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}
Feb 28, 2018, 10:43 pm
#886
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Mar 1, 2018, 7:37 am
#887
Join Date: Jul 2016
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I have a couple of friends in the military who’ve told me that they take their uniform whenever they fly to get extra baggage and preboard. I’ve also seen people with military backpacks but in plain clothes line up in group 1 even though they had group 3+ printed on their boarding passes. No one really says anything, so you could probably get away with a military style backpack.
Mar 1, 2018, 11:29 am
#888
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Per United, in Boarding process
nothing about travel orders / papers -- never seen an agent ask for such and UA does not mention the need.
As for out of uniform, yes it appears if you show an active military ID card, some agents will permit it -- but that was an agent's discretion.
Uniformed members of the U.S. military
As for out of uniform, yes it appears if you show an active military ID card, some agents will permit it -- but that was an agent's discretion.
Mar 1, 2018, 1:40 pm
#889
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From what I understand, "uniformed military" and "military in uniform" are two different things.
"Uniformed military" means any active member of the military eligible to wear a uniform (i.e. not civilian contractors, etc.), regardless of whether they are actually wearing their fatigues that day.
"Military in uniform" of course means someone actually physically wearing the uniform.
The verbiage United uses is the former, which makes some level of sense (honoring those who are currently serving their country), but some (uninformed?) GAs don't understand the difference and announce the latter (which really doesn't make sense at all).
"Uniformed military" means any active member of the military eligible to wear a uniform (i.e. not civilian contractors, etc.), regardless of whether they are actually wearing their fatigues that day.
"Military in uniform" of course means someone actually physically wearing the uniform.
The verbiage United uses is the former, which makes some level of sense (honoring those who are currently serving their country), but some (uninformed?) GAs don't understand the difference and announce the latter (which really doesn't make sense at all).
Mar 1, 2018, 1:49 pm
#890
Join Date: Sep 2009
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For my flight yesterday the term "active military" was used, which is probably what they mean when they say "uniformed military" anyway. Ironically, about a half dozen military men in full uniform then proceeded to board.
Mar 2, 2018, 1:39 am
#891
Join Date: May 2004
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 363
2 boardings with new process
I'm flying out of LAX tomorrow to EWR and received the email about the new trial boarding process. The email indicates fewer people in boarding groups as well as a window-middle-aisle boarding sequence.
So I have no idea whether they will pre-board Business and 1K passengers before Platinums in Group 1 or not. Will be interesting to see. I hope they don't because as a Platinum I obviously am not a fan of that change (though I realize that would have me boarding ahead of 1Ks tomorrow).
So I have no idea whether they will pre-board Business and 1K passengers before Platinums in Group 1 or not. Will be interesting to see. I hope they don't because as a Platinum I obviously am not a fan of that change (though I realize that would have me boarding ahead of 1Ks tomorrow).
Flight 1- my boarding pass said group “1K”. There were the new signs for group 1/2/bypass. There was also a sign on the other side of the gate that said 1k and first class. I got in that line and they called us as part of the pre-boarding calls, right after GS and military.
Flight 2 - my boarding group was 1. There were the new signs for the two lanes and no sign for 1K/FC. But when they called the groups, they called 1K and first class in the pre-board, which caused a bunch of group one to try to get out of line and get up to the gate. I suppose they just read the wrong announcement.
I asked united on twitter wwhy they did it and they denied that it happened. :-)
Mar 2, 2018, 11:18 am
#892
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Mar 2, 2018, 11:26 am
#893
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I’ve had two flights out of LAX in recent weeks. I got a text for both saying they were testing a new boarding process.
Flight 1- my boarding pass said group “1K”. There were the new signs for group 1/2/bypass. There was also a sign on the other side of the gate that said 1k and first class. I got in that line and they called us as part of the pre-boarding calls, right after GS and military.
Flight 2 - my boarding group was 1. There were the new signs for the two lanes and no sign for 1K/FC. But when they called the groups, they called 1K and first class in the pre-board, which caused a bunch of group one to try to get out of line and get up to the gate. I suppose they just read the wrong announcement.
I asked united on twitter wwhy they did it and they denied that it happened. :-)
Mar 2, 2018, 11:38 am
#894
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Mar 6, 2018, 11:34 pm
#895
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Mar 26, 2018, 3:28 pm
#896
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Still testing at LAX?
I am flying out of LAX tomorrow and did not receive any email regarding the testing of new boarding procedures (like I did a month ago out of LAX). Has anyone experienced testing of new methods at LAX in the past few weeks? I am flying to EWR in Business and my boarding group shows as 1. Are they still occasionally pre-boarding Business and 1K passengers? As a Platinum I am hoping that "experiment" is over and is not implemented.
Mar 26, 2018, 4:11 pm
#897
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I am flying out of LAX tomorrow and did not receive any email regarding the testing of new boarding procedures (like I did a month ago out of LAX). Has anyone experienced testing of new methods at LAX in the past few weeks? I am flying to EWR in Business and my boarding group shows as 1. Are they still occasionally pre-boarding Business and 1K passengers? As a Platinum I am hoping that "experiment" is over and is not implemented.
Mar 26, 2018, 4:29 pm
#898
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Mar 26, 2018, 6:17 pm
#899
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Mar 26, 2018, 6:19 pm
#900
Join Date: May 2004
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I've flown out of LAX a lot recently and the only time I saw the Business/1K special line is when it was visible on the boarding pass, over a month ago. Haven't seen that at all recently, nor gotten any emails about the new boarding process.