United Airlines drops early boarding for families with children

[n2doc]

Brouhaha boils over early boarding for babies


For example, United now offers special early boarding to those who have paid for its new Explorer credit card. They also offer early boarding to their best customers, such as Global Services or 1K members, or Star Alliance partners with status. Then there are those who’ve actually paid significantly more than everyone else on the plane for business or first class seats. United also offers early boarding to military in uniform and passengers using wheelchairs or crutches.
Until now, it’s allowed families with children to board early, too. Well, during summer travel season, families traveling with children can comprise half the passengers on the plane. (Flown to Orlando lately? You’ll see…)
So by the time “general boarding” starts, the plane is almost full– and nearly all the precious overhead bin space it taken. It’s crazy…and it irritates United’s best customers… those who have paid more for their tickets, or shown their loyalty as elite leve members of Mileage Plus.

rest of article and video

http://blog.sfgate.com/cmcginnis/2012/05/24/brouhaha-boils-over-early-boarding-for-babies/?tsp=1

[atreides1]

1. See

We do have a caste system in this country....

[Darth_Kitten]

4. Well, let's let the fast people on first,and then the slow pokes can board.

The people who don't need 5 hours to get settled can sit down and relax for a change.

[obamanut2012]

15. You get my vote for that!

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. Hrm. Not sure on this one.

Trying to get kids settled on a flight is a huge PITA, but in the same token, maybe not making them settle until the last minute will help matters.

[LeftyMom]

6. Parents of small kids need time and room to get the car seat set up.

Getting one of those things in tightly means you need to have enough room to get a little leverage, and if somebody else is sitting next to you you're going to wind up with a knee in their lap and your butt in their face, and probably whack somebody else with the seat on the way to yours.

The last thing an airline wants to do, either from a safety standpoint or a not pissing other passengers right the fuck off perspective, is to rush people with very young children.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. at the call "people with small children who need help boarding" two women with 12 year old girls

boarded early. No one was disabled. 12 year old girls are more able to board than many 40 year olds. The two women did it with a sense of entitlement. That's the point I began looking at this early boarding stuff differently.

[LeftyMom]

16. I'm all for redefining "small children" as under five, or maybe as low as three.

I know somebody who parks in disabled spaces with a placard issued to a now dead family member. That sort of abuse goes on a lot, but I wouldn't get rid of disabled parking.

[zbdent]

3. Frankly, I'm tired of flying

Screaming Baby Airlines ...

(a nod to Stephanie Miller)

[GObamaGO]

5. They really need to limit the carryon luggage

So everyone on board the plane can have some space for stuff in the overhead bins. Period.

[surrealAmerican]

8. ... or, perhaps, encourage passengers to check their luggage ...

... by, say, making it easy and efficient to claim, and, just maybe, not charging extra?

[GObamaGO]

9. That too

Allow one large suitcase per passenger to be checked for free.

[WolverineDG]

11. or only allowing you to use the space above your seats

can't tell you the number of times I've gotten on board only to see that the overhead bin above my seat is crammed to the gills because lazy people seated behind me didn't want to schlep their bags a few more rows.

[GObamaGO]

13. Oh yeah

Those people infuriate me.

[HubertHeaver]

7. The solution is simple.

Don't fly on flights going to kid destinations.

[WolverineDG]

10. Finally! nt

[obamanut2012]

14. Good

In the summer, most of the overheads are gone before you get to board.

I have no problem with people in wheelchairs and those using crutches or walkers boarding early, and they have to give frequent customers something, so them, too, I guess. That's it.