New Boarding Process

Sadly many PAX mistake there seat number for the gate Number on UA boarding passes.

I'll be careful about "useless" when you're careful about calling my posts "cute."

And it appears obvious that no airline, study or model has figured this out. If they had, then they'd all be using the most efficient model to board. Perhaps...just possibly perhaps...the human element in this "modeling" makes the idea of "most efficient" a quixotic quest.

This makes little difference to me, but I think UA vastly underestimates the cost of shaking up a routine that infrequent flyers and lower elites are just beginning to get used to.

I say this after being furious with a pack of other *Gs after a BOS-DCA flight on US boarded back to front with no *G recognition. US Shuttles always board like this (I know now), but now, every time I watch the chaotic mess of a boarding process, I feel bad for the inevitable newbie pack of *Gs that are confused, then enraged and insulted by this disruption to their order.

Thanks for posting the link. Very informative!

In the spirit of this thread:

Btw, I would like commend all here on MP for taking a civil and level headed approach to such topics that seem to cause quite a bit of consternation on other communities. Keep it up!

I'm assuming this has been implemented already? I checked in for IAD-LHR today and there is no boarding group number on my BP.

I have had the "pleasure" of experiencing the new boarding process at both LAX and MCO yesterday. Both times it seemde to take longer (new process, both passengers and GAs figuring out the process) The GA at MCO did not like it all--she said that it caused dealys all day in boarding and seemed to misunderstand teh new system to announcel all families with children 4 and under to board before 1Ks. I also noticed a larger bottleneck at the Red Carpet now.

sdcarver

Experienced the new Boarding Process at all my flights yesterday (SAN-LAX-MCO)

sdcarver

I think a more accurate judgement of wether this is better or worse will be in a few more weeks when the GAs and frequent flyers have gotten more used to the process. Until then I would withhold judgment.

Understood, it is still quite early in the process and you know how we frequent flyers hate change...

sdcarver

The switch to row numbers versus seating areas doesn't really bother me as long as flights still leave on time. I find it a minor negative if it means boarding starts five minutes earlier (if the process takes longer) because that'll mean that either I have to show up five minutes earlier or I'll be less likely to get overhead space. The change that I dislike more is allowing all elites to use the carpet. Now when I show up five minutes after boarding starts I'll have to wait in line behind all the Premier Executives and Premiers that haven't boarded yet. It just means more competition for overhead space for 1Ks.

It's not that we don't like it. We just happen to be mildly allergic to it.

lol

How confusing would it be to board GS/1K/F via the red carpet; then elites via the regular line; then allow ALL elites to board via the red carpet once general boarding has begun? It makes sense to me from the perspective of preserving most of the 1K/GS/F red carpet benefits while adding value for the other elites. Then again, I tend to give people more credit than they deserve when it comes to following directions. Makes sense to me, but might not work in real life.

In any case, I would suggest that people provide feedback via UALsurvey.com after their flights. Maybe we do need to give it some more time, as Ygor suggests, but good to let UA know our experiences.

EDIT: As I recall, AC also has a similar boarding process.

Mildly?

Have now experienced this at EWR, SFO (twice), SEA and HNL and can attest to the fact that it is not working. Boarding is chaotic as elites scramble from various parts of the red/blue carpet line to board as F/C or GS/1K/P, then next tiers... Sitting in the front cabin it seems the stream of coach passengers goes on forever and halfway through boarding FAs announce there is no more overhead space...seems coach passengers are just putting their carry-ons in the open spaces where people have not yet boarded. Those in the first dozen rows of coach find no overhead space. (Not to mention those coach passengers now putting bags in any empty F space!) UA crews are unfamiliar with the new process, and UA gate agents are fumbling through it too. From my experience, UA flights are barely closing the door on time for departure. No wonder CO's boarding started 10-15 minutes before UA's used to.

Then there is the matter of 1Ks and GSs sitting in the last rows of F not getting their choices of meals!

To be fair, it's relatively new and people are still getting used to it. (I doubt I'll like it once people are used to it either, though.) I'll be interested to see how the process looks in a few weeks.

Reported today for the first time. What a friggin mess.

We all know we have to show up earlier to board than before because airlines are charging to check bags and that bins are full and bags have to be checked on pretty much every flight. Capacity is down, flights are packed.

Now I have to depart the club like I have to before every CO flight, even earlier because of the 30-50 "elites" that now are crowding the red carpet.

Sure, it will get smoother down the road, but is it more effective to do boarding area than by rows? Absolutely not. The boarding process will be longer.

There has now been 3 major service changes making the value of 1K drop in value severely.

I've been CO Plat for two years, but reduced my trips with them significantly last year after 3 major customer service incidents. Those incidents were the 3 worst customer service experiences I've ever had with any airline.

The lack of differentiation between tiers and now it will be CO style all the way in the way customers are treated.

Have not done the new boarding yet, but I watched the vaunted UA boarding process at IAD many times (both Terminal A and C-D), and I have to tell you it was by no means smooth. The carpet was always seemingly blocked, *Gs were pushing all over themselves, and the zones were not particularly orderly. I am not commenting one is better than the other, but from my perspective as both a long before merger legacy UA elite and a legacy CO elite, UA zones were no picnic. YMMV

The new CO based "board by row numbers" reminds me of this hilarious scene from Meet the Parents:



For bonus points, can anyone guess what airport that was shot at?

Survival of the fittest?

I am rather depressed by my experiences with the new boarding routine as implemented this week. Three flights - bedlam at the gate every time, and a lot of 1K's that were unhappy, surprised, or both. United had a perfectly good process in place and then all of a sudden... Gone! Really, one might as well fly US Airways.

I don't know if I missed it earlier in the thread, but was there a communication about this change? I don't recall seeing it in my email, but it might have been buried in one of the "Spend your miles for summer travel!" emails. This is what would irk me if I showed up to the airport and got something completely different from what I had expected because they didn't tell us about it. This is a significant material change for travelers.

Off the subject, but the funniest part of this whole deal is when she is ticketing him and just blankly looks off into the distance while madly typing away for what seems like hours.

Burbank?