{"id":12146,"date":"2023-10-20T09:19:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T09:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cooncampsprings.com\/?p=12146"},"modified":"2023-10-20T09:19:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T09:19:03","slug":"major-airline-announces-dramatic-change-to-how-people-board-planes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cooncampsprings.com\/travel\/major-airline-announces-dramatic-change-to-how-people-board-planes\/","title":{"rendered":"Major airline announces dramatic change to how people board planes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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United Airlines is changing its boarding policy as a part of a radical shake-up that will impact hundreds of thousands of travellers.<\/p>\n

The airline hopes to slash boarding times by switching up who can board the plane first.<\/p>\n

From October 26, basic economy ticket holders and window seat passengers will board first, then those in middle seats, followed by people in aisle seats.<\/p>\n

The change is estimated to cut boarding time by up to two minutes, United told NPR Thursday.<\/p>\n

The process for pre-boarding groups, such as unaccompanied minors, people with disabilities, families with small children and active-duty military members, won’t change.<\/p>\n

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Boarding groups one through three (group three typically includes those with window seats and exit row seats) will also be unaffected by the shake-up.<\/p>\n

But group four will now be reserved for passengers with middle seats and group five will be exclusively for those with aisle seats.<\/p>\n

The policy change applies to US domestic flights and flights from the US to the Caribbean, Canada and some Central and South American cities.<\/p>\n

United is adding a sixth boarding group for domestic flights and flights to the Caribbean and Central America for basic economy customers who don’t have a group number on their boarding pass.<\/p>\n

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United said the revision is in response to changing boarding times, which have ballooned by up to two minutes since 2019.<\/p>\n

Tinkering with the boarding process has increased since airlines began charging fees for checked bags more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Those fees encourage passengers to bring carry-on bags, which generally are still free except at low-cost carriers such as Spirit and Frontier.<\/p>\n

The push to board faster is also complicated by the airlines\u2019 desire to sell early boarding or give it to elite members of their frequent-flier programs.<\/p>\n