HeadInTheClouds

It's an etiquette question, but I personally don't do that. But I have a feeling that now with the much larger group that includes 1Ks, there will be less flexibility in that regard.

wanderingkev

The thing I have noticed now with the new pre board new regime is the GA's are scooting through the now increased number of pre boards fairly quickly and not necessarily in the same order which seems to add to confusion,
Personally for me it seems to make more sense to have those needing more time , disabilities and the young kids boarding with a gap of several minutes before the rest to get them settled.There is little point to me boarding the infirm first only to be chased down and overtaken on the jet bridge by elites gripped by the pathological fear that they will be unable to stow their carry on precisely over their seat

Aussienarelle

+1

I feel like I am blocking and tackling to stop the other members of BG1 rushing past me and the pre-boarding group in front of us. It astounds me that some people are so clueless (I prefer to think they are clueless rather than just plain rude).

PanAmWT

Sometimes you (a GS) have to be at the gate way earlier because the lines of BG1 and BG2 start to build up real early. So in a limited width gate area, either you try to be ahead of the formation of the lines, or forget about pr-boarding. Unless you want to cut the lines going around people and ready to receive the stares, or "hey, this is group one!" because people in the line assume that you think the long line must be group 2 and you are trying to find group 1..

iluv2fly

Exactly what I do.

porciuscato

I make a point of boarding right after the folks with disabilities (and previously the folks with kids too) and rushing up the jetway. That way I can usually help them carry their bags to their seats (since the FAs sure as heck aren't going to to it) and then rush back to my own seat..

When they thank me, I usually say: "I'm Global Services. That's what we're here for."

ExplorerWannabe

Agreed. On my last flight, they preboarded families with young kids then boarded Group 1 almost immediately thereafter. The poor mother in front of me was still trying to get her baby out of the stroller so she could gate check it and had a bunch of Group 1s piled up behind her then passing her. Ridiculous.

cerealmarketer

Seeing several play out, the thing that struck me is how easily they changed the behavior of groups 3 - 5 in a way standard 2 lane boarding (a la Delta, AA, prior CO/UA) doesn't.

Most of them stay seated until boarding begins, I presume simply because they see '1' and '2' on the lanes, and no 'main cabin' or other generic label.

Some get up when groups 1 and 2 get called, but a lot still wait for their numbers. I guess it gets to the Kirby 'insight' that 80% of pax fly once a year (or whatever that big % is he mentions). When you don't fly often I guess you're more actively taking direction from signs and announcements.

The 1K thing...surprised how many know to preboard already. Again, gets to insight about the behavior - they're very engaged with the airline. And the emails I guess were actively read.

You do have to strain to hear '1K' during the call because it's such a short two syllable phrase over a loudspeaker in an airport. I suppose changing the script to 'Premier 1K' would help that, but so many people use the shorthand by instinct it is what it is.

My guess is the goal of all this was to speed up boarding a la the D0 initiative and we'll see more random early boarding calls as well, which will frustrate. I'm sticking to trying to board last - don't value the extra time in the seat under the command of the crew - but I can see the value of the preboard if the carryon thing is a sticking point. The other 1Ks I saw were certainly eager to participate, so well done marketing.

And looks like million miler benefits improved with G1 boarding. At least until the next iteration.

acr113

TLV-EWR flight, 1Ks were pre-boarded after repeated prodding and after first calling Group 1.
On flight from EWR-TLV GA said that 1Ks were in Group 1, that there was no 1K pre-board.
As usual, implementation at UA is terrible.

halls120

Safety equipment is generally stored in the same bins in each discrete class of aircraft. If you know which bins usually - but not always - contain safety equipment, why would you book a seat in that vicinity if there are other unencumbered seats still available?

threeoh

Maybe they prefer those seats?

Do you also judge people for booking bulkhead seats even though they know there won't be any under-seat storage?

jsloan

...?

So, you're saying that you routinely violate UA policy by bringing on an oversized personal item, and, as a result, you inconvenience other passengers by taking additional overhead space, as you're unable to use the space in front of your seat?

SFOdelayed

wxguy

I wrote to GS customer care to comment I've seen GAs all over the place with the pre-board order since the new procedure. I specifically mentioned that PAUSES are important between groups. Here's part of the reply, bolding mine.

lincolnjkc

To paint with a broad brush there are basically two types of agents: The auctioneer/impatient type who either pages all preboards without so much as taking a breath ("GlobalServicesWithDisabilitiesUnder2InMilitaryUn iform you're welcome to preboard) or the agents who dutifully page every group, pause long enough to read a newspaper article, page the same group again (even--or especially if--no one has so much as twitched), pause again before moving on to the next group.

Hate to say it but I'm playing an AA refugee on this trip (need to get to BDA... UA alone couldn't do it [seasonal route ended since I last priced it maybe?], and spending a night in YYZ and 10x the AA fare to do it on *A wasn't something even I could justify, anywhay while AA's 9 groups seems a little outlandish it seems to work really well on the two legs I have down so far today. It's easy to figure out that you have preboards, then group 1 with the "concierge key can board now or at their leisure", then group 2... no one has to figure out if GS comes before 1K comes before or after children, where the military fits into the whole ordeal, etc.