wrp96

Not on other airlines. As I said it wasn't the only thing that cause them to change, but it is something they do think about, unlike the claim that has been made more than once in this thread that nobody buying first class thinks about boarding position.

zombietooth

4 1/2 hour connection. My departure gate was in Z not D (I miskeyed my first post).
I knew about the car transfer, and that it can only be done from the B22 lounge or the FCT, that is why I was trying to get to the B-gates. No one was waiting at the gate to advise me of a different procedure when I arrived, so I tried to get to the B22 FCL.
The problem was at B-gate security. LH staff there turned me away and said I needed to go to the SEN lounge near Z50, because it was closer to my Z-gate departure. I had to go through security checkpoints and immigration twice because of the runaround I got from LH personnel.
It was like they had never encountered a connection like mine before-sheer incompetence on display.

I really should've just exited the terminal and gone to the FCT-hindsight is 20/20.

tarheelnj

Some other thoughts, specifically relating to people that will comfortably make Plat, but have the ability to stretch for 1K.

This change is powerful encouragement for the additional up to $3k PQD spend (assuming the number doesn't go up next year) to make 1K. That could offset the occasional F/J-fare purchasers who might desert. And that additional $3k has to be flown to get the PQD.

At the same time, TOD upgrades (and virtually any post-purchase upgrades) no longer give you additional PQM's, so in theory the 50k PQM flyer can't just accept every TOD offer to get an additional 50k PQM's. They'll have to take additional flights or give UA free money through the (non-PQD earning) Premier Accelerator.

mozilla

Some INTL J/F RT fares easily exceed the PQD requirement for 1K by themselves. As of today, pax traveling on those fares by default don't board before 1K either, unless they qualify for pre-boarding based on something else. Are they less valuable too?

Are people who choose to travel on full unrestricted F fares one or two times a year less valuable than 1K, even though they cost UA nothing in status perks?

I'm just saying, we're quick to draw conclusions, but there's usually a lot more that comes to the equation. I appreciate you say they "can" be more valuable, which I think is true. Posts above say they "are" more valuable, which I think is not so true.

HNLbasedFlyer

Stress?

Thank you.

benewr

bocastephen

Honestly, I would love to see F board last so I can relax and not rush to the gate, but even with this new scheme, I'll still need to be at the gate early, and worse, instead of a single file orderly line in G1, there will be a mass scrum of people outside the lane rushing the gate when 1K preboarding is announced. If you think this won't happen, go check out an AA widebody boarding - I guarantee you'll be traumatized by the experience, it looks like a mass panic rushing the door to escape an impending disaster.

GA's get overwhelmed and stop following procedures and stop enforcing policies and everyone just rushes the gate and the GA scans the BP and let's them by - it's a total circus.

The issue with F boarding last is the overhead space - if those bins can remain closed and empty until F boards, great, but with so many people boarding and some F customers mixing in early boarding, there is no way to segregate and protect the bins unless pax are boarded from a door behind F. The FA in front is not going to be the bin police if she/he needs to do PDB, greet passengers at the door, do initial catering prep, etc etc.

aCavalierInCoach

Yes, at SFO. Children/those needing assistance boarded first as usual. Then uniformed military/GS. Then 1Ks, (who were specifically advised in advance not to line up in group 1). Couple 1Ks boarded alongside the couple GS on-board, my guess is these two groups ultimately get folded together.

jsloan

No, and I am extremely grateful to those people, as they subsidize my travel.

There simply is no solution that will satisfy everyone. It's pretty clear at this point that everybody wants to be first on the plane, as the airlines have successfully made that something that people care about. Since that's a physical impossibility, I'm not sure what better alternative there is.

What I do know is that if this is as meaningful to the non-status F customers as some are making it out to be, the system will be tweaked again, likely resulting in another 300+ messages about how bad the new system will be compared to the one they're rolling out today.

msper64

Agreed. Charge for the overhead bin space.

LordHamster

Glad to see that GAs continue to be incapable of following written instructions.

Silver Fox

It all keeps circling back to overhead space.....

Yellowjj

Oh I do think it will happen and it will be amusing to watch.

I agree, the FA won't police the bins. This is why I find it strange they decided not to include FC into pre-boards as well. Thankfully this change doesn't really affect me because I only carry on a laptop bag, so even if FC bin space is full, it can easily slide under the seat. I always sit and join the end of the group 1 line when it clears out, however I can see why others would be upset.

mozilla

In America, money always trumps loyalty eventually. I just hope it won't be too late to save United First from being cut during the next recession because a cabin that doesn't attract enough organic sales is a cabin that is going away.

I really couldn't care less about who gets to board first. But this isn't an isolated event, it's the second significant devaluation of United First this year among smaller less noticeable devaluations, and I'm starting to see the repeat of the devaluation cycle that eventually contributed to the demise of United Global First (still mourning).

aCavalierInCoach

Not sure what the written instructions are, but I honestly thought it went fine. There will be some flights where the volume of 1Ks makes it a bit crowded but the benefit is for the most part intact based on n=1.