Just before boarding my 2:30PM flight from Atlanta to DCA today, the agent announced that they would be trying out a new boarding process. He was reading from a sheet of paper, so I take it this is something Delta is seriously considering. In short, boarding would go like this based on what I heard:
1) People who need extra time.
2) Families with children/strollers
3) First Class
4) Diamond
5) Sky Priority
6) Groups 1 through 4
While I’m not entirely sure how different this was from the way it’s always been in theory, they seemed to make a point of it, and really enforce the boarding order. I can’t say boarding went any better than usual as I was in first class, and boarded when I was told like I always do. As I passed the boarding pass scanner, I was handed a card with an email address to let Delta know what I thought of the new boarding process. Can’t really say as it just did not seem all that different to me. Has anyone else experienced this on a recent Delta flight?
-MJ, August 21, 2014
RoloT
The third paragraph of your rant is embarrassing. I will thank our men and women every day for making that career choice.
DL is traditionally more liberal regarding extra time and families at boarding. US is on the other hand very strict about “extra time”. Most agents at PHX won’t let you unless you are in a wheelchair or visibly can’t walk very well. US makes families wait until after OW S/E and (officially also) credit card holders and paid priority access to board – Usually zone 2. If I’m an occasional traveler DL’s method is fine but the family thing gets really annoying if you travel frequently. The family priority boarding should really be restricted to children under 2 enforced. If you are six years old you can wait until your turn.
In theory, the people who “need more time” should go last because they won’t be holding anyone else up AND they would need to spend less time on the aircraft. It’s actually more efficient for everyone. See Tang, Wu, Huang, and Caccetta, “An aircraft boarding model accounting for passengers’ individual properties.” (Paywalled at Science Direct – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0968090X11001574)
The only difference is boarding diamonds before other skypriorit. I guess it is supposed to make diamonds who don’t get upgraded fell better.
I’m 59 yrs old and have been traveling for biz for years and in the past couple years have experienced multiple back and leg issues. I’m not looking for a medal, but I have never boarded a flight with the “people who need more time group.”
I am Plat with DL and it is kind of a shock to see that, if I do not get upgraded, I would be the 5th group to board the plane. If this is the future of DL boarding, they have to get a grip on the increasing number of seemingly healthy ppl that board early. I’m waiting for the day when 50% of the pax “need extra time boarding.” The way this is trending, that day is coming soon .
I shouldn’t get started on the military boarding first but I’ve had enough of this empty gesture and the on-going “thank you for your service” robotic-response for ppl who VOLUNTEERED to join. 13 yrs removed from Sept 11th, joining the military today is a career choice just like any other. On my last flight out of ATL, a male who looked to be in his late 40’s, boarded with the military obviously wearing a fake uniform. Multiple ppl made comments to that effect but, of course, no DL Rep said a word and this fine gent was the 2nd person to board. How about the airlines let, for instance, Doctors Without Borders personnel board first for a change. Those are truly selfless people that pass up financial gain and personal safety to help people who are in desperate need of medical care. Those good folks can have
Not a fan of “extra time” going so early since so many people sneak into that group. Separating out Diamond is interesting, guess DL really feels there are too many medallions to spread among 3-4 boarding groups (DM,F,SP,1. I think it adds time to separate Diamonds and frankly, as long as I board with Sky, I’ve never had a problem finding bin space–seems like it would be slower, not faster.
It was hard to judge how fast things went since I boarded with first class. The biggest difference I sensed was spreading out the early boarding thing. Of course, it’s always possible I missed picking up something in the announcement too.
I’m certainly no expert but that Delta boarding order looks pretty familiar.
Perhaps not allowing F to board “whenever they’d like” might be a small difference?
On a side note, I’ve recently noticed that those who “need extra time” seem to include a lot more able bodied pax than in the past..
Agreed, Geoff.
Kinda like this one?
@DeltaPoints,
I’d answer that question if I could watch the video. The GoGo speeds on this flight are horrible.