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}
Aug 17, 2016, 10:16 am
#196
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Posts: 10,909
Purchasing Premier Access gets you Group 2.
Aug 17, 2016, 10:47 am
#197
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,088
The card may get you Group 2 boarding and a free bag but it doesn't get you E+ seats or upgraded to FC. OR, if it does make you CPU eligible it will certainly be the lowest priority with odds of upgrade extremely slim to nil. So I find it very hard to believe that anyone with Premier status of any kind is equal to someone's mother who only flies once or twice a year. That ain't happening.
Last edited by Kensterfly; Aug 17, 2016 at 11:22 am Reason: .
Aug 17, 2016, 7:06 pm
#198
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
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Posts: 6,091
The card may get you Group 2 boarding and a free bag but it doesn't get you E+ seats or upgraded to FC. OR, if it does make you CPU eligible it will certainly be the lowest priority with odds of upgrade extremely slim to nil. So I find it very hard to believe that anyone with Premier status of any kind is equal to someone's mother who only flies once or twice a year. That ain't happening.
@Baze - purchasing premier access and holding a branded card are, imo, tantamount to the same thing when it comes to boarding priority.
Aug 17, 2016, 9:37 pm
#199
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I could have been more precise (picking at nits here), but contextually, I was referring to boarding priority, given that this thread is about the boarding process. And you'll see that when I invoked the MIL, it was in reference to boarding priority.
@Baze - purchasing premier access and holding a branded card are, imo, tantamount to the same thing when it comes to boarding priority.
@Baze - purchasing premier access and holding a branded card are, imo, tantamount to the same thing when it comes to boarding priority.
Aug 17, 2016, 11:16 pm
#200
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
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There are easy solutions, but it doesn't appear much will be changing. Why not:
Disabled/GS/Fam with strollers/car seats - Preboard
F/BF/1K - G1
*G/Plat/UC Members/Chase UC Card - G2
*S/Gold/Silver/Other Chase cards/paid early boarding - G3
General Boarding - G4 and G5
Keep the same signage - just update the logic behind what's printed on the boarding passes.
Disabled/GS/Fam with strollers/car seats - Preboard
F/BF/1K - G1
*G/Plat/UC Members/Chase UC Card - G2
*S/Gold/Silver/Other Chase cards/paid early boarding - G3
General Boarding - G4 and G5
Keep the same signage - just update the logic behind what's printed on the boarding passes.
Aug 18, 2016, 6:57 am
#201
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston
Programs: UA GS 2.6MM & Lifetime UC, Qantas Platinum, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Bonvoy Platinum, HawaiianMiles
Posts: 8,700
UA Gold is *G, so they're in Group 2
Aug 18, 2016, 10:00 am
#202
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There are easy solutions, but it doesn't appear much will be changing. Why not:
Disabled/GS/Fam with strollers/car seats - Preboard
F/BF/1K - G1
*G/Plat/UC Members/Chase UC Card - G2
*S/Gold/Silver/Other Chase cards/paid early boarding - G3
General Boarding - G4 and G5
Keep the same signage - just update the logic behind what's printed on the boarding passes.
Disabled/GS/Fam with strollers/car seats - Preboard
F/BF/1K - G1
*G/Plat/UC Members/Chase UC Card - G2
*S/Gold/Silver/Other Chase cards/paid early boarding - G3
General Boarding - G4 and G5
Keep the same signage - just update the logic behind what's printed on the boarding passes.
And there was bunch of whining from a bunch of people here in the early days back when there were more groups that "there are too many groups." UA's studies said the same thing, so they reduced the number of groups. And now people are still whining. Go figure.
Aug 18, 2016, 10:04 am
#203
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1MM, MP 1K, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 463
If you are going to take Group 1 boarding away from Plats, you might as just get rid of the level with everything else they have taken away. But definitely announce it all in the middle of the year when they've already spent the time and money to get to that level.
Aug 18, 2016, 10:52 am
#204
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Menlo Park, CA, USA
Programs: UA 1MM 0P, AA, DL, *wood, Lifetime FPC Plat., IHG, HHD
Posts: 6,912
Since when does elderly (over 80 or so) with otherwise no problem walking or boarding translate into "Customers with Disabilities"? Just been noticing this throughout flights out of EWR, ORD, IAH.
If you have a cane, walker or of course in a wheelchair etc I'm cool with that, fits the category, but if you're old yet capable whats the disability? Never seen any denied or questioned. Something to look forward to I guess in 45 years.
If you have a cane, walker or of course in a wheelchair etc I'm cool with that, fits the category, but if you're old yet capable whats the disability? Never seen any denied or questioned. Something to look forward to I guess in 45 years.
I just wanted to add another data point about not being able to see anything. I was on a flight a few months back and an older couple boarded early. I really didn't much about it since it didn't matter to me, but once I got onboard early from the front of group 1, I could see the man coming out of the lav holding onto his catheter leg bag - obviously trying to empty it before take off and/or an inevetable on the ground delay. I've been there, those little 500ml bags don't take long to fill after having stood in a line for 20 minutes and sat on the group for an hour (25 min boarding and 20-30 min take off time to seat belt sign out).
I think that demographic probably falls into this category (at least the men) much more often than any younger group.
Aug 18, 2016, 10:56 am
#205
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If you are going to take Group 1 boarding away from Plats, you might as just get rid of the level with everything else they have taken away. But definitely announce it all in the middle of the year when they've already spent the time and money to get to that level.
G4 can be the rear of regular coach and G5 would be the front. I don't believe in WMA, nor does it really save much time. Alaska uses rear/front and boards as fast as anyone else.
The key issue is separating the "entitled" into a reasonable number of groups that minimizes stress and crowding.
Aug 18, 2016, 11:05 am
#206
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: New York, NY
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Posts: 1,071
Aug 18, 2016, 5:34 pm
#207
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
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Posts: 1,777
Interesting boarding process today at PIT ..
Disabled
Mil in uniform
GS
GS+Million Mile fliers(?!)
BG1
etc..
Being a recent inductee to the MM club kinda nice to board with the aloof GS-ers 😆
Disabled
Mil in uniform
GS
GS+Million Mile fliers(?!)
BG1
etc..
Being a recent inductee to the MM club kinda nice to board with the aloof GS-ers 😆
Aug 18, 2016, 8:50 pm
#208
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston
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Aug 19, 2016, 6:53 am
#209
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Or a couldn't care less and I will make it up as I go along GA. Or I will do this just to amuse myself as I know it pees people off GA. And any other variation that you could care to name as I think I have seen all styles - apart from the million milers, that is a new one. Always good to have a bit of variety. 
Aug 19, 2016, 7:32 am
#210
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: GRR
Posts: 544
If you are going to take Group 1 boarding away from Plats, you might as just get rid of the level with everything else they have taken away. But definitely announce it all in the middle of the year when they've already spent the time and money to get to that level.