I recently took Delta flights to California and Florida, to attend family events. I was eager to board, to get settled for the flights and to find overhead space for my carry-on luggage. I have not flown very often in the last few years, partly due to concerns about COVID, and I was surprised at what has been an expansion in the boarding categories. I never saw the need to pay extra for being able to board earlier, but with so many boarding classes, I now find that I am one of the last to board the plane. I don’t like that.
In the past, when traveling alone, I would wait until my assigned category was called. But when I traveled with my husband, he worried about getting space for our carry-on luggage and wanted to get on as soon as possible. So as soon as the boarding process began, he would come forward, and when the agent announced boarding for those needing special assistance, he would get on the plane. Never liking to go ahead of my turn, it made me a little uncomfortable. But I would go with him, sometimes mumbling something like –I’m with him – I don’t need special assistance, but he does.
Delta now seems to have 8-9 boarding categories, plus pre-boarding and early boarding. They all sound like boarding categories to me… since they all involve people getting on the plane. The Delta categories, according to my experience and what I found on their website, are:
Pre-boarding (for customers needing special assistance, including people in wheelchairs), active members of the military, Delta One, First Class or Delta Premium Select, Early Boarding (not sure who they are), Delta Comfort +, Sky Priority, Main Cabin 1, Main Cabin 2, Main Cabin 3, and Basic Economy. I have found that my tickets are most often a Main Cabin or a basic economy.
In these recent flights, as I waited to be called, I felt strange, almost abandoned, seeing so many board ahead of me. The main reason they were able to precede me was that they paid a few dollars extra for their ticket. And as I looked at those remaining with me after most of the boarding was done, I felt a kinship, we were all second class —no, actually 7th, 8th or 9th —class citizens.
I believe this multi-tiered categorization was developed to encourage flyers to pay a little more, to up their “status” and be able to board sooner. But the airlines have carried their desire to maximize income too far. Not only is the extensive categorization of flyers offensive, but this is added to the reduction in amenities provided. Providing only a meager pack of nuts, pretzels or cookies, and recently raising air fares, further reduces what used to be enjoyable flights, especially for those in the “lower classes.”
To see if the Delta boarding process was unusual, I checked boarding categories for American, United and Southwest, the three other major airlines in the US. American has 9 (with preboarding, Concierge Key frequent flyers, and five additional groups before getting to the Economy categories), and United has 5, plus pre-boarding for military and anybody who needs extra time. Southwest has a unique boarding process. It is organized into three groups (A, B and C), with a 1-60 numbering system. Each passenger gets assigned a letter and a number, and the lower your letter/number combination the sooner you board, and that’s where the multiple boarding categories arise. If you are assigned A 1-15 you have “upgraded boarding”, and you are among the first to board. These include Business Select, A-List, and A-List Preferred statuses. In addition, you can purchase several types of upgrades as well as an early bird check- in capability, and these improve your boarding position. So other airlines have multiple, sometimes confusing, boarding categories too.
What do I conclude from this exploration? First- there is a pseudo-caste system in boarding planes, one based not on birth or position, but mainly on how much you are willing to pay. This is not very different from what we see in our society generally: paying more gets you better seats in almost any venue, providing better views of any entertainment provided. But there’s little or no viewing advantage in sitting on different seats on an airplane. I suppose this is simply capitalism in action, and applies to many areas of life. I never had concerns with the distinctions between first, business and main cabin seats, and accepted that the services and amenities of the last category were less than the first two categories. But the finer distinctions required in 6-9 categories elude me and have little to do with the services provided.
So perhaps my husband was right. And although I am quite healthy, I think I will start needing “Special Assistance” in boarding flights in the future.
Reflections on Aging 