Seats, then Aisle)
Customers who have purchased a Basic Economy ticket will be in the last boarding group, with the exception of Premier members, Chase Cardmembers of qualifying cards and Star Alliance Gold members, who will still receive their priority boarding.
Note: If you’re traveling with a companion and one of you has a higher boarding status, you both may board with the earlier group.
Note: Self Boarding Gates are being tested at the following gates...
sUA Boarding Times by Aircraft (AFA)
Previous thread: United's Current Boarding Process (with Wiki) [Revised, May 2013]
New changes (effective 18 Sept 2018)
You will see some new boarding lane signs in the gate area that will guide you through the boarding process. There will now be two lanes that are color coded : to begin, Group 1 will board through the blue lane and Group 2 will board through the green lane. The remaining Groups 3-5 will then board through the green lane when called, and Groups 1 and 2 can continue to board through the blue lane .We encourage you to make yourself comfortable while you wait for your group to be called, and we’ll let you know when we’re ready for you to board. Late arriving customers in Groups 1 and 2 are welcome to continue boarding through the blue lane at any time.
Boarding groups
Pre-boarding
- Unaccompanied minors
- Customers with disabilities
- Active members of the military
- United Global Services® members
- Families traveling with children age 2 and younger
- Premier® 1K® members
Group 1
- Premier Platinum members
- Premier Gold members
- Star Alliance™ Gold members
- Customers seated in premium cabins: United Polaris®, United First® and United Business®
Group 2
- Premier Silver members
- Star Alliance Silver members
- Customers who have purchased Premier Access® or Priority Boarding
- United℠ Explorer, Club, Presidential Plus℠ and Awards Cardmembers
Groups 3 – 5
- Economy Plus®
- United Economy®
- Basic Economy*
* Customers who have purchased a Basic Economy ticket will be in the last boarding group, except for Premier members, Chase Cardmembers of qualifying cards and Star Alliance Gold members, who will still receive their priority boarding.
Pre Sept 2018 process
Pre-Boarding
- Unaccompanied minors
- Customers with disabilities
- Uniformed members of the U.S. military
- Families traveling with children age two and younger
- United Global Services® members
- Group 1: Premier 1K, Premier Platinum, Business/Polaris Business, and First/Polaris First.
- Group 2: Premier Gold, Star Gold, Premier Silver, Star Silver, MileagePlus Presidential Plus, Club, Explorer and Awards, purchased Premier Access
General boarding (Window Seats, then Middle Seats, then Aisle)
- Group 3 - Window Seats
- Group 4 - Middle & Aisle Seats (Aisle Seats on UA Express)
- Group 5 - Basic Economy
Customers who have purchased a Basic Economy ticket will be in the last boarding group, with the exception of Premier members, Chase Cardmembers of qualifying cards and Star Alliance Gold members, who will still receive their priority boarding.
Note: If you’re traveling with a companion and one of you has a higher boarding status, you both may board with the earlier group.
Note: Self Boarding Gates are being tested at the following gates...
- IAH - Gate C25/C26 - See Post 2960, Includes YouTube video from CO777DAL
- IAH - Gate E4 - Old test from pmCO days, See Thread Here
- BOS - Self boarding gates are now back in *LIMITED* use at least at gates B25 and B26
sUA Boarding Times by Aircraft (AFA)
Previous thread: United's Current Boarding Process (with Wiki) [Revised, May 2013]
United's Current Boarding Process (with Wiki) [2016-forward]{Archive}
Sep 21, 2018, 4:06 pm
#1666
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SFO; SJC
Programs: UA Silver; WN; Marriott; SPG; Hilton; IHG; National; TSA Pre; Clear
Posts: 199
Well, the poster is right if his main route is SFO-JFK (which is my main route). UA abandoned it a couple of years ago. And for what? EWR?
DL has 7 non stops a day on the route, with really nice coffin seats on all aircraft, some of them with 40 J seats. AA (which had been my preferred airline several decades ago when they had a hub at SJC) only has 5 flights a day SFO-JFK. AA pretty much abandoned SFO flyers over the past decade. Can't even fly them up and down the West Coast further north of San Francisco.
So I think it depends on the route. I gave a ton of flying to DL starting several years ago when UA's service went into the toilet (believe me, it did). The difference in reliability, even to this day, has been that DL has trumped UA all across the country. You can just see it at many of their locations where they have a manager on flights kicking butt to get the flight out on time (even saw it at CVG last weekend).
Were it not for UA's route selection dominance out of SFO, I don't know that they'd compete that well. They have improved lately, though, and I thought of giving them a chance again, until this boarding demotion of paid F non1K flyers was put in. I had 2.6mm on UA. There are posters who hypothesize that UA wants to show more appreciation to its 1K's then an occasional full fare F pax. But how does UA really know how the 1K guy got there? What if he were a 1 year wonder? The demotion of full fare paying F pax, who just happen not to be currently 1K is a foolish move on UA's part, with the potential to piss off far more full fare paying passengers (many like myself who have had large spends over many years) than stroking a recently minted1k. If UA think's that's worth it, I think their fools.
I also go to Hawaii every 2-3 months throughout the year and UA had me captive for decades. Now, AS and HA have excellent service out of all Bay Area airports and it's a pleasure to give my money to them. UA has been a good carrier, but has seen better days and had some peaks and troughs in service. This is just a dumb move as it relates to full fare paying F passengers. I suspect UA will reverse it, or regret it.
As to the million dollar question---what percentage of paid F pax are not 1K?, nobody has convinced me that he/she has that answer. Lots of speculation and know-it-all analysis, but something that is difficult to quantify unless UA itself can provide it---and I doubt even UA can. As other posters have said, "what is the downside of including boarding equality of paid F with 1K pax?" Answer: zilch. It's about stowing bags, and I believe we all know that. Especially if an F cabin pax does not get in line with the gate rushers and get his/her bag in there, and the FA's can't be gestapo on managing whether Y pax take up the bins in F or if F pax put a lot of small stuff up there. The carriers did this when they started charging.
The carriers created this mess with the bag charges, and they can't fix it.
DL has 7 non stops a day on the route, with really nice coffin seats on all aircraft, some of them with 40 J seats. AA (which had been my preferred airline several decades ago when they had a hub at SJC) only has 5 flights a day SFO-JFK. AA pretty much abandoned SFO flyers over the past decade. Can't even fly them up and down the West Coast further north of San Francisco.
So I think it depends on the route. I gave a ton of flying to DL starting several years ago when UA's service went into the toilet (believe me, it did). The difference in reliability, even to this day, has been that DL has trumped UA all across the country. You can just see it at many of their locations where they have a manager on flights kicking butt to get the flight out on time (even saw it at CVG last weekend).
Were it not for UA's route selection dominance out of SFO, I don't know that they'd compete that well. They have improved lately, though, and I thought of giving them a chance again, until this boarding demotion of paid F non1K flyers was put in. I had 2.6mm on UA. There are posters who hypothesize that UA wants to show more appreciation to its 1K's then an occasional full fare F pax. But how does UA really know how the 1K guy got there? What if he were a 1 year wonder? The demotion of full fare paying F pax, who just happen not to be currently 1K is a foolish move on UA's part, with the potential to piss off far more full fare paying passengers (many like myself who have had large spends over many years) than stroking a recently minted1k. If UA think's that's worth it, I think their fools.
I also go to Hawaii every 2-3 months throughout the year and UA had me captive for decades. Now, AS and HA have excellent service out of all Bay Area airports and it's a pleasure to give my money to them. UA has been a good carrier, but has seen better days and had some peaks and troughs in service. This is just a dumb move as it relates to full fare paying F passengers. I suspect UA will reverse it, or regret it.
As to the million dollar question---what percentage of paid F pax are not 1K?, nobody has convinced me that he/she has that answer. Lots of speculation and know-it-all analysis, but something that is difficult to quantify unless UA itself can provide it---and I doubt even UA can. As other posters have said, "what is the downside of including boarding equality of paid F with 1K pax?" Answer: zilch. It's about stowing bags, and I believe we all know that. Especially if an F cabin pax does not get in line with the gate rushers and get his/her bag in there, and the FA's can't be gestapo on managing whether Y pax take up the bins in F or if F pax put a lot of small stuff up there. The carriers did this when they started charging.
The carriers created this mess with the bag charges, and they can't fix it.
I think UA may be losing a MP member soon.
Sep 21, 2018, 4:07 pm
#1667
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,623
IME, UA just can't be trusted. I just learned that lesson again, the hard way. I hope 1ks enjoy the bennies...while they last...
Sep 21, 2018, 4:17 pm
#1668
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
Rarely read Hemisphere - but noticed Oscar’s column was dedicated to the new boarding.
Sep 21, 2018, 4:33 pm
#1669
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Honolulu Harbor
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 15,025
Very informative post. Thanks. This got me thinking. I fly out of SJC and SFO. I looked up some of my more frequent routes, and DL does not look bad for me flying out of either airport. DL offers priority boarding for their F pax, they'll do a status match to my Silver, and I can transfer all my MP miles. Their fares for paid F look about the same as UA. I do have Silver status on UA (I used to be Platinum, until I had to scale back my travel after getting sick). Even the Delta Comfort product looks better than UA's E+.
I think UA may be losing a MP member soon.
I think UA may be losing a MP member soon.
Sep 21, 2018, 5:00 pm
#1670
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,203
I am completely good with the new boarding process. Unfortunately due to lack of business trips this year, I'll remain in Group 2, at least through the 1st quarter of 2019. Those of you who are GS, 1K, etc. deserve enhanced benefits. With regards to disabled passengers, I rarely see, on any airline, any passenger that seemingly is taking advantage of the benefit. The only change that I'd like to see is better enforcement of family boarding, i.e. families with children that are young, but clearly > 2yo and situations where a group of adults boards with one < 2yo.
Sep 21, 2018, 5:09 pm
#1671
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,976
One of the things that I wish United would fix with the boarding process is the amount of passengers who accompany people with disabilities onto the plane. I have seen up to eight go on the plane in the same party. I believe that there should be a limit. It's an abuse of the system IMHO.
Sep 21, 2018, 5:10 pm
#1672
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Bay Area - East Bay
Programs: UA 1k, AS 75k, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 641
Stuck on the jet bridge. There were definitely an extra 30 or so people boarding before me at the end of group 1 now, but I'm assuming the complete lack of motion into the aircraft is unrelated to he new boarding process. Something has gone wrong, and the only difference is I'm now not close enough to see what!
Sep 21, 2018, 5:26 pm
#1673
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: SFO
Programs: United 1MM GS, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hilton Diamond, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 283
It doesn't always pay to move frequent flyer status flying from one airline to another. A lot of FFs said they were switching to the greener pastures of AA a couple of years back, And then AA went downhill. I flew with Delta once a month for almost 4 years to/from Asia in int'l F in the 1990s via their PDX hub. Their services and planes quickly deteriorated (even going to contract FA crews) as PDX hub struggled and AA won battle at DFW. Now Delta is arguably at the top of the domestic heap. Can't say DL won't sink in quality over next couple of years (or even just start boarding their top-tier Medallions first before too long). I know UA isn't the best, but they have (by far) the best network/schedule out of and between my home airports (OGG/LAS/IAH)
Back on topic, as a GS I was fine with the new boarding priority on my first flight since the change was instituted. I certainly did not feel it was a devaluation.
Sep 21, 2018, 5:32 pm
#1674
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: UA GS, UA 2MM, HH LT Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 1,803
Experienced the new process twice today. GA announced a new boarding policy was in effect that there were now only two lane: BG 1 & 2 and 3,4 &5. She asked 345 not to line up but told BG1 and 2 to do so. This wasn't necessary as the 1/2 chute was already packed and overflowing. She then started the boarding procedure and when she called 1K's, those of us not in the chute sort of worked our way around everyone and she moved the stanchion in front of BG 1 and ushered us through. However, there were a half dozen other 1Ks trapped in the BG 1/2 line that struggled to make their way through the line. As this is brand new, some 1Ks don't know the new system yet but what are they going to do when twenty1Ks try and board a Monday flight in SFO or ORD around the rest of the lanes? BG 1 will be huge now that it contains Plat and Gold.
Second flight the GA called GS, 1K and First Class to pre-board
Second flight the GA called GS, 1K and First Class to pre-board
Sep 21, 2018, 6:15 pm
#1675
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: SFO South Bay
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 3,052
Flew 6am SFO-BOS transcon premium service today. Group 1 line was MASSIVE!!!!!!!! About 25 people were GS or 1K and boarded early. I am guessing Group 1 line had 100 people. Group 2 about 15 or 20. Did not stick around for groups 3-5, but there were not many people left sitting after Group 1 and 2 lined up. Maybe 10-15 people still seated. Group 1 line started at T-15 from boarding and was over 50 people by T-5.
Sep 21, 2018, 8:07 pm
#1677
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 5,000
I travelled w/ our Senior VP Exploration (who I can guarantee has far more money than me based on her 10K-reported stock grants and exercised options over the years). I got my meal choice on the way to South America. She didn't.
I think the people you are referring to are those who have their own plane (or charter).
I think the people you are referring to are those who have their own plane (or charter).
I think it would be a big hit.
Last edited by zombietooth; Sep 22, 2018 at 9:28 am
Sep 21, 2018, 8:26 pm
#1678
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,970
This is so true.At the Tokyo Hilton, where I spend a lot of nights every year, I am an expert on getting discounts and knowing when the flash sales come-up, so I often am paying only around $150- to $200- a night for an upgraded room and have access to a private, Diamond-only lounge. I am good friends with the EL staff, so I have asked how the EL could be so full while the Diamond Lounge is simultaneously lightly occupied.
Sep 21, 2018, 8:30 pm
#1679
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Houston
Programs: United 1K, Marriott Lifetime Platinum; Hyatt Diamond/GLOB
Posts: 738
Fun boarding ORD-IAH at 9:15p last night.
Group 1/2 was full, but there was a cadre of 1Ks standing off to the side as the pre-boarding announcements were made. GA went through the list, neglected to mention 1Ks, and called for Group 1/2 to board.
So, seven or eight of us started wandering up from the other side, and the GA chastised the first 1K to get there that he was cutting in front of all these people waiting in line. Two other 1Ks rather loudly said that she wasn't following procedures and neglected to call 1K pre-boarding. The GA responded equally loudly that she called for all the pre-boarding she needed to call, to which the 1Ks loudly suggested she needed to learn the procedures.
Earlier that night, the UAX folks from RIC-ORD did the process the right way, calling for 1K boarding before Group 1/2.
The system only works if the GAs actually get it right.
Group 1/2 was full, but there was a cadre of 1Ks standing off to the side as the pre-boarding announcements were made. GA went through the list, neglected to mention 1Ks, and called for Group 1/2 to board.
So, seven or eight of us started wandering up from the other side, and the GA chastised the first 1K to get there that he was cutting in front of all these people waiting in line. Two other 1Ks rather loudly said that she wasn't following procedures and neglected to call 1K pre-boarding. The GA responded equally loudly that she called for all the pre-boarding she needed to call, to which the 1Ks loudly suggested she needed to learn the procedures.
Earlier that night, the UAX folks from RIC-ORD did the process the right way, calling for 1K boarding before Group 1/2.
The system only works if the GAs actually get it right.
Sep 21, 2018, 8:47 pm
#1680
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 5,000
It's odd that they didn't tell you about it, but they have closed it on occasion during low-demand periods.
Last edited by zombietooth; Sep 22, 2018 at 9:30 am