serfty

I'm still waiting to see how the general differences in premium PAX behavior prior to boarding pans out once the merger is in full swing.

In my travels I have noticed that AA premium PAX tend to wait outside the tapes until the boarding call for their group is announced. Occasionally some will queue inside the tape but not often and not many.

With USair, Premium PAX tend to line up between the tapes in the priority queue from the start to wait for boarding.

Flyer78

Maybe we need to get off things with assigned value/order.

Now boarding group Blue.
Now boarding group Racecar.
Now boarding group Coca Cola*

For added fun, have a selection of about 20 objects, rotate them per flight; continue to do so until people stay seated.

*Think of the added revenue sponsored boarding groups would bring.


The above post is published using the Sarcasm font.

heyeaglefn

This could work. WE are now boarding the "Panda" group. If you do not have a Panda on your pass, please do not try to board.

steve65341

One thing I noticed today is that they didn't announce the old "We'll begin boarding in just a few more minutes" that makes everyone get up and in the way. Big plus in my book !

pa3lsvt

I did a PHL-DFW MR (last out/first back) overnight and then flew on to BOS. Besides the odd circumstance of connecting at the airport I am based out of, I also noticed three slightly different boarding processes for F/elites (after special assist and uniformed military in all cases). Seems to me that the changes are causing temporary lack of consistency at this point.

Last night PHL-DFW:
1) F
2) EX PLAT/CP (separate and distinct announcement 1 minute after announcing FC but before FC had completed passing through the gate)
3) dunno, I had F seat (thinly veiled brag for SP sniping F upgrade on that flight).

Today DFW-PHL:
1) F, EX PLAT/CP together
2) PP, GP, SP, AA PLAT, AA GOLD, STAR GOLD
3) purchased preferred access (not "Zone 1")

Today PHL-BOS:
1) F (reiterated as "FC, and FC only" by GA)
Didn't hear any more form the jetbridge.

cova

When boarding on Sunday at PSP, agent said F, then all Elites including EXP were next (which is 1/2 the plane). Agent said she was following the list.

Is EXP now grouped with PLAT and GOLD for boarding?

MikeMilzz

This is what I experienced out of PHX last Tue and at MCO yest. GA bungled the txt and we joked about it being normal eventually so seemed like she was reading right off the screen.

plon

^


On a recent CLT-LGA flight (always very elite heavy) there were 49(!) people lined up for the first group of boarding (FC, CP, EXP). I've seen big groups of elites before, but that was the largest without anyone but the top tiers. Assuming 16 in the front, that's 33 CP and EXP.
An interesting note is that many of them must have been EXP, because I'm a GP and I was #2 on the upgrade list, so I assume I wouldn't have appeared on the list if they were all CPs.

Next though she announced anyone with Preferred on their BP could now board. Which was another mass of people that I didn't stick around to count.

And yes the GA turned people away who were not in the correct group.

Soon enough they are going to have to separate out tier by tier on certain routes...

pdpgps

I have some experience in operational excellence and studying process flows. I came up with this idea of using a visual boarding process in which the boarding area has clearly marked lanes and maybe shaded carpet areas so we prevent buildups during boarding.

1) Visual cues help create easy to follow instructions
2) Possibly board by color? Not by zone number? This reduces the "degrading" feeling of being zone 5 vs "priority" which also translates into "privileged" hierarchy.
3) Creation of a new floormat in which your areas are clearly defined by a "box" area.
4) L shaped queue can reduce the flow of people traffic into the central walking areas (ie that center corridor where gates are on either side leaving the middle unobstructed for traffic)
5) Prevention of the boarding queue into the gate agent's line

feedback welcome! Wishful thinking..hoping someone from US/AA will take some our feedback.

huynhc

You get an A+ for effort...

Flyer78

I like the concept. Sadly, I don't see the space being at PHL (at least in the older parts of B and C -- so much wasted space on an obsolete design) being a bigger issue to improving boarding. Other airports would be constrained too... But maybe they would do something like this where they could.

BoeingBoy

Space is a problem, but much further in that concept and you have WN's boarding lanes - line up by boarding priority and the agent can let 10, 15, whatever people go at a time.

Unfortunately, some routes at least at some times of day are almost entirely elite while other routes at different times of day have few elites. One method of boarding all flights between those extremes is sure to be unworkable at some times on some routes. So maybe WN's "cattle call" hasn't been such a bad idea all these years after all...

Jim

pa3lsvt

I've seen UA gates where they have five separate lanes (AUS comes to mind), presumably one for each zone. I've wondered why that can't be done everywhere, and then I fly out of B/C or F at PHL and remember why.

LSUTigerWes

Boarding will always be a cluster. No matter how it is done, research has shown that it makes little, if any, difference in boarding time.

heyeaglefn

I don't think anyone cares about boarding time as much as making sure the right order is maintained.