Airlines are big fans of the boarding group, which has become ubiquitous throughout the world. Certain carriers can have up to nine or more groups and sometimes it can seem a little pointless.
Ireland’s Aer Lingus keeps it simple with just three or four groups. Not only does this keep things manageable, but also it prevents the ridiculous situation where airlines board multiple groups at once.
Which Boarding Group For You?
On European flights, Aer Lingus has boarding group one, two or three. As with any decent airline, first to board are passengers requiring special assistance or extra time. Usually the families with small children tend to rush ahead on this one!
Next up is Group One, which is AerClub Silver, Platinum and Concierge frequent flyers. Also welcome at this time are people in AerSpace, or passengers connecting to or from transatlantic business class. Group Two follows, which are people who have a 10kg cabin bag and then Group Three is everyone else.
Next up are the AerClub Silver, Platinum and Concierge frequent flyers. Following them in Group Three are economy passengers at the rear of the aircraft, and Group Four is everyone else. Simple!
Overall Thoughts
Boarding an aircraft is one of the most annoying parts of the travel experience. Some will try to queue jump, others will have a very wide definition of “small” children. It is exacerbated by people in a panic over there being space for carry-on bags.
Aer Lingus does it as well as any airline really. It’s never going to be perfect, but I think fewer boarding groups are far easier to digest than having many groups.
What do you think of being assigned a boarding group? Do you religiously adhere to the rules and wait your turn, or do you chance it and try to sneak in early? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons.
