American Airlines has been doing a lot of tinkering with its boarding process. They rolled out tech to enforce boarding groups, ‘declaring war on gate lice’ by having their systems audibly refuse boarding to passengers cutting the line and boarding before their group is called. And starting May 1, most domestic flights will begin boarding 5 minutes earlier.
Now they’re changing their boarding groups again.
- American Airlines Executive Platinum members traveling in economy used to be boarding group 2.
- In 2021, these members were given group 1 boarding along with first class and business class passengers.
- American is undoing this change without changing group number assignments. They are doing it by calling first and business class ‘preboard’, before group 1.
Here are the new boarding groups:
| Preboard | ConciergeKey® First/Business Families with children ages 2 and under |
| Group 1 | AAdvantage Executive Platinum® Active duty U.S. military with military I.D. |
| Group 2 | AAdvantage Platinum Pro® oneworld® Emerald℠ |
| Group 3 | AAdvantage Platinum® oneworld® Sapphire℠ |
| Group 4 | AAdvantage 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* |
| Group 6 | AAdvantage® members |
| Group 7-8 | Main Cabin |
| Group 9 | Basic Economy |
This change lumps first and business class boarding with ConciergeKey, which is a bit of a devaluation of ConciergeKey. It’s not that ConciergeKey members need to be ‘called out’ and made obvious, or that there are very many of them. But if they haven’t already been met at the gate in a hub, it’s an opportunity for premium services staff to clearly identify the customer and thank them for their business.
Update: While American’s announcement grouped ConciergeKey and premium cabin passengers together, a spokesperson clarifies “ConciergeKey will still be first to board, they’ll be called up before the agent calls up First and Business Class.”
The biggest change here is for Executive Platinum members, since there are a lot more of them, and they will no longer board with first class. American doesn’t want to tell them they’re less important, so they keep ‘group 1’ on their boarding passes. But they’re no longer really group 1 – group 1 is now ‘preboard’.
It’s like a formal dinner with table assignments. The most important table is the most central with best view of the stage. People who aren’t important enough to sit at that table, but who need to feel as though they are, are assigned to a less well-placed “table 1.”
I’m an EP, so I guess I lose here, but I don’t think it’s a terrible move. On an A321 with 20F seats and a long upgrade list, there could potentially be 40 people boarding in Group 1 (not including people in other groups just trying to board first). This should theoretically make boarding less chaotic, but GAs are going to have to actually enforce boarding rules, and not just call out random group numbers when the lanes are already full.
This is a great set of changes. Very good.
A smart airline would eliminate the concept of boarding groups. Just get in one line to board. Take the funds currently used to invest in boarding group reshuffling and retrofit older planes with larger overhead bins. Anybody who “feels important” on public transportation is a retard.
This is an AA change with which I agree. Group 1 boarding is out of hand. Currently even on a regional plane Group 1 could have 40 passengers which is over 50% of the total passenger count.
So, all persons with a First Class or a Business seat will be the first to board with Concierge flyers but after the wheelchair customers. Doesn’t mater if you are ExPlat or have NO status, and not even a AAdvantage member. Just have Firs Class or Business seat, whether you paid for it or received an upgrade. That’s OK….as it will help fill up the front seats more quickly.
So, Premium Economy does not get any boarding privileges??
What is not accounted for are the new boarding kiosks, such as at TPA, that take your photo before boarding, and there are no longer separate lanes for groups 1 – 4 and 5 – 9. So, if you are group 1, or Business or First Class, or even concierge Key, and you are not at the gate when boarding begins, you will simply have to go to the back of the line for whatever group is being called to board.
If beginning boarding 5 minutes earlier results in more on-time departures, fine and dandy, but with many delays due to ATC, and other interruptions, for early boarders it will mean sitting in your seat an extra five minutes. And there is no longer an American Way magazine to read and do some Sudukos to pass away the time.
As an 8 year EP, I’m happy to see this change. When I’m in First and have a bulkhead seat, I like to get on and store my luggage asap. There are usually a ton of “Group 1” pax jockeying for position at the gate and if I’m not up in there with the ‘lice’, I typically have to store in a bin behind me. I had a guy in Row 2 get snippy with me recently when I tried to store my bag in the bin above his seat (although still allowing room for his roll aboard). I’ve always found it strange that First Class was not given some sort of Priority boarding, separate from the hoi palloi.
rollaboard wars continue they must
321 mce will remain impossible – you can buy it – but you can’t use it if you have a rollaboard bag
if you are only an advantage member – your bag will be 20 rows behind you
or not with you – and thus paid first remains the only option
American needs pre-preboarding groups. First group has to hand out $100 (a Benjamin), the next a fifty and the last a twenty, all in cash. Everybody would want to become a gate agent.
The issue is that when preboards are done, which is within the priority lane others immediately seated in Group One (either premium or coach) immediately enter the lanes with the preboards.
Now that I somehow as of yesterday obtained CK (for how long I do not know) that perk of boarding before the Group One scrum is gone. Moreover, whose more valuable to AA? An older couple (THE WORST when it comes to Group One boarding) that flys 1-2 times a year in domestic premium versus an EXP stuck in coach?
Expecting or wanting to have your ego stroked while getting on public transportation is quite vain. Can you believe they will now let a plain old Joe who bought a first class ticket board before most all of the OPM “elites”??? The horror. How dare Joe buy the seat they should get for free anyway.
When I pay $2k for a seat in the front of the plane I should absolutely get to board before the person in basic economy. It has nothing to do with feeling special. I paid for it I should get it.
The real issue to me is the lack of screens showing what number has been called at every gate. This is for all airlines and is a reason people crowd the gate when they start calling numbers. People feel they have to move close because they can’t hear or understand what is being called. Consistently having screens that show the current boarding group and GA’s that actually speak clearly and loudly would make the biggest difference in gate lice.
I wish United would adopt this. Half the plane pre-boards before paid First Class,
Actually a good idea. So, First/Business is now preboard. I like it. Good riddance to all those pesky EPs, rushing to get to their lame-Economy seats! Bah!
Agreed with @JetAway that United should adopt this, too. At least Delta already has it right (DeltaOne/First before Diamonds).
@Jerry — You don’t ‘lose’ if you simply purchase the fare you want to board with. Go big, sir. And don’t worry about the gate agents; AA’s new system won’t let folks board out of group. It’ll ‘beep!’
This is all completely meaningless unless AA is going to incentivize the gate agents to actually give a crap about enforcing any of it. For years on end, their only motivation has been on time departure, and that’s pretty much now been hard wired.
I don’t think this will have any practical difference. It really is a lot of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. Although I find it funny that on the 77W, a minimum of 60 people will now be in the “pre-board” group. LOL.
@Mike Hunt — I’ll repeat what I said above, and what Gary has posted about earlier. AA has a new system that literally ‘beeps’ if you board out of order. Like, if you try, scan, *beep*, problem. So, ‘enforcement’ isn’t even really about ‘motivation’ here. It’s automatic. They’d have to go out of their way to make an exception. Do you really think GA’s wanna do more work for no extra pay?
Just flew from PHX to SAN; the one-way ticket was $108. The upgrade fee went as low as $74, meaning you could sit in first for $182 regardless of whether or not you had ever flown American or not.
I’m a long time EP member. Last year finished at 360k in loyalty points. If I didn’t receive the comp upgrade for the flight (I did), then I would be boarding after the person spending $182 for maybe their only trip on AA this year. Not sure that works for me.
I also should board before the active military, which going to/from San Diego is about 25 people per flight.
@Andrew — No, this change DOES indeed have a *practical* difference.
Folks who are traveling as First/Business Class now board *AHEAD* of mere Executive Platinum status holders seated in Economy.
In the past, EPs would have boarded in ‘Group 1’ along with First/Business, sometimes making that a very large boarding group (such as on the 77W, cool).
For those who actually secure themselves those nicer seats, this is an improvement.
@McGee — Bah. I recently flew PHX-LAX. It’s also only about a 1.5 hours flight. Booked economy using points. Two seats remained in First 36 hours ahead of departure. AA offered a $112 paid upgrade. I’m a Platinum Pro these days (previously an EP). Was definitely not going to get the complimentary upgrade (5/14 on waitlist). So, I paid. Was the 2nd person to board. Decent a321neo. No IFE screens, of course (boo). Pre-flight drink (G&T). Nice FAs. A little turbulence. Arrived timely. Felt good about my choices. But, you do you. ‘Let the free market decide,’ right?
in the inverted world of part 121 economics, deregulation led to a 5x increase on the $ of fortress hub nonstops vs. outstation origination traffic using the same hub flight to the final destination
this started around 1987ish with american charging $200 for aus-dfw-lax and $1200 for that same dfw-lax flight; if anyone has earlier examples please post them, i am very keen to record informants with first-hand recollections on this topic
25 years after 9/11 and the madness of charging to check bags continues; the ground staff for bags/cargo can’t be downsized from 2 to 1 and the D0 stupidity of gate checking when there is available space only increases the tarmac workload while introducing unneeded risk for the gatechecked bags which are not loaded in their “natural” order for destination offloading
the excuse of FA union work rules preventing monetization of the overhead bins is also insane
create the rules that eliminate their involvement and write the rules in to the CoC
after all, 121’s are untouchable on their CoCs, they have captured the rulesmakers, so they make the rules themselves
charge based on value, cost and effect on D0
these rules apply to EVERYONE even CK
the rules are completely disconnected from fares, class of service, meritorious dykwia certification
KEEP THE SOFTWARE SIMPLE – print a QR code on every bag tag – the kiosks and counter printers can both do this – the same function that beeps out of order boarders can be extended to beep the pax bag status so the single agent can deal with each bag situation in real-time without having to put hands on the keyboard
this is not hard
in the hold:
$25 per bag flat fee pre-sold with the ticket online
$1/lb at the check-in counter if not prepaid – the kettles with infinite time can save $7
$75 per bag to gatecheck if not prepaid
carry on:
1 personal item remains free
BACKPACKS ARE NOT PERSONAL ITEMS – you don’t get 2 – and they don’t fit under Y seats
women’s purses ARE personal items in addition to a computer bag
bridge and tunnel beach bags ARE NOT personal items – they don’t fit under Y seats
if you are carrying 2 items that don’t fit under the seat you are in violation of the CoC
if it goes in the overhead bin it gets charged as follows:
$50 for 1 carry-on overhead bin bag pre-sold with the ticket online
$75 at the check-in kiosk/counter to carry on if not prepaid
$100 at the gate to carry on if not prepaid
feature recap:
no FA involvement at all
costs covered
massive revenue opportunity
train the proles to leave the kitchen sink behind – less weight – less gas
kettle / bridge-and-tunnel problems moved OUT of the gate area
bags / carry-ons / personal items disconnected from fares, status and available bin space
and the #1 biggest effect:
NO GATE LICE AT ALL
boarding becomes simple
end the carry-on war
eliminate the personal combat of commercial air travel in this country once and for all
Conceptually, I’m ok with it. But 10 groups seems excessive.
Two issues I have in general with AA boarding. First, their FIDS aren’t always up to speed on the actual Group boarding and sometimes they are too small to see from a distance. Second, the microphone announcements are often times muffled/not understandable, or drowned out by other airport noises.
I think this is a great idea but interested to see how well it’s going to work out. Having had EXP status since almost the introduction of this level – and I’m thinking close to 20 years and now with over 6 million miles on AA, lifetime EXP status, I’ve watched the frequent flyer program degrade such that for close to 10 years now, when I fly I always purchase a 1st (when available) or business class ticket. since upgrades are virtually impossible – perhaps it’s the routes I fly but when I look at the upgrade list and see 40 names and 1st is full, why bother. It would be great if they re-instated on the 3 class planes boarding with 1st, then business then the remainder of the plane, but since they seem to be phasing out the 3 class equipment and substantially increasing the number of seats in the business class section, I doubt this will ever return.
i’ve been burned repeatedly trying to time paid first boarding because the charlie-brown-teacher-voice announcements are indecipherable unless you are standing at the front of the rat colony
one would think the big 4 would want to fix this crap AND do so in a way that easily makes money and reduces cost
as i documented above
one would think
@RaleighDawg. You are so right. Agree totally.
Good change as first/business needed to be separated. As an EP, group 1 is sufficient for boarding if the upgrade doesn’t clear.
how exactly do they determine if someone with a military id is active duty? group 1 is always about 50 people but they’re not in the front of the plane.
As an executive platinum I hate this! I spend $40k+ per year with American. And this change makes it clear that AA places more value on occasional travelers who paid for first class even though they spend far less with the airline than I do. Makes no sense to me why these airlines keep crapping on their most loyal customers!!
I’m always kin F or J (usually paid in $, rarely FF miles) and contend nobody (other than those using wheelchairs) should be in a boarding group before me. Six billion miles and sitting in <F/J? Give them my group or later. Oh, and yes, it is mostly symbolic as I might board with group 7 anyway (advantage of never carry anything that can't fit in seat in front of me).
And I thought the caste system in India was bad !! …
Wish the airlines would spend as much energy in improving the basics than this nonsense….
I mainly want to board early on small planes to make sure that I get my luggage directly overhead, and on large plans to get settled in. I’m usually in F or Business and also Plat Pro, so the system works fine for me. The one annoying thing I see is people in the lower groups blocking the gate and then trying to board with group 1 just because it sometimes works. That just causes delay and takes overhead space away. The agents should enforce the boarding groups and save F luggage overheads for F passengers.
now geres a real solution. eliminate the small suitcase carryon and name what it was originally, your hat, coat, handbag, or briefcase, period.. .
Now if you really want to load the plane quickly, start from the back and load forward, and first/business can board at their leisure. Note in military and diplomatic protocol, the highest ranked passenger boards last.
From a more practical aspect, having the passengers board from the back forward means no one will be tripping over those in the process of getting situated in their seats, which is what slows down the boarding process.
No one really wanted to board first. People want to board comfortably and effectively. Back to front will do just that.
Pass it on!.
As an EXP for 20+ years, I agree with this change. Group 1 boarding was typically a mad rush of 30+ people on most of my flights since they implemented that scheme.
@ Gary – But why is Airpass listed as Group 4? Having formerly had Airpass, AA abruptly stopped taking new memberships in November 2022 and phased everything out by March 2024 which is still what it says on their web site. Is this a sign they’re rethinking that? I know Airpass was also used to refer to the handful of lifetime first class passes sold in the early 1980s/90s but they would preboard with the First/Business group anyway (assuming they weren’t CK).
@DinDFW — I’m so glad that you brought up AAirpass, not because of the boarding groups, but just to recall how some passholders leveraged that program… to the max! In the 1980s, it was $250K for lifetime + $150K for a companion pass (it’d be like paying $1 million today). Holders earned miles for flying, so some would literally just fly to earn miles, get free meals onboard, watch movies, etc. Supposedly, one holder (Rothstein) would literally walk up to strangers at the airport to offer them his companion seat; another (Vroom) traveled nearly 38 million miles total; supposedly, those two alone were costing AA $1 million/year. They sure got their monies worth. Freaking legends.
Speaking as an EXP, I like the change. Group 1 is just too large, making the boarding unruly. Going forward, when I pay for F or get upgraded, I will board with the first group, when I don’t I’ll board with the second (still called “Group 1” for…clarity). Works for me, but boy does this stink for CKs.
AA just doesn’t get it, and UA has it absolutely right (IF you are an EXP or 1K). United preboards their 1K’s, and I believe it to be their #1 benefit. I’m surprised that it seems most folks agree with AA’s move (although my guess is they aren’t actually EXP’s)…it’s saying AA values it’s premium class passengers over it’s EXP’s. Fact is, domestic first class today is largely consumed by folks paying relatively small amounts for the upgrades. If they are more important to AA than those folks spending the loyalty dollar equivalent of an EXP, then I take that as confirmation that AA’s management has MAJOR issues. Not a surprise to most of us, but a definite confirmation.
Great change and about time. I always travel in F and it’s incredible that maybe 40 people are boarding with me when there are only 20 or 24 seats in F on domestic routes.
As an EP member who flies exclusively in paid J, I like this change. If I’m paying for the seat, I should be able to board first, secure overhead bin space at my seat, and avoid waiting in line.
So often there are 30-40+ passengers boarding with Group 1, and I find myself stuck in line halfway up the jetbridge. That doesn’t give off a first class impression. I paid extra so I wouldn’t have to wait in line.
I will agree with what others have said about those in Group 1 entering the boarding lanes as soon as pre boarding is called, so I wonder how this will work out in practice. Hopefully the gate readers will beep to reject Group 1 during pre boarding just as they would for any other groups trying to board early.
The question was asked but I don’t see an answer . . . what boarding group is Premium Economy? Seems like PE should be higher priority than Group 5
Good changes. Being EXP is worthless now, I pay for my upgrades 95% of the time now. Occasionally I’ll get like an upgrade on a shithole route clear a day early.
If you’re boarding an entire class of service, it’s not preboarding anymore.
People ‘s need for validation is funny.