American and United airlines' takes on family pre-boarding
Blogger Jen Leo’s posts on airline pre-boarding last year inspired flurries of comments from two opposing camps — those incensed and those thrilled about Southwest Airlines bidding adieu to family pre-boarding and JetBlue’s policy permitting family pre-boarding. At the time, we had understood that American Airlines and United Airlines both allowed pre-boarding upon request, but we have since learned, from readers and from the airlines, that the process isn’t so straightforward.
On April 11, 2008, reader Shana said, “United does NOT allow pre-boarding with families, since we were denied pre-boarding with a 6-month-old, so don’t give them any undue credit!”
Have you been denied family pre-boarding on American Airlines? Have United Airlines’ boarding policies worked well for your family?
On April 27, 2008, Brett said, “American Airlines denied us pre-boarding this weekend. We purchased a seat for our 13-month-old and brought along a car seat.
“Since the size of the car seat is wider than the aisle, I had to lift the car seat over passengers’ heads in order to install it. I had to give my child to an attendant in order to make it to the seat. This caused two back-and-forth trips from my seat to the front of the plane. This would have been avoided with pre-boarding. Short-sighted since the airlines encourage car seat usage.”
In an e-mail, Robin Urbanski of United Airlines’ media relations department, confirmed that United does not permit pre-boarding for families, though often groups traveling together do board earlier than later depending on seat assignments. “The way our boarding process works is that we board United First Class, United Business and frequent fliers with premier status first (area 1), followed by customers in window seats (area 2), then middle (area 3) and finally aisle seats (area 4). We find this process the fastest for all of our customers. Customers traveling together are programmatically given the lowest seating area. For instance, if you have a family with children seated together in a window, middle and aisle, they would be given area 2 and would board right after the frequent fliers,” she said.
American Airlines’ procedures differ. Spokesperson Tim Wagner said, “Families with small children may request, while at the gate, to board their flight early. There is no announcement inviting families to board early. In some instances, there may be security procedures that prevent our crews from allowing passengers to board the aircraft early. Otherwise, families can be accommodated in that manner.”
So that’s the official word. We’re interested to hear your experiences on the ground.
I confess that I am personally motivated to get the scoop, as I have a 7-month-old baby and am in the midst of planning a couple of trips. While I understand the perspectives of the anti-pre-boarding camps, I — a first-time mom to a delightfully curious handful of an infant — am biased, and the option to request pre-boarding (and have my request granted) will certainly ingratiate me toward one airline over another…at least until my child is an older, far more polite traveling companion.
— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times
[Image: Marc Boutavant / For the Los Angeles Times]
18 Comments on “American and United airlines' takes on family pre-boarding”
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June 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
you seem like a comsiderate parent.
Unlike so many parents who travel these days.
i was actually yelled at the other day on a flight for asking a mother to stop her child from running up and down the aisles.
The Flight attendants were nowhere to be seen even as she loudly berated me for “telling her how to be a mom”.
no, I was asking her to be a responsible parent and be courteous to her fellow travelers.
It’s parents like these that kill the pre-boarding privilege by confusing the privilege with a right.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:55 am
Ever since SWA discontinued family pre-board the rear sections of their airplanes have become a battle ground for parents seeking nothing more than three adjacent seats….what a mess and totally avoidable!
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Wouldn’t it be great if the airlines brought in “adults only” flights, so that those of us without children wouldn’t have to put up with screaming and bawling throughout the flight, or hyperactive kids running up and down the aisles like it was some kind of playground? Why should passengers traveling without children have to put up with these inconveniences, particularly on long flights?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
In my experience, family pre-boarding depends more on who is staffing the gate than airline policy. If the flight is not crowded, there’s not much need to pre-board, but when it is, it can help EVERYONE move faster if the parents get the car seats installed and move out of the aisles before boarding begins.
We no longer fly with a car seat (a CARES harness is easier to carry and easier to install), but when we did, the best strategy was to have my husband approach the gate with the car seat (or seats) and say “I’d like to get this installed early so that I don’t slow down the boarding process.” Few gate agents turn away a request like that regardless of airline policy.
I stay back with the kids until most of the passengers have boarded. That gives the kids a little more time to stretch their legs before boarding for the long flight.
Debbie
http://www.deliciousbaby.com
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
An adult only flight? That would be awesome! Let’s see……we need to give additional privileges to a large number of irresponsible/inconsiderate parents? No thanks. BTW, I used to be a teacher, so I’ve got a pretty good handle on the state of children……and their parents. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. How about we let single people with no children board, so that we can insulate ourselves from the bratty children that are about to board, after all, it will take us far less time to get situated! Aditionally, since there will be fewer places for kids to hide/run, it may effectively herd them to their proper area.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:46 pm
As I saw recently posted in another forum:
“Having a child is not a disability. Parents who have children know traveling is difficult. They make this decision, and should be prepared for the difficulties that come with it.”
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
It’s very simple: airlines reward their best customers, and a perk of critical concern is the ability to board first without hassle, have access to overhead bins, and get settled without waiting in the jetway and the aisle. If someone in a family with small children has elite status on UA, they can board with the elites. If not, the fact that they have children does not trump those of us who helped keep the airline going with our business. Having children isn’t a disability — no one deserves special consideration just because they’ve reproduced. Those families who don’t have status are casual fliers, most of them looking for bargain fares. There is no rational reason for affording them special privileges.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:46 am
The original intent of pre-boarding was good, but I must say that I agree in full with the airlines phasing it out in today’s environment. Too many parents take kids are that are almost out of the range and don’t need pre-boarding on early just to get the early boarding perk, families of like 7 or 8 all board early just because they have ONE person in the age range, and with Southwest parents would use the pre-boarding as a way to be lazy and get a C group pass and still board with the A group. American’s policy allows then to discern if people really need the policy which is good, and United allows families on in their first area, and if you want to get on early with Southwest you still can if you get yourself an A ticket at the beginning of the time frame like everyone else which just isn’t that hard. The privilege is just entirely over abused.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Interesting that this person says their child seat is wider than the aisle…since the aisle is wider than any seat in coach the child seat would obviously not fit in the airplane seat. I think somebody is misleading us here. In any event, there is no reason for anybody to board before anybody else if you have a reserved seat. Duh.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I am sorry to hear that neither United nor Southwest allows family pre-boarding. I am an elite AA customer, and when I travel with my family, I have found them to be extremely helpful. I’m not sure if family friendly policies are profitable or not (given the tone of the comments here, I’d imagine they’re not), but parenting is an extremely difficult enterprise to begin with, and it’s an enterprise upon which both your readers’ Social Security benefits and the general economic well-being are predicated. Anything that society can do to mitigate the considerable difficulty of child-rearing is welcome. And anyway, the most annoying people that I’ve put up with on flights aren’t children.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
It’s tough to struggle with a baby/toddler, diapers or entertainment plus your own carry-ons…pre-boarding is enormously helpful. ALL the European airlines — big and small — allow families to board first. We DO board early, having Elite status, but I feel for those families who don’t. Really travelers, how big an inconvenience is it for you to wait for a family or two?
June 5th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Preferential boarding should not be given to so-called “families”. Couples don’t deserve special treatment just because they failed to implement proper birth control. Besides, the majority of them will be divorced within a few years anyway.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:16 am
We flew NY-LA with 12mo twins in seats. We brought carseats for them to make sure they were contained an safe. No preboarding was allowed — So we had two non-walking babies, two carseats and 3-4 carry-ons (all the baby foods/changes/toys to try to keep them happy ad quiet as much for them as for other passengers. Getting situated was a ridiculous hassles, when it would have taken us very little time, if we had been given just a couple minutes to pre-board.
For people who say it is preferential. I don’t get it. You will have to wait for us to get our carseats in and children strapped in while you are sitting there — is that better? Are you just afraid that families with children use all the overheard? We, for one family, do not — after all we have kids who don’t use their footroom to pack full.
It is not about a “right” to board early, just that is would actually be easier for everyone — the flight crew and the passengers.
All this said — I really only think this is an issue if there are non-walking children or still in carseats who are bringing carseats — the flight restraints do not keep infants and toddlers safe — therefor people who need to provide their own should not be penalized either for dong so.
And as far as the car seats go — I have a couple that are very hard to get down aisles as well, will you be gracious and help a mother struggling with a carseat and and infant or toddler — or just tell her that it must fit?
August 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Sad, sad, sad. I guess people who choose to have kids should just stay home until the kids are 18? What a fun life! How about a little compassion? Yes, before I had kids I was one who rolled my eyes as a mother and baby boarded and prayed they wouldn’t be seated next to me. Now that I am that mother with baby, I understand. I realize that yes, I made this choice to have this child and that is my life, but I also live in a country where we have the ability to travel freely and I am going to take advantage that opportunity. I have family across the country, so the only way my child will see her grandparents ever is to fly to see them. I always do my best to make sure my child isn’t bothering any other passengers, as I do understand your perspective, but sometimes there is only so much you can do. I’m really not trying to ruin your day.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Wow, I can’t believe some of the things people say online (where they can hide behind their computer) about parents wanting to pre-board! We certainly have never treated it as a “perk” that we get to enjoy, or “trumping” other passengers that pay more (give me a break). We simply use it to save everyone else time and hassle. Would you rather have us squishing all of our stuff into your elbows and heads as we make our way down the isle with 2 kids plus a couple carry-ons? If we pre-boarded, our children would be already sitting calmly in their seats, probably coloring or reading a book, and you wouldn’t even have to be near them to give them a dirty look. If we get to settle in ahead of time, everyone else can get on the plane much more easily and quickly. I’m sure there are people that abuse it, but they could just limit it to parents and kids, no aunt Jean and cousin Joe pre-boarding with them. And P.S., the most annoying people I’ve seen on a flight were not kids, but “adults” who like to talk and laugh loud enough so the whole plane can hear, thus waking up my kid. Most kids are pretty good on planes, mine mostly sleep.
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 am
Let’s go one step further. Let’s ban all overweight people on flights. They are much too slow for boarding. Let’s reserve flights for the single quick and nimble adult.
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Forget the children… let’s make all overweight people go on last –they slow down the boarding process and use up more fuel(making tickets more expensive). It’s appalling the way they always slobber at a greasy airport restaurant and then head for the tiny airplane bathroom.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Your family can only move as fast as its slowest member. And anyone who has traveled with small children knows how slowly they can move down the jetway, onto the plane, down the aisle, until they come across their seat. My husband and I were busy trying to quickly collapse the stroller at the end of the jetway so we could gate check it and my infant’s car seat then lugging our toddler’s car seat down the aisle, installing the car seat, trapping, err buckling, her into the car seat, ensuring proper drinks, snacks, coloring books, crayons, headphones, iPods, laptops, and movies are organized within the pockets in front of us, and storing all carry-on bags and jackets in the overhead bins and beneath the seats in front of us. Both my husband and I were sweating by the time we sat in our seats.
When I inquired with the United gate personnel scanning boarding passes, she assured me that ’studies have shown’ that early boarding of those with small children was not as efficient as having everyone board at the same time. Only disabled passengers are granted early boarding. Apparently, it’s more efficient for the disabled to board early, but not those with small children even though I’m fairly certain that a disabled person would have been able to board the plane quicker than us. When I told her that Northwest offered early boarding and how disappointed I was that United didn’t extend the same courtesy, her response was, “Well, you do have a choice on who you fly.” Nothing like a warm and fuzzy response right before you hold up an entire plane’s worth of people.