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}
Oct 13, 2018, 9:40 am
#2101
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: where lions are led by donkeys...
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SFO-LHR 12 Oct, UA930, all worked well. Only 1 GS came forward. Very odd.
Oct 13, 2018, 12:00 pm
#2102
Moderator, Omni, Omni/PR, Omni/Games, FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,147
On UA 302 Thursday night (SFO-IAD on a 787), it was:
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
- Pax w/ disabilities
- Mr. xxxxxxx
- Uniformed military
- GS
- Families with kids under 2
- 1K
- Group 1
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
Last edited by exerda; Oct 13, 2018 at 5:34 pm Reason: fix typo
Oct 13, 2018, 1:11 pm
#2103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: TOA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K
Posts: 20,061
On UA 302 Thursday night (SFO-IAD on a 787), it was:
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
- Pax w/ disabilities
- Mr. xxxxxxx
- Uniformed military
- GS
- Families with kids under 2
- 1K
- G2
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
David
Oct 13, 2018, 5:18 pm
#2104
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DSM
Programs: UA 1K, AA EP, DL PL, HH Dia, Marriott Gld, National Exp
Posts: 722
MIA-IAH today, A320 totally full ... without taking a breath: those needing more time, military in uniform, GS, family with small children, and 1K.
There we plenty of disabled and families and 1K.
First time in last 3 weeks (over 12 flights) all jumbled into one. Previously plenty of variety in the order, but always pauses between.
There we plenty of disabled and families and 1K.
First time in last 3 weeks (over 12 flights) all jumbled into one. Previously plenty of variety in the order, but always pauses between.
Oct 13, 2018, 5:22 pm
#2105
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SFO, TPE, HNL
Programs: UA GS 4MM, RCC life member (paid), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, CLEAR
Posts: 1,824
On UA 302 Thursday night (SFO-IAD on a 787), it was:
I wasn't sure why they called up a specific pax; I figured there was no way there was only 1 GS on a widebody SFO-IAD, and they went to military before GS anyway.
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
- Pax w/ disabilities
- Mr. xxxxxxx
- Uniformed military
- GS
- Families with kids under 2
- 1K
- G2
I wasn't sure why they called up a specific pax; I figured there was no way there was only 1 GS on a widebody SFO-IAD, and they went to military before GS anyway.
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
Oct 13, 2018, 5:33 pm
#2106
Moderator, Omni, Omni/PR, Omni/Games, FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,147
Oct 13, 2018, 7:45 pm
#2107
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
Maybe they knew Mr. XXXXX had a disability / needed more time, but he failed to board when they called disabilities, so they called him by name?
Oct 13, 2018, 8:19 pm
#2108
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: BOS<>NYC<>BKK
Programs: UA 4.3MM LT-GS; AA1MM; Amtrak SE; MAR LT TITAN; PC Plat; HIL DIA; HYA GLOB
Posts: 4,393
On UA 302 Thursday night (SFO-IAD on a 787), it was:
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
- Pax w/ disabilities
- Mr. xxxxxxx
- Uniformed military
- GS
- Families with kids under 2
- 1K
- Group 1
There seems to be little consistency on when they call for families with young kids, too.
Oct 13, 2018, 11:55 pm
#2109
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: TOA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K
Posts: 20,061
David
Oct 14, 2018, 9:54 am
#2110
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 622
SFO to IAH yesterday went fine. Long group 1 line for the 777hd, but the GA got it right. On the jetway, the purser had all port side aisle Y customers move aside and hold in the jetway while all F cabin and starboard Y passengers proceeded. I was in F, so didn’t see how long they held up boarding or whether it was for operational efficiency or because the port side aisle was blocked for some reason.
IAH to CHS also went fine, but it’s hard to go too far awry when you have no GS, no 1K, 5 BG1 and 2 BG2 customers. I did notice the overhead monitors around the gate now display the correct preboard sequence, so GAs can’t argue that their own made-up way is correct.
IAH to CHS also went fine, but it’s hard to go too far awry when you have no GS, no 1K, 5 BG1 and 2 BG2 customers. I did notice the overhead monitors around the gate now display the correct preboard sequence, so GAs can’t argue that their own made-up way is correct.
Oct 14, 2018, 11:39 am
#2111
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: CHS
Programs: UA GS, Bonvoy Amabassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,589
SFO to IAH yesterday went fine. Long group 1 line for the 777hd, but the GA got it right. On the jetway, the purser had all port side aisle Y customers move aside and hold in the jetway while all F cabin and starboard Y passengers proceeded. I was in F, so didn’t see how long they held up boarding or whether it was for operational efficiency or because the port side aisle was blocked for some reason.
IAH to CHS also went fine, but it’s hard to go too far awry when you have no GS, no 1K, 5 BG1 and 2 BG2 customers. I did notice the overhead monitors around the gate now display the correct preboard sequence, so GAs can’t argue that their own made-up way is correct.
IAH to CHS also went fine, but it’s hard to go too far awry when you have no GS, no 1K, 5 BG1 and 2 BG2 customers. I did notice the overhead monitors around the gate now display the correct preboard sequence, so GAs can’t argue that their own made-up way is correct.
IAH-CHS did FC go out full? Sometimes we have a few empty seats
Oct 14, 2018, 10:38 pm
#2113
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,231
I still don't understand why getting this right is so hard in the USA - in the past week I was on an EVA 773 that boarded full in under 20 minutes, and a SQ A380 that boarded in almost exactly 25 minutes - yes, they had two doors each for boarding, and still pax carried on about the same quantity and size of carry-ons, children, smelly food, and other odds and ends, but the only different seemed to be they didn't stumble onto the plane in a daze, clueless about where they were or what they were suppose to do (hint, put the damn bag in the overhead and sit down). Both EVA and SQ used the same number of groups, but neither had lanes, rather EVA used contractors and staff to herd people into virtual lanes and SQ just seemed to get priority customers through a mass of people waiting at the door without any lines.
Boarding an airplane only seems to need rocket science in the USA.
Boarding an airplane only seems to need rocket science in the USA.
Oct 15, 2018, 1:44 am
#2114
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,618
I still don't understand why getting this right is so hard in the USA - in the past week I was on an EVA 773 that boarded full in under 20 minutes, and a SQ A380 that boarded in almost exactly 25 minutes - yes, they had two doors each for boarding, and still pax carried on about the same quantity and size of carry-ons, children, smelly food, and other odds and ends, but the only different seemed to be they didn't stumble onto the plane in a daze, clueless about where they were or what they were suppose to do (hint, put the damn bag in the overhead and sit down). Both EVA and SQ used the same number of groups, but neither had lanes, rather EVA used contractors and staff to herd people into virtual lanes and SQ just seemed to get priority customers through a mass of people waiting at the door without any lines.
Boarding an airplane only seems to need rocket science in the USA.
Boarding an airplane only seems to need rocket science in the USA.
Oct 15, 2018, 4:52 am
#2115
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.9MM
Posts: 6,362
Poorly trained GA's and FA's that don't enforce OH stowage rules. On my last TATL I flew KLM, and the FA's were positioned throughout the cabin during the boarding process, ensuring passengers used the correct OH space and helping bins get arranged properly to optimize stowage.
With United's FAs it seems mostly to be limited to several sweeps of the aircraft much later in the boarding process, whilst scalding anyone who they think might not have arranged their luggage correctly: "This bin needs to be rearranged and the bin door shut, or we can't close the main cabin doors."
The motto appears to be:
"Let everyone fend for themselves, and then yell at them afterward if they did it wrong."