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}
Jun 20, 2019, 5:35 am
#2626
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,487
When I was boarding FRA-SFO the group 1 line was much longer than the group 2 line. It stretched down the hallway, halfway to the next gate. I guess everyone is Gold. Then about halfway through the group 1 line the agents got bored or something and decided to call the group 2 line at the same time. It was total chaos. No one had any clue what was going on.
The simple fact is that UA has made so many "elites" that they have cheapened the the whole concept of status.
Jun 20, 2019, 6:14 am
#2627
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: FRA ✈️ SFO
Posts: 68
FWIW, IMO the most predictable system has SouthWest. They give you the exact position in line on the boarding pass.
Jun 20, 2019, 6:55 am
#2628
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,487
Not really true for LH. They separate HON+First from Business Pax and *G passengers. But they do call Business Pax and *G status as a single group. That gets very, very busy/crowed at times. The only difference is that's mostly *G because LH doesn't sell priority boarding/credit cards with status.
Jun 20, 2019, 7:00 am
#2629
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,152
I thought all of the paid/affinity priority boarding -- be it from credit card, buying premier access, etc. -- wound up in Group 2... has this changed while I wasn't looking?
Jun 20, 2019, 7:30 am
#2630
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,379
And this is exactly why boarding an LH flight as a *G is less hassle than boarding a UA flight as a Premier Gold member. In all my years flying LH/OS/LX/EW, I have never had a problem finding a place for my carry on. I am almost always part of the first 10% of passengers boarding the aircraft.
Jun 20, 2019, 7:43 am
#2631
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,487
While there is usually carry-on space, that surprises me. On my typical LH flight intra-Europe, the premium boarding group (J/HON/SEN/*G) is a third of the plane, and they start boarding Economy in parallel after about 4 people go through the scanner, so unless you shove your way to the podium to lice there you're not getting on early.
Jun 20, 2019, 7:59 am
#2632
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,404
IME boarding LH group flights is typically quite unpleasant. One of my very worst boarding experiences ever was at VIE flying OS J as a *G. The line was horrific, and wound through various parts of the gate area. It doesn't help that continental Europeans don't respect the queue concept much at all.
UA has clearly tried over the years to come up with a process that balances the interests of various groups of passengers. The basic problem is finding a way to get a large group of passengers, which inevitably includes some number of rude, pushy, and/or totally clueless ones, through a very small door. Of course, the checked bag fees don't help, and that's the place airlines bear blame for exacerbating the basic problem.
UA has clearly tried over the years to come up with a process that balances the interests of various groups of passengers. The basic problem is finding a way to get a large group of passengers, which inevitably includes some number of rude, pushy, and/or totally clueless ones, through a very small door. Of course, the checked bag fees don't help, and that's the place airlines bear blame for exacerbating the basic problem.
Jun 20, 2019, 8:17 am
#2633
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,487
Was that at the new side of the airport or the old side? If the latter, ITA, I never liked that part of VIE.
Jun 20, 2019, 9:13 am
#2634
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,129
It hasn't changed...only way into BG1 is to earn it through status or fly in J (paid or upgrade). Credit cards and selling premier access hasn't changed that.
Jun 20, 2019, 2:17 pm
#2635
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
It's generally been this way ever since they abandoned the pmUA process. Even before the merger, I remember A320 IAD-SFO flights that were so GS/1K heavy that the GA's boarded by rows. Contrast this with Europe, where HON Circle/*G on LH, or the OW equivalent on BA, or the ST equivalent on AF - the "elite" lines are never UA-like long.
The simple fact is that UA has made so many "elites" that they have cheapened the the whole concept of status.
The simple fact is that UA has made so many "elites" that they have cheapened the the whole concept of status.
I do not understand why they began boarding Group 2 through the same area as Group 1 when they were only half way through the Group 1 line. There were two queues of people trying to crowd through one little gate.
Jun 20, 2019, 3:27 pm
#2636
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Bucks County
Programs: UAL GS & Million Miler; Delta Lifetime Gold; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Platinum; Legion Etrangere
Posts: 1,608
Jun 20, 2019, 7:41 pm
#2637
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Chicago IL US
Programs: UA 1K; National Executive Elite; Hertz PC & Hotels Galore
Posts: 946
LH calls for boarding at most gates and as mentioned unless you're up in front/desk lice blocking others, one has to endure a literal scrum to get on board. It's a free for all in the J/*G/etc lane. Sharp elbows are advised.
Conversely, I've had great ground experiences flying in F at outstations. Recently boarding at ORD an agent plucked me from the back of the 100+ person priority line and stopped all others from boarding then cleared a path through the full jetway to get me in front of th crowd.
Not to mention the FRA/MUC experience...
NRT had both 1K pens and GS corrals!
Conversely, I've had great ground experiences flying in F at outstations. Recently boarding at ORD an agent plucked me from the back of the 100+ person priority line and stopped all others from boarding then cleared a path through the full jetway to get me in front of th crowd.
Not to mention the FRA/MUC experience...
NRT had both 1K pens and GS corrals!
Jun 20, 2019, 8:50 pm
#2638
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,404
Jun 20, 2019, 11:11 pm
#2639
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: DYKWIA, But I'm a "Diamond Guest" UA 1K/2MM
Posts: 2,250
More 1K Gate Lousing
SFO->LAX today: guy plants himself astride the gate before anyone has boarded. I'm thinking: "No way he's GS, they know better." So the disabled, military, GS, families with children all have to go around this guy and then (of course) he boards when they call 1K. It seems like practically every flight I see some variation of this now. I had one flight where the throng of 1ks blocking the gate was so thick I had to hold my boarding pass up and get the agent to gesture me through, because otherwise I couldn't have gotten through without either yelling or pushing people out of the way.
This really needs to be fixed.
This really needs to be fixed.
Jun 21, 2019, 12:29 am
#2640
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,487
SFO->LAX today: guy plants himself astride the gate before anyone has boarded. I'm thinking: "No way he's GS, they know better." So the disabled, military, GS, families with children all have to go around this guy and then (of course) he boards when they call 1K. It seems like practically every flight I see some variation of this now. I had one flight where the throng of 1ks blocking the gate was so thick I had to hold my boarding pass up and get the agent to gesture me through, because otherwise I couldn't have gotten through without either yelling or pushing people out of the way.
This really needs to be fixed.
This really needs to be fixed.
