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The new AA procedures should be fun to watch .  The suggested WIMA procedure that is also covered seems interesting but .....  Boarding by zones does work but only if it is enforced. I see the new AA procedures do not address preboarding (wheelchairs, blind etc).  Link to the article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/the-worlds-largest-airline-american-airlines-unveils-new-boarding-system/  

A US airline has unveiled the most complicated boarding system of all time

The new "simplified" nine group boarding system will replace its current order of four group numbers Credit: Getty
24 February 2017 • 11:32am

American Airlines has unveiled plans for a new “simplified” boarding process, to begin on March 1, with passengers prioritised according to nine numbered groups, up from the current four, and with those in the airline’s recently launched ‘basic economy’ class (more on that here) embarking dead last.

Those with priority boarding are split into five groups:

Group 1

First Class (naturally)

Active duty U.S. military with military I.D.

(Business Class on a 2-class international aircraft)

Group 2

Executive Platinum

oneworld® EmeraldSM

(Business Class on a 3-class aircraft)

Group 3

Platinum Pro

Platinum

oneworld® SapphireSM

Group 4

Alaska Airlines MVP® members

AirPass

Premium Economy

Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive cardmembers

Customers who bought Priority boarding

Group 5 (Preferred boarding)

Main Cabin Extra

Eligible AAdvantage® credit cardmembers

Eligible corporate travelers

Then comes the rabble. Passengers falling in the lower half (groups six to eight) have not been specified:

Group 6

Group 7

Group 8

And last up, of course...

Group 9

Basic Economy

See the full outline of the new boarding system here.

Sounds complicated? We think so, but American Airlines disagrees: “The boarding order will be the same, with only minor exceptions. The change is in how we refer to each group on boarding passes and announcements,” a company spokesman told MarketWatch.01:52

The perfect way to board a plane

Which is the fastest way to board a plane? Not like American Airlines. According to various studies, from sources as varied as Northwestern University in Illinois and the Discovery Channel’s TV series MythBusters, a simple new approach could save airlines – and passengers – up to 20 minutes of runway faffing on every return flight.

Instead of getting passengers to board according to their row number, they should board according to their column. Those with a window seat first, followed by those in the middle and, finally, those in the aisle. The “WilMA” method, as it has been dubbed – window, middle, aisle – could cut boarding times by more than 35 per cent, according to Northwestern. Similar savings could be made if WilMA is used to disembark the plane, too, it said.

MythBusters, which devoted almost an entire show to the thorny problem, tested six options using a replica of an aircraft interior and 173 willing volunteers. To simulate reality, five per cent of passengers were asked to behave “problematically” – sitting in the wrong seat, wasting time folding up their coat in the aisle, that sort of thing.

The regular method, with business class getting on first and then everyone else boarding in zones, starting at the back and moving to the front, took a whopping 24 minutes and 29 seconds. WilMA took just 14 minutes and 55 seconds, even when premium passengers were still permitted to board first. Volunteers were also asked to give each method a “satisfaction” score, and WilMA scored far higher than the standard boarding technique. Remarkably, the method currently favoured by airlines was shown to be far slower than simply letting everyone on board at once to find their own assigned seats (17 minutes and 15 minutes).

boarding.thumb.jpg.b16fac74aacad262fb425bf74593cbb6.jpg

Quickest of all, however, was allowing passengers to board all at once and to choose their own seats – a method once favoured by Ryanair but abandoned in 2014 as part of its “family-friendly” facelift. 

So why don’t airlines take heed? For one, passengers who like to take advantage of speedy boarding – and airlines who like to take advantage of charging them for the privilege – would be scuppered. But the most glaringly obvious reason is that groups and families would – albeit temporarily – be split up. As a family will typically share a row of seats, mum in the window seat would need to leave behind everyone else to take her place, while little Jimmy in the middle would be expected to find his seat all on his own.

How else could airlines speed things up? Using both front and rear doors would be a start. Ryanair is one airline to do so as a matter of policy. 

An innovative option was introduced by Delta last year. Its “Early Valet” service sees staff preload passengers’ hand luggage above their allotted seats prior to boarding and is available on selected routes.

Research has suggested that baggage is the biggest factor when it comes to rapid boarding, while average boarding speeds have slowed from 20 passengers per minute in the 1960s to nine per minute in 1998 as use of hand luggage increased due to fees for checking bags. 

 

Delta’s service is not free, of course, which makes you wonder whether it was really devised with speedy boarding in mind.

The best option of all, according to Dr R. John Milne, of Clarkson University in New York, and set out in the Journal of Air Transport Management, would be for passengers with the most luggage to be given window seats and kept as far apart as possible, before boarding in a carefully choreographed order.

Window seat passengers in odd numbered seats on one side of the plane would board first, followed by those in even numbered seats, or vice versa. The process would be repeated for window seats on the other side of the cabin, then for middle seats and aisle seats in the same manner.

OK, that sounds about as complicated as American's new system. 

 

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The amount of time, effort and money spent on trying to shave a few minutes off boarding times is just not cost-effective.  Sure, if you could consistently get the turn time down it might be worth it but you can't depend on it because there is just too much variability; in the winter everyone has coats to stow which slows things down, at March break there's all the families that don't travel often enough to be efficient at boarding, at Christmas everyone has extra carry-ons.  The biggest impediment to boarding is just human stupidity; the zone 5 person who tries to board when zone 3 is called, the moron with 2 carry-ons and a large double double who gets to the front of the line and then starts digging through their pockets to find the boarding pass.  The biggest issue with de-planing is the little old man who insists on standing up in the aisle fussing with his coat, trying organize his carry-on and his hat and his newspaper and his cane and his little old wife who's doing the same things even though he's been told to wait til the end.

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I think the zone system works if everyone waits until they are called. Our most recent experience was on AC and premium econ generally results in a zone 2 status. Leaving FLL earlier this month had us at the proper place in line until the zone ones marched ahead. The AC agent then looked at us assuming we were the beginning of the zone 2's and waved us through. Arriving at our extra legroom seats I noticed someone had put two roller boards over our 14HJ.

At first i thought it was cabin crew bags but they were not and was puzzled for a moment as we were the first zone 2 people in that section. Then I realize a guy already sitting in the middle seat across the aisle (767) belonged to this stuff. He must have busted the zone one line and got there first taking the space which I consider belongs to our seat.

So now I'm moving down a row to the next empty bin which I know is going to upset the person in that row and also delaying the people now backed up in the aisle behind me. When I sat down I wanted to say something to the guy but I got "the look" from deluxe. 

Sure enough our bags now being in the wrong place caused a major commotion for some other people and i looked like the one who's at fault. 

So later while he filled out his custom card I happened to see his boarding pass and sure enough.....zone 2. Yah, I knew it. Would have made a good Seinfeld or Curb episode for Larry David but I let it go. 

Point is, I think AC's system works fine if everyone plays by the rules. The nine stage AA system sounds like a disaster waiting happen. 

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AS RELAYED TO ME BY MY SON....

My son flys "J" many times to MEX. He takes a window seat. His seat buddy came in later and opened the overhead and found there was no room for a small carry-on. He asked my son if the over sized Burgundy Roll-Aboard was his .

"No" he replied,.. so the guy tried almost everyone in "J"

Apparently no one owned the bag.

He carried the bag down to the curtain between "Y" and "J" and hollered for everyone's attention. Silence permeated the air...He held up the "Roll-Aboard" and asked, "Who owns this !!!".

A guy in about row 20 or so said it was his. 

The annoyed "J" customer took the bag and fired it  down the aisle toward the customer in row 20 and returned to his seat with a ripple of applause running through the aircraft, especially those in "J".

 

In my opinion, it doesn't matter how you board customers , especially when the gate agents don't really look at the boarding passes and seldom stop anyone who should not be boarding. 

However,  "I Think"  COLORED boarding passes for each zone would be the answer and if RED is called and BLUE turns up, they should be herded off to the side....not be allowed to rush a head of those in the zone whose color has been called......normally the agent just grimaces and lets them board...(Don't want to PO the paying customers?).

Naturally there are many that have no idea where their  row is and will stop at each row and check the number but that is to be expected from the occasionally airborne individuals, especially the elderly:P

 

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Rich, Completly agree.  If I had been Captain on Kip's son' s flight, I would have had his friend removed if he didn't apologize for the childish show he put on.  Crew Bags, Demo Kits, Extra glasses, toilet paper, in flight entertainment master control units all take up "someone's" bin space.  It doesn't "belong" to anyone.  If buddy wants to sit and drink in the lounge until 5 minutes prior to boarding, he cannot expect saved space.  He had the opportunity to board first, but forfeited the privilege.

Just to illustrate this point, on the new AC Dreamliner, there are no overhead bins for the first three middle pods on both sides, NONE.  On the EBJ, the last 8 seats have no bin space at all due to catering amenities and life rafts being placed there.  You could board first for a Row 30 just to find out you have no space.  Where would you expect them to place there bags?

You have a reserved seat, that does not include reserved bin allocation.

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Part of the problem at AC is that we have lines for zone 1, zone 2, and zones "3-5". So when zone 3 is called, you have all of the zone 4 and 5 people in the way, slowing things down if the agents do their jobs. There's just not enough space for 5 rows at many gates.

I get that all the time. "My bin is full. Where do I put my stuff?" It's not "your" bin is what I want to say, but hold my tongue. I do, however, try to watch for the guy who tosses his bag in J and saunters to the back unencumbered. I will pull the bag out and follow him to his seat with it if I can. If not, I might move it somewhere random, just to mess with him if I'm in the mood to play games :-) .

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I agree that nobody has a specific bin...except for the j cabin...there should be an expectation of being able to stow your bag in a bin in the j cabin, (part of the $ value attached to the ticket). The j pax should not hav to worry about his carry on being "bumped" by a y passenger trying to avoid excess bag fees or  the myriad of problems in the y cabin.

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2 minutes ago, acsidestick said:

Rich, Completly agree.  If I had been Captain on Kip's son' s flight, I would have had his friend removed if he didn't apologize for the childish show he put on.  Crew Bags, Demo Kits, Extra glasses, toilet paper, in flight entertainment master control units all take up "someone's" bin space.  It doesn't "belong" to anyone.  If buddy wants to sit and drink in the lounge until 5 minutes prior to boarding, he cannot expect saved space.  He had the opportunity to board first, but forfeited the privilege.

Just to illustrate this point, on the new AC Dreamliner, there are no overhead bins for the first three middle pods on both sides, NONE.  On the EBJ, the last 8 seats have no bin space at all due to catering amenities and life rafts being placed there.  You could board first for a Row 30 just to find out you have no space.  Where would you expect them to place there bags?

You have a reserved seat, that does not include reserved bin allocation.

Wow...let me clear up your  assumptions here. 

1) Never posted that the seat buddy  was my son's "friend."

2) You are assuming the seat buddy was in the bar

3) No one assumes that they have a reserved bin but I find it hard to believe that you can  rationalize that a "Y" passenger can leave his bag in the "J:"  overhead bin. If that is how you really feel, do you not think you might have a big problem if everyone who passes into "J" heading for "Y" has the right to dump their carry-on in an"J" class area??   The "elite" passengers have paid a premium, and with that comes the courtesy of being afforded a few perqs, one of which is, hopefully, some  storage space. Yes, I am quite aware of entertainment systems, First Aid, etc., and perhaps small crew bags left in a few overheads up front...(you do remember that  I did, at one time, fly for an airline?:o)

4) And finally, let's assume you are a REV passenger on holidays, with your family and have reserved seats in "Y". So as you pass through "J" would you dump all your carry-ons in "J" overhead bins so you don't have to carry them back to row 28 ?? Based on what you have sort of intimated, that would be OK...but as an airline employee, or even an airline  retiree, I would seriously doubt that you would do that....If you can answer with, " Yes I would not do that"....why is it OK for anyone else.??

5) In my world, I believe in courtesy  for those that have paid the "big dime"  and I do believe that if you and Rich feel to the contrary about my POV, that is your right.

Have a nice weekend guys..B)..

 

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First....I agree that "Y" pax should be "discouraged" from using bin space in "J". I also understand that bin space is not assigned.

BUT.......think of the announcement made frequently upon boarding; "Please place lighter bags in THE overhead bin above". (Some airlines stipulate heavier bags overhead).

"THE" is the definite article. The announcement does not refer to "an overhead bin" which uses the indefinite article. Pax are encouraged to use a specific bin and it is entirely reasonable to assume that the specific bin is the one most proximate to your seat.

Now then.....about that "non-friend" in J "hurling" a bag down the aisle to Y.........

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I agree with everyone that you should put your overhead in proximity to your seat, for security if nothing else, and yes, y shouldn't leave bags in J.  That being said, the FAs often bring Y bags for to J if there is room a few minutes before closing.  In Kips case, an FA, not the pax placed the bag there before seat buddy arrived.

my apologies to Kip, when I read Seat Buddy, my mind shifted to a friend of Kip's son, which isn't the case.

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acsidestick / UpperDEck....

 

Not a problem......the story was relayed to me by son #1 and he said,"he 'chucked' the suitcase and I would think  # 1 used literary licence with a dash of exaggeration because I would think the PO  "J" class guy would have just placed it past the curtain in the aisle.

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On 2/24/2017 at 8:04 PM, acsidestick said:

Just to illustrate this point, on the new AC Dreamliner, there are no overhead bins for the first three middle pods on both sides, NONE.  On the EBJ, the last 8 seats have no bin space at all due to catering amenities and life rafts being placed there.  You could board first for a Row 30 just to find out you have no space.  Where would you expect them to place there bags?

The A330 has no bins over the middle pods of J whatsoever. She's a beeatch to figure out where to put things...

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