Kacee

Last night at HNL the GA almost as an afterthought added "and Premier 1Ks are now welcome to board" at the very end of pre-boarding. I was outside the ropes and had a clear path to the gate, but before I could get to the scanner he said "Group 1 is now welcome to board." So 1K preboarding lasted all of about three seconds. Made things a little awkward, as the folks at the front of the line got to the scanner at the same time as me. This was Hawaii, so we were all polite about it, but if GAs are going to announce 1K pre-boarding, they need to pause meaningfully before calling Group 1.

mozilla

I disagree. Paid first is now boarding later and even significantly later than an increased number of other pax. Early boarding is universally considered a benefit, be it an actual one or a perceived one, and the other legacies keep offering it, affecting UA's position in the market as a premium carrier. This does change the benefit, and it does so significantly in markets like SFO. 1K would be disappointed and perceive devaluation - rightly so, imho - if the decision was to move paid F to pre-boarding.

While this may be true for IAH-AUS, let's not forget that EWR-SFO/LAX and select other domestic markets still charge north of $1k for the cheapest Business or First RT fare, and INTL markets - which may include domestic segments - charge much more. Those high-roller pax are also affected by this change.

(I'm not sure what you mean with P-fare though, P-fares are INTL fares nowadays and will generally cost you north of $2k. You mean an L-fare or similar that books into P?)

gene2632

We flew EWR to LAS and back last month and this system was in effect both ways. Before boarding started it still looked and felt like a GMF in the boarding area. We were in BG1 because wife is Gold and we both got CPUed to F (Still in shock over that one) and looking back as we boarded it still looked like a mess with people milling around and looking confused. Both gates had limited seating so when they ask that people remain comfortablely seated until their group is called, just where are they supposed to sit?. Going forward we will still be in BG1 and I am happy with that status. Even when we were in BG 2 there was always space for our carryons. If you really want to make boarding more orderly get rid of checked bag fees and/or start enforcing the carryon rules. The overheads fill up quickly because people are pushing the limits trying to save that $25 fee.

Kacee

Although typically at those airports, there's not room for people to stand without clogging the boarding lanes either, so the #1 problem is not the boarding process but an inadequate boarding area which no process is going to fix.

st530

I liked the 5 lines. Often lane 5 would be empty and could use that when they called GS to avoid the clusterscrum in line 1. Kiss that goodbye.

fumje

delete misread

zymm

Based on line length and upgrade lists on previous flights, I suspect boarding at SFO will go a little something like this:
Preboard: 50% of the plane
BG1: 25% of the plane
BG2: 10% of the plane
BG3: like...5 people
BG4: 5% of plane
BG5: remaining 10%

Winners: 1k, Golds
Losers: Plats, Paid F, (potentially) GS, and I guess CC holders?

Kacee

Perhaps one of our UA employees can confirm, but I suspect that GAs are going to be instructed to call GS for preboarding before 1Ks (thats how it was done at HNL last night), so I'm not sure why anyone would say that GS will be losers here.

threeoh

This argument goes both ways. UA is devaluing F but increasing value of 1K. UA has decided 1Ks are "worth more" than one-off F flyers, at least in this context. They also offer 1Ks in Y free food and drink.

UA is the only legacy that lets any (non-GS-equiv) elite tier board before F. If you're a high-value Y flyer with a choice, where are you going to rack up your 100k PQM? UA, where you get to skip the scrum and pre-board? AA, where you board after F? Or DL, where even 125K gets you with F and 100K gets you mixed in with the Golds and Y+?

The number of paid F flyers who are going to (1) pick their airline on small differences in boarding order, rather than route/time convenience and cost, and yet (2) don't have status on an airline, is pretty small.

fivevsone

The only way I see GS 'losing' is that the currently calm waiting area with 1-3 other GS (not SFO) will be replaced by some larger number of GS+1K milling around in the usually constricted pre-boarding spaces. Assuming they run the list in order and pause between groups.

phltraveler

Silver loses too because they get lumped in with all the credit card holders and behind all of the golds. Sucks for me as it's going to make overhead space a lot harder to come by, but it would have been a change I was happy with when I was UA Gold in 2014... and the writing was kind of on the wall when I observed the boarding trials in O'hare in 2015 (which had the UA Silver/*S/Credit card elites separate from UA Gold and above).

mozilla

I realize I didn't put enough emphasis, but my argument is that it is actually the devaluation creep that threatens the future of the F cabin, rather than isolated changes. And mind you, there isn't a lot of stuff left that can be reasonably cut without reverting to Premium Economy. Some will say that United First is already premium economy.

Significant changes like cuts in catering service or small changes like the disappearance of Rhapsody - all of which are still recent by the way - and now boarding after half of the plane in some airports, add it all up and yes you'll see more people who aren't necessarily going to book somewhere else, but won't plunk down the $$$ for domestic -F- fares anymore. They may still buy TODs.

The rate at which United First has been devaluated recently is alarming, and I start wondering if this is a part of a strategy to convert United First into United Premium Economy.

TomA

^

stampchez

chicago747

I fly almost completely for leisure, but 99% of time in paid first (via $$$ or upgrade) and am ORD based. I am a nobody on UA and have basically become a free agent with 75% -AA and 25%-UA. I have zero issue with UA acknowledging 1k's, as I understand their contribution to UA's bottom line. What I will have issue with is if I board with my group to find non-first class passenger bags in the overhead. I'm assuming most 1K's wouldn't put their bags in first class while flying coach, but it is a worry. The first time I'm seated in 3B and have to put my carry-on over 12C will be last time I pay for first class on UA.