Assuming that weather, mechanical and staffing issues aren’t, well, issues, the time it takes to board a plane is oftentimes one of the biggest factors in a flight departing on time.
Every once in a while an airline will do something to try to “fix” their problems with boarding. Since getting items into the overhead sucks up a lot of time, ultra low cost carriers introduced paying extra (sometimes much extra) to bring a carry-on onboard. Southwest’s legendary “no assigned seats” led to their A-B-C style of loading, which, to their credit, gets people onto the plane faster…even though it would undoubtedly go away once they introduce assigned seats. Southwest is also the airline known to experiment with mind games to get their PAX to load faster. Not to be outdone, United played with this system for boarding for a little while (I loved it, but it didn’t last very long, so I guess they didn’t LOL )
Now it’s American’s turn.
Starting this Thursday, May 1, American Airlines will implement a new boarding process.
Part of this change won’t be a major one; it’s just a small tweak. They’ll just start the boarding process 5 minutes earlier.
The airline’s goal is to make boarding the plane more efficient and potentially less likely for passengers to have to gate-check their carry-on bags.
As American Airlines’ spokesperson Rachel Warner said when they announced this change back in February, “This extra time will deliver a smoother boarding experience for customers by allowing for pauses between boarding groups, relieving congestion on the jet bridge, and allowing customers to stow their bags and get settled before departure.
“In addition, American’s gate agents and flight attendants will have more time to complete their pre-departure work and deliver personalized service to our customers,” Warner added. “Flight attendants and gate agents will have more time to monitor and confirm when overhead bins are full, helping to reduce the number of involuntary gate-checked bags when bin space is still available.”
Instead of starting boarding 30 minutes before departure, American flights will now begin 35 minutes beforehand.
To note, Delta begins boarding their domestic mainline narrowbody flights 40 minutes ahead of departure. United says most of their flights begin boarding 40-50 minutes before takeoff.
May 1 will also be when American starts new boarding groups. Here’s a comparison of their current boarding groups and the “new and improved” boarding groups that will go into effect on May 1st:
| Through April 30, 2025 | Effective May 1, 2025 | |
| Preboard | Special assistance, families with children under age 2, Concierge Key members | Special assistance, families with children under age 2, Concierge Key, First/Business |
| Group 1 | First, Active duty U.S. Military with military ID, Executive Platinum, Business on a 2-class international flight | Executive Platinum, Active duty U.S. military with military ID. |
| Group 2 | Platinum Pro, oneworld Emerald, Business on a 3-class plane | Platinum Pro, oneworld Emerald |
| Group 3 | Platinum, oneworld Sapphire | Platinum, oneworld Sapphire |
| Group 4 | Gold, oneworld Ruby, AirPass, Premium Economy, Citi/AAdvantage Executive cardmembers, Travelers who bought Priority Boarding | Gold, oneworld Ruby, AirPass, Citi/ AAdvantage, Executive cardmembers |
| Group 5 | Main Cabin Extra (excluding Basic Economy), AAdvantage® members who earn 15,000 Loyalty Points, Eligible AAdvantage credit cardmembers | Main Cabin Extra (excluding Basic Economy), AAdvantage members who earn 15,000 Loyalty Points, Eligible AAdvantage® credit cardmembers |
| Group 6 | AAdvantage members | AAdvantage® members |
| Group 7-8 | Main Cabin | Main Cabin |
| Group 9 | Basic Economy | Basic Economy |
The breakdown of differences
- First and business class passengers now get to preboard with those who have special needs and families with babies.
- Premium Economy, and those who bought Priority Boarding are no longer included in Group 4
Everything and everyone else are pretty much the same.
That being said, American’s new boarding technology that they introduced last fall seems to be working, and will continue even after May 1st. So no more skipping the queue until your group number is called.
Why the changes?
Every airline continually studies boarding patterns, (hopefully) listens to feedback, and looks for ways to make the boarding process smoother. Here are their main reasons:
- To reduce crowding: By adding First and Business class to the preboard group, there will be fewer people in Groups 1, 2, and 4. Their goal is to cut down on gate lice (it’s nice to have goals).
- Improving access to the overhead bins: American said one common complaint is that they run out of cabin space for carry-on bags. They think that earlier boarding will give passengers more chances to secure a spot for their bag (well, it will for first/business class passengers. I don’t see how it will help Groups 6 or 7 through 9 – but they’re the airline’s lowest priority, so…)
- Creating order and less stress: American suggests that clearer rules for boarding mean passengers won’t have to rush (people still will) or worry that they’ve missed their turn.
- Less need to rush: Giving the 5 extra minutes to board means pax won’t have to rush (I’m sure it has nothing to do with trying to improve their taking off on time)
Our take on the changes
American may be trying to make it sound like the new procedures on May 1st will be a huge help for passengers. However, it will result in minimal changes for most passengers.
- The early load time will help the airline take off on time, which makes the airline look good.
- First and business class passengers will be even more “special”.
However…
- Passengers are still going to be gate lice.
- Some will still try to get onto the plane early, albeit unsuccessfully.
- Passengers without status or a pricey ticket will still be told to gate check their carry-ons because there’s no more room in the overheads.
But anyway, friendly reminder that this will start on May 1st.
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