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DOSSIER – In this archival photo from May 8, 2013, groups of passengers are waiting at the door of United Airlines to take a flight to the International Airport O. Hare from Chicago. United Airlines, which was the only US carrier not to let families board early, canceled its 4-year policy. The move, which took effect on February 15, 2016, allows families with children under 2 years to settle in their seats before other passengers rush to get a storage space. (AP Photo / Mr. Spencer Green, File)
Go out the door on your next United flight and you may notice that there is now a different system for charging passengers. This week, Chicago-based United Airlines has updated its boarding process to rely on fewer boarding lanes, which will reduce congestion and potentially speed up the loading of passengers.
The new boarding process has been going on for months. In June, United began experimenting with different boarding procedures in a handful of test portals in Chicago and Houston, two of the busiest hubs in the airline's network. Starting this week, the new official boarding process is finally in place.
In the future, the airline will still have five boarding groups, but will only use two lanes for boarding. Elite passengers and other priority passengers in Groups 1 and 2 will move in lane 1, while passengers in Groups 3, 4 and 5 will use lane 2. Passengers who do not actively embark will be asked to sit until they are searched. According to the Wandering Aramean blog, Chase co-branded credit card holders will be in Group 2.
In addition to the new boarding process, United also launches push notifications for users of the company's mobile app. Those who participate will receive a push notification at the start of the embarkation, a particularly useful tool if a flight is delayed or if the ground crew decides to load the plane at the earliest.
This week 's updates are the latest step in a long experiment of experimentation carried out by United and other airlines as part of the process of boarding often complicated and congested. Several years ago, in an effort to better segment the cabin and speed up the load, United began using five lanes to power passengers. And while this method managed to segment passengers in the boarding area and prepare them for departure, it also created a significant amount of standing passengers and congestion near the gate. – especially during delays. New strategy launched this week helps alleviate this problem.
Indeed, some United peers are already using this streamlined process. American Airlines currently uses only two lanes per zone, while Delta Air Lines divides the difference and boards by four. However, a difference between United and its competitors is that this week, top level members or "1K" elite members will be able to pre-board before the official process begins; with most carriers, only VIP passengers have this access.
New boarding lanes and Gateside notifications are expected to be deployed at airports this week.
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DOSSIER – In this archival photo from May 8, 2013, groups of passengers are waiting at the door of United Airlines to take a flight to the International Airport O. Hare from Chicago. United Airlines, which was the only US carrier not to let families board early, canceled its 4-year policy. The move, which took effect on February 15, 2016, allows families with children under 2 years to settle in their seats before other passengers rush to get a storage space. (AP Photo / Mr. Spencer Green, File)
Go out the door on your next United flight and you may notice that there is now a different system for charging passengers. This week, Chicago-based United Airlines has updated its boarding process to rely on fewer boarding lanes, which will reduce congestion and potentially speed up the loading of passengers.
The new boarding process has been going on for months. In June, United began experimenting with different boarding procedures in a handful of test portals in Chicago and Houston, two of the busiest hubs in the airline's network. Starting this week, the new official boarding process is finally in place.
In the future, the airline will still have five boarding groups, but will only use two lanes for boarding. Elite passengers and other priority passengers in Groups 1 and 2 will move in lane 1, while passengers in Groups 3, 4 and 5 will use lane 2. Passengers who do not actively embark will be asked to sit until they are searched. According to the Wandering Aramean blog, Chase co-branded credit card holders will be in Group 2.
In addition to the new boarding process, United also launches push notifications for users of the company's mobile app. Those who participate will receive a push notification at the start of the embarkation, a particularly useful tool if a flight is delayed or if the ground crew decides to load the plane at the earliest.
This week 's updates are the latest step in a long experiment of experimentation carried out by United and other airlines as part of the process of boarding often complicated and congested. Several years ago, in an effort to better segment the cabin and speed up the load, United began using five lanes to power passengers. And while this method managed to segment passengers in the boarding area and prepare them for departure, it also created a significant amount of standing passengers and congestion near the gate. – especially during delays. New strategy launched this week helps alleviate this problem.
Indeed, some United peers are already using this streamlined process. American Airlines currently uses only two lanes per zone, while Delta Air Lines divides the difference and boards by four. However, a difference between United and its competitors is that this week, top level members or "1K" elite members will be able to pre-board before the official process begins; with most carriers, only VIP passengers have this access.
New boarding lanes and Gateside notifications are expected to be deployed at airports this week.
