United Ends PreBoarding for Families

tulipblossom · May 2012

https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/23/travel/united-children-preboarding/index.html

United is no longer allowing people with small children to preboard their flights, they think it will make things more efficient.

I have two thoughts on this the first being I am not 100% sure how I feel about this. When traveling with O I have found it easier to get on the plane before too many people were around so I could go threw my bags and get out everything I was going to need so I can put my bags away and hopefully not have to take anything out till the flight is over. Now I am sure if I had the luxury of having someone else flying with us I would feel as if it was not truly necessary cause someone else could hold her while I get myself ready and during the flight if I needed something out of a bag I could get it and not worry about her jumping in some strangers lap or running down the isle.I also think UNited is one of the airlines you can buy an earlier boarding for a fee so if you really wanted it you could get it you just gotta pay.

The other thing is just a thought about airlines in general and how they seem to just take EVERYTHING away from their passengers. No more food, pay for your bag (even some airlines now charging to use the overhead!!), can't bring an outside drink (but that is really TSA & not the airlines) Pay to preboard, where does it end?

How do you feel about this change? Would you still fly United or any other airline that wouldn't let you board early?

maddiemoon43 · May 2012

I would be annoyed. That said, every time I pre-board with DS, I then curse the extra 20 mins we're sitting on the flight since he's fidgety and ready to sleep by the time everyone else boards, we need to move out of the way, etc. One connection we just managed to board before the gate closed, and though it was a rush and a crazy moment getting ourselves organized, it WAS kind of nice to be one the last ones on, sit down, and voila, we're moving.

wendy46001 · May 2012

Honestly it makes no difference to me, we don?t carry a lot of stuff on the plane with us (all baby items fit into a bag under the seat). Also i rather be the last one on instead of the first which comes from being a frequent flyer.

As far as which airline, I?ll always fly who's cheapest their all junk these days and perks are few and far between. Even with my delta crown club/ business class flights I get treated the exact same as on SW or jetblue.

vigurl · May 2012

I need that extra preboarding time to gate check the stroller, base, carseat etc. However MANY airlines are ending family preboarding due to complaints but the big bucks business travelers.

runnergrl6675 · May 2012

maddiemoon43:
I would be annoyed. That said, every time I pre-board with DS, I then curse the extra 20 mins we're sitting on the flight since he's fidgety and ready to sleep by the time everyone else boards, we need to move out of the way, etc. One connection we just managed to board before the gate closed, and though it was a rush and a crazy moment getting ourselves organized, it WAS kind of nice to be one the last ones on, sit down, and voila, we're moving.

I think Pre Boarding is more hassle than it's worth. We were on the plane a whole half hour before the plane lifted off and that half hour lasted an eternity. C wanted out of the seat as soon as we sat down.

kaitylin · May 2012

That really stinks. DH was across the country for work until DD was 4 months old and I had to fly by myself a few times to visit my family and to visit him. I needed that time to get situated. I did have quite a few bags (I really try not to check bags due to the cost) and it was nice having an empty row to put stuff down on so I could get organized. When the plane is full and there's nowhere to put stuff down, it's hard to get a bag in the overhead bin with a LO... Plus, I'd be blocking the aisle. I'd like to be able to put DD down without worrying she's going to be climbing all over everyone in my row while I put my bags away. It doesn't take that much longer to allow pre-boarding... there's usually only a few families on each flight, I don't get how that holds it up? It holds it up more when you block a plane full of people from passing.

Nige!!a · May 2012

I found out about this when I flew a few weeks ago. Honestly I never felt I had that much time before the other passengers got on the plane. I move as fast as I can and try to have everything ready before getting on the plane. If someone has to wait a bit then so be it, but I do try to get out of the aisles when getting my kids situated. Also I pick seats at the back so I'm not holding anyone up.

cvl105 · May 2012

Doesn't bother me. I'd rather board last so I don't have to sit on the plane for an extended period of time with a baby that doesn't want to sit still.

I don't understand why you need the extra time for gate checking? I mean, you push them to the end of the ramp, take them out of the stroller, and just put the stroller/car seat to the side. What do you need extra time to do that for?

akayf · May 2012

I've only flown once with my older guy when he was a little over 2. Even though we 2 chances to preboard(once because traveling with kid and then since we had seats towards the back, we were the first group called), we waited until the last minute to board. This way we spent the least amount of time sitting there waiting for the plane to move. D got some extra time to run around and burn off some energy.

Of course I was flying with my dad so I had help. Plus I didn't have any carryons that needed to be stuffed in the overhead. I had 2 backpacks that I stowed under the seats in front of us. Our suitcase was checked since I didn't want to deal with a ton of carryons plus a gate checked stroller and a toddler. Plus we needed to transfer planes and I didn't want to run through the airport with a ton of crap. I may have used preboarding if i was flying solo and had a carryon that needed to go in the overhead.

I know my SIL used to like to wait until the last minute to board when she flew with her DH and the kids. One adult would go on when the row was called with the bags and then the other one would board at the last minute with the kids

MammaBear81 · May 2012

runnergrl6675:
maddiemoon43:
I would be annoyed. That said, every time I pre-board with DS, I then curse the extra 20 mins we're sitting on the flight since he's fidgety and ready to sleep by the time everyone else boards, we need to move out of the way, etc. One connection we just managed to board before the gate closed, and though it was a rush and a crazy moment getting ourselves organized, it WAS kind of nice to be one the last ones on, sit down, and voila, we're moving.

I think Pre Boarding is more hassle than it's worth. We were on the plane a whole half hour before the plane lifted off and that half hour lasted an eternity. C wanted out of the seat as soon as we sat down.

I agree with this, as long as I have assigned seats already I'm the LAST one on the plane. I don't want my kids (or myself) to have to sit on the plane any longer than they have to. I can put my bag in the small storage under the seat in front of me and it's easier to get to than the overhead bins.

march2008 · May 2012

We just flew aboard United Airlines this weekend. This time, we checked the car seat with the regular luggage and DD sat on my lap for the flight because it was a last minute flight and the prices were astronomical, so we opted to not purchase her a separate seat. It was free to check either a car seat or stroller with the regular baggage, so we checked the car seat with the luggage and then we gate checked the stroller (also for free). I did not mind not that they did away with the pre-boarding for families. I actually prefer to wait to board until most people are already on the plane because it's less time to keep DD cooped up in the small seats.

Last month, we bought a seat for DD and brought her car seat onto the plane. We flew on both United and Frontier and although we were able to board earlier than the some of the other people, it seemed like our flight had SO many children on it that more than half of the other customers got to board at the same time as us, so it didn't really make much of a difference to us.

I choose my airline mainly based on a combination of price and whether or not a nonstop flight is available at a reasonable time. I won't switch from airline to airline because of something like priority boarding.

kimbo1216 · May 2012

It's much more fair, imo. Sure it would be nice to board early, but that's just a nicety that they extended when in actuality, it's not fair to the other passengers who paid just like families did. To me, comparing it to food or bag charges is like comparing apples to oranges. Boarding early is not something that everyone got and everyone got take away.

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