12 October 2023
United Airlines thinks it has found a way to speed up the boarding process.
Beginning on Oct. 26, the Chicago-based carrier will revamp everyone’s favorite part of the travel journey: boarding. As part of the policy update, the airline will add a seventh boarding group and spread out economy flyers across four total groups, based on what it calls a “WILMA” — or window, middle, aisle — ordering.
This change was communicated to the carrier’s airport staff on Thursday, as was seen in an internal memo that was shared with TPG.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free biweekly Aviation newsletter.
The new boarding groups are as follows:
Preboarding
Customers with disabilities
Unaccompanied minors
Active military members
Global Services members
Anyone flying with children 2 or younger
Premier 1K members
Group 1
Premier Platinum and Gold members
Star Alliance Gold members
Travelers in United Polaris, United First and United Business cabins
Group 2
Premier Silver members
Star Alliance Silver members
Travelers with Premier Access or priority boarding
Select cobranded credit card holders
Group 3
Window seats
Exit row seats
Non-revenue travelers
How to get in: Best credit cards for airport lounge access
Group 4
Middle seats
Group 5
Aisle seats
Group 6
Basic economy customers (in eligible markets only)
As you can see, there are no changes to preboarding or groups one through three. Furthermore, if you have multiple passengers on the same reservation, each traveler seated in economy will receive the highest applicable boarding group given to any one traveler; this excludes those ticketed in basic economy, which will always be in group six.
Today’s group four, which currently includes middle and aisle seat passengers, will be split into two boarding groups. Group four becomes middle seats only, while group five becomes aisle seats only. In markets where United offers a basic economy fare with no full-size carry-ons, those passengers will move to a newly created group six.
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
While the addition of another boarding group may cause some confusion among travelers and require United to update airport signage, the company believes the payoff will be worth it.
After all, the “WILMA” process saves up to two minutes of boarding time, the airline said in the memo. United tested this new boarding process at one hub and four domestic outstations but didn’t disclose which specific airports were part of the test.
Additionally, the airline claims that net promoter scores for the revised boarding process were higher than those of the existing process.
These changes are coming as a result of longer-than-usual boarding times, United says. The average boarding time has increased by two minutes since 2019, and as any airline executive will tell you, planes don’t make money when they’re sitting on the ground.
That’s why airlines are typically laser-focused on doing whatever they can to trim boarding times. For airlines like Southwest, an open-seating policy means that customers are incentivized to board faster and quickly find their preferred seat.
Over the years, we’ve even seen scientists try to “prove” which processes are the fastest and most efficient.
Either way, the jury is still out among the U.S. carriers. United may now have seven total boarding groups, but that’s nothing on American and Delta, which both have a whopping 10 groups.
Related reading:
Your ultimate guide to the United MileagePlus program
The best credit cards for United Airlines flyers
What is United Airlines elite status worth?
Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
The best credit cards to reach elite status
How to survive basic economy on United Airlines