SFO UC - escorted pre-boarding for JFK flight
Jun 14, 2021, 5:26 pm
#17
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I thought this was gonna be escorted for some covid reason but no...it's an "enhancement"! I can't say that I'd ever use this. I'd prefer to spend as much time in the lounge as possible rather than more time at the gate or more time on board sitting in my seat while the flight fills up. My preference would be to get legitimate announcements on boarding. Almost all lounges say they DON'T do announcements, so I'm clearly in the minority on that. But I can't count how many times I've left my seat in the lounge only to get to the gate and see there's not even an aircraft there to board, let alone has the boarding started.
Jun 14, 2021, 5:37 pm
#18
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This is an interesting concept to make it seem "premium," but these things only work if they can ensure they walk you from the club right onto the plane. If you're waiting in line or a not yet open boarding area, it's not very helpful. Give those pax a PDB on boarding - that would be a nice enhancement.
Jun 14, 2021, 5:38 pm
#19
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Well, consider how many flights UA boards each day out of its hubs. Boarding announcements, for UA-operated flights, at the HKG club would be reasonable. Boarding announcements at ORD would be extremely intrusive.
Jun 14, 2021, 5:44 pm
#20
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No need. From your mobile phone or computer, flight status -> click on the inbound aircraft link ("Where is this aircraft coming from?").
Jun 14, 2021, 5:45 pm
#21
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The point being, that if UA wants to fill their PS cabins, a fancy seat alone ain't going to do it, nor will marching people like summer camp campers from the UC to the gate. They need to step up the soft product and offer incentives to the main market demographic that flies that route. I do get decent discounts from UA on these PS flights, but not nearly as good as the entertainment contracts with DL and AA, some of which are fixed net fares which can make a big difference to someone who is commuting frequently and needs to project and fix their costs over a period of time. It's a completely different demographic than the typical ORD-DFW business flyer heading to a techie sales meeting, many of the PS flyers in the entertainment business are very picky about the details, and the ones we work with have not indicated any interest in moving away from AA or B6, where Mint is currently our top seller.
Jun 14, 2021, 6:44 pm
#22
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While waiting for our flight to JFK at SFO United Club, they made an announcement for escorted pre-boarding specifically for the JFK flight. Anyone who is interested would gather under the clock at 12:30, an hour before the flight departure time.
In the interest of Flyertalk™ research, we took advantage of it. There were 5 JFK passengers (3 in my group) gathered at the clock, and a premium service agent walked us to the gate. The flight had a crew change that caused a delay in boarding, so we lined up along the wall at the gate. A few minutes later, right after the first wheelchair passenger was sent down the jetway, we were welcomed to board. The gate agent was pre-boarding military personnel at the time, so definitely before GS, family, and 1K.
It was definitely an interesting experiment, prioritizing United Club users over other published pre-boarding groups. Would I do it again? Probably not if I was flying solo, although it's nice that I did not have to fight for bin space.
In the interest of Flyertalk™ research, we took advantage of it. There were 5 JFK passengers (3 in my group) gathered at the clock, and a premium service agent walked us to the gate. The flight had a crew change that caused a delay in boarding, so we lined up along the wall at the gate. A few minutes later, right after the first wheelchair passenger was sent down the jetway, we were welcomed to board. The gate agent was pre-boarding military personnel at the time, so definitely before GS, family, and 1K.
It was definitely an interesting experiment, prioritizing United Club users over other published pre-boarding groups. Would I do it again? Probably not if I was flying solo, although it's nice that I did not have to fight for bin space.
Jun 14, 2021, 6:46 pm
#23
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AA has better food, but AA service is even worse than UA's. DL's been serving nothing but a snack box. DL service tends to be better, though I've had some crappy crews on the DL t-cons.
The Mint seat is awful. Worse than the Diamond.
Seat is the most important consideration for me. Lounge is also important. But to say UA's product is not competitive . . .
Jun 14, 2021, 6:47 pm
#24
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Jun 14, 2021, 7:00 pm
#25
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This is an interesting concept to make it seem "premium," but these things only work if they can ensure they walk you from the club right onto the plane. If you're waiting in line or a not yet open boarding area, it's not very helpful. Give those pax a PDB on boarding - that would be a nice enhancement.
Jun 14, 2021, 9:49 pm
#29
Join Date: Jan 2005
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It will be interesting to see if the tie-up with AA helps B6 and to what degree. If I hazard a guess I would say B6 gets some benefit while AA both gains and loses traffic, overall neutral.
This new United procedure reminds me of the old IFL/GFL boarding for international flights. I liked it, I spent a lot less time milling around the gate area. The gate would call ahead to the GFL with advance warning on the boarding time so you never had to wait. If done properly this is a plus. And it is not mandatory by any means, you can stay longer in the lounge if you wish.
Jun 14, 2021, 11:11 pm
#30
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United now already does push notifications in the app as well as text messages just as boarding is started. Is it really necessary to have someone announce in the lounge, "as you can see on your phone, boarding has started"?
The only time I find lounge announcements to be useful is in the case of significant IRROPS when they tell you something that isn't otherwise obvious or gives you a sense of what's the problem is and whether you need to start looking for alternatives. "The engine is busted and we have to fly a new one in" kinds of things.
Yes, I've done this there too and that is a very nice benefit.
The only time I find lounge announcements to be useful is in the case of significant IRROPS when they tell you something that isn't otherwise obvious or gives you a sense of what's the problem is and whether you need to start looking for alternatives. "The engine is busted and we have to fly a new one in" kinds of things.
Yes, I've done this there too and that is a very nice benefit.