Window-seat lovers will no longer have to awkwardly squeeze past their fellow passengers while boarding onto United Airlines flights under a new boarding policy that will allow economy travelers in window seats to board the plane ahead of their peers.
The Washington Post reported that an internal memo detailed this new boarding policy will be implemented on Oct. 26.
Here’s what the policy entails.
What is United Airlines new boarding policy?
The memo that The Washington Post received reportedly detailed that passengers will be separated into seven boarding groups.
The seven boarding groups will include: “preboarding; first-class; business-class; window, exit row and nonrevenue passengers; middle; aisle; and finally, those without a boarding group or basic economy seats.”
This window-middle-aisle boarding system, known as WILMA, was reportedly first revealed in 2017 and did indeed cut down boarding times just as expected.
“We’re excited to bring WILMA back to provide a smoother boarding process flow that helps get passengers in their seats even faster and saves precious time during our boarding process,” United spokesperson Christine Salamone said.
Why is United Airlines changing their boarding system?
Live and Let’s Fly reported that this new boarding system will be used “in an effort to reduce boarding time.”
United claims the new boarding system can save up to two minutes of boarding time, according to CBS News.
Scott Keyes, founder of Going, a travel membership designed to help travelers find flight deals, reportedly said, “It is one of those situations where what’s good for the airline would probably also be good for travelers.”
Keyes continued, “That’s not always the case many times, it’s more of a zero-sum thing — but I think systems that allow airlines to board more efficiently is a win-win.”
Are other airlines changing their boarding systems?
Southwest has reportedly reduced the amount of EarlyBird spots that can be bought on any given flight and maintains its open seating policy, where passengers can choose where they sit as they board their flight.
Condé Nast Traveler reported that JetBlue used to maintain a “back-to-front” boarding process that went away prior to the pandemic, was brought back during the pandemic and is now no longer in use.
KIRO 7 News reported that typically most airlines will follow a front to back boarding process “with priority seating a benefit for buying more expensive tickets.”