Airlines tweak their boarding processes all the time. But JetBlue’s latest changes quietly shift who boards first, how groups are called, and even when passengers can be denied boarding.
Every once in a while, for whatever their internal reasons, airlines will change their boarding system.
Southwest’s changes were the most recent, when the airline went from unassigned seating to assigned seats. It went about as well as one would expect. But Delta, American, United and all the rest have made tweaks, large and small, to their respective boarding systems throughout the years.
So it’s not very surprising that, without much fanfare, JetBlue quietly changed its boarding system last week.
What JetBlue changed
The airline previously had lettered groups (A through F) but, as of April 29th, have now switched to numbered boarding groups. There are also changes for passengers who booked EvenMore seats (that’s one with more legroom), or if you’re an unaccompanied minor.
JetBlue’s goal is to make gate announcements “more intuitive,” as well as easier to hear and understand. They apparently hope the process will reduce “gate lice” (even though we all know the real reasons why people crowd the gate LOL).
JetBlue’s new boarding order
Anyway, the airline’s previous boarding system had 11 categories; that’s now been consolidated into 10.
- Pre-boarding: For customers with disabilities
- Group 1: Mosaic 3 & 4 members, Mint customers
- Group 2: Mosaic 1 & 2 members, EvenMore® customers
- Group 3: JetBlue Premier Card members, JetBlue Business Card cardmembers, Blue Extra fares, Early Boarding Perks You Pick® (excluding Blue Basic fares)
- Courtesy Boarding: Active military, Customers traveling with car seats or strollers
- Group 4: JetBlue Vacations customers, Corporate Perks customers, and general boarding based on seat location
- Groups 5 – 8: General boarding based on seat location
And unaccompanied minors will be escorted to the aircraft and will board last.
The big winners? Passengers who purchased EvenMore seats
In the old system, people with “EvenMore” seats got to board in JetBlue’s “Group A” category, which mixed them in with holders of various credit cards. In the new system, they get to board in Group 2, just after the top-tier Mosaic and Mint passengers.
JetBlue has also specified that unaccompanied minors will now be escorted onto the aircraft after all other passengers have boarded. This way, flight attendants can give these kids their full attention during the settling-in process, without worrying about the chaos of general boarding.
Boarding cut-off times
JetBlue has also clarified their boarding cut-off times.
Any customer who is not physically on board by the cutoff time may be denied boarding—even if they already checked in and received a boarding pass.
Domestic flights
Each customer must be on board the aircraft at least 15 minutes prior to departure.
International flights
Each customer must be on board the aircraft at least 20 minutes prior to departure.
Overall, the changes aren’t exactly revolutionary, but they do make JetBlue’s boarding process a little more streamlined—and a little more rewarding for certain passengers.
And while the airline says the goal is clearer, easier-to-understand boarding announcements, travelers will probably be more interested in whether the new setup actually reduces gate crowding.
We’ll believe that last part when we see it.
Because no matter what airlines call the boarding groups, we all know that half the gate is still going to line up the second they hear the word “boarding.” 😏
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