United Airlines detailed plans to cut down on boarding time by processing passengers in economy class who have window seats first.
The company announced in an internal memo that it would implement the plan starting on Oct. 26. The proposal, known as WILMA for window, middle, and aisle, was tested at four domestic locations. United said that it could cut down to two minutes of boarding time.
United Airlines' New Boarding Process
The proposed change will begin with passengers in Group 4 and officials will allow people with window seats to board first, followed by those with middle and aisle seats. The company added that multiple customers on the same economy reservation, such as families, will be allowed to board their flight together regardless.
United Airlines will implement the new plan on domestic flights as well as on some international flights. On the other hand, passengers in first class and business class will experience no change to their boarding experience with the airlines, as per NowThisNews.
Additionally, no changes will be made for the pre-boarding group that includes travelers with disabilities, unaccompanied minors, active-duty military, and families traveling with two or younger children.
The company also reported on Tuesday that it had earned $1.14 billion in the vacation-heavy third quarter. However, the airline also forecast weaker profit for the rest of the year due to the surging jet fuel price and the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
United Airlines said its fourth-quarter adjusted profit would be between $1.50 and $1.80 per share, just short of Wall Street's expectations of $2.09 per share. The upper end of the company's forecast assumes that the airline will resume Tel Aviv flights next month. On the other hand, the lower end assumes no more flights this year.
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Cutting Down on Boarding Time
Before the latest announcement of the new boarding process, the company already used it before 2017. However, when the airline introduced its carry-on restricted Basic Economy product six years ago, it was limited to a five-boarding group structure. This means that it was forced to condense people with middle and aisle seats into Group 4, according to Fox Business.
United Airlines said it could now implement the proposal because it has more technical flexibility to add another boarding group. The announcement comes as U.S. airlines are consistently tinkering with the boarding process to see how to make it smoother and more profitable.
JetBlue was previously known for boarding passengers with a quicker back-to-front method. It was a system briefly revived during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the time passengers spent standing in the aisles.
Southwest also has its open-seating boarding system where passengers board by group but are still free to choose the first available seat they want. Yahoo Life said the process is about 47% faster than traditional boarding.
