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A Delta Air Lines gate agent announced a proactive approach to dealing with people who try to board the plane before their assigned boarding zone is called.
Redditor “bayrat1013” wrote:
Heard something at the gate in (New York-LaGuardia Airport) this morning. Gate agent was starting the boarding process and stated that if anyone tried to board before their zone was called, their bag would be automatically checked to their destination. I think this is an excellent idea to become policy (if it’s not already a policy that is not being enforced)
Some Delta gate agents are famous for their shenanigans. (So much so that the term “shena” is a thing. There’s even a long thread on FlyerTalk dedicated to Delta shena.)
But I can get behind this well-intentioned idea.
I can’t stand it when people intentionally try boarding ahead of their assigned zones. If you really need to be one of the first people on the plane, buy a first class ticket.
I try to travel with carry-on luggage only when feasible, so I get that it’s important to get on board and find somewhere to store your stuff. But I generally either have elite status and/or pay a higher fare that helps score a better spot in the boarding hierarchy. (People who jump boarding spots on Southwest especially deserve a special place in Hell. Although, Southwest is switching to assigned seats, so that’s about to become a complaint of the past.)
Most of us have heard something along the lines of, “Our flight today is completely full and we don’t have room for everyone’s carry-on suitcases. We’ll be happy to check your suitcase for free. Otherwise, we’ll have to start checking people’s bags when overhead bins fill up.”
Well, this certainly is one way to address that issue.
Further down the Reddit thread, it seems as though other Delta gate agents have used this tactic at other airports.
What do you think about this idea?
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Hold on a minute here. There is confusion boarding most Delta flights. Some people are hard of hearing, don’t see well, or don’t speak English well. Is Delta going to punish them for misunderstanding?
Stop making excuses. The seating zone is easy for everyone to read on their boarding pass and it’s displayed on the monitors. Sit down.
Heard this during my travels
To Phoenix this past weekend. Folks actually took the bait and checked their luggage….im assuming they just didn’t want to pay the fees during check in process. Either way, cool way to go about.
That’s an interesting (and likely unintentional) side effect. Some will “pay the penalty” of having their bag checked, in exchange for boarding earlier. Hmmm seems like a good way to slow the boarding process. They need to re-think that one.
Great way to get your luggage checked for free, I guess. Not sure it will achieve the orderly behavior Delta is after. Big groups of people are dumb and lack focus to follow instructions.
I can understand that there might be a few people who can’t hear well or they are new to the whole airport experience, but it’s so crazy how so many people crowd the gate area especially after the gate agent clearly explains the boarding process in detail and indicates that they “will soon begin the boarding process.” As a weekly flier and Delta Diamond I am generally always boarding in the one of the first two groups, but I always hang back and to stay out of the muck by the gate. Then when my group is called, I make my way thru the crowds and I can see these people’s board passes showing Boarding Groups 5, 6, 7… It’s just nuts. I see this at ATL a lot and people just block off the main walkway in the terminal creating even more headaches. Even where there is more room to spread out at SLC, MSP, LAX, LGA, etc, the clueless folks still crowd the gate at boarding.
Lithium batteries underneath. Great Plan
What happened to just refusing boarding to the “jumper” and instructing them to go back and not board until their section is called? I realize the gate agent has a lot to do but that is on the airline. There used to be 2 and sometimes 3 gate agents for boarding. The airlines have cut so much to maximize profits and satisfy Wall Streeet types, that the one gate agent is stressed and can’t do their job unless everyone complies with the process. (See cuts in IT redundancies, outsourcing -Infli, onboard services – meals drinks, FA’s per flight, seat size, and on an on)
“What happened to just refusing boarding to the “jumper” and instructing them to go back and not board until their section is called?”
I think this is more of a preemptive move. Sort of like a “Don’t make me turn this car around!” sort of thing.
I understand and really do appreciate the effort of some of these rule-minded gate agents! I do wish there were more of them.
Some airlines allow passengers in different boarding groups to board together as long as they are on the same itinerary traveling together. We do this with American. If I am traveling with my 12 year-old daughter who is in a different boarding group than I am, should she have to wait at the gate while I board in front of her?
Yes…or you move back either way her
There are a few comments that I want to share…
1) Have anyone ever heard of the term “Miracle Flight”? Let’s say there are 11 “wheelchair” passengers boarded the flight; and once the flight arrived, you see less than 11 wheelchairs are needed. What a miracle!
Some of these “Wheelchair” passenger(s) can walk again!!! Also, sometimes, there maybe 1 passenger who really need wheelchair assist; but a whole village/family of people board with that person. Solution: Board Wheelchairs last. The whole idea of having wheelchair board 1st is so they have an empty jetway and isles. Well, if the whole plane has already been boarded, then naturally, the jetway and isle will be empty.
2) The American Disabilities Act (ADA) states that any service agents (that includes airline gate agents) are not allowed to ask “what is a person’s handicap”? The public (we) often confused between the terms “Equal Access” and “Priority Access.” The ADA only guarantees “Equal Access” not “Priority Access.” However, anyone who wants to board 1st (aka Line Jumpers), including passengers who bought Basic Economy are allow to board before 1st class when the gate agent announces “anyone who needs extra time” to board can board. As long as airlines board handicap or anyone who needs extra time to board 1st, the line-jumpers will and can take advantage of this loophole. Solution: Board anyone who needs extra time LAST, so those who need extra time can take their time without holding up the rest of the passengers. Boarding last, still satisfies the “Equal access” requirement of the ADA because regardless of a person’s handicap, s/he will have the same access to this flight as you and I.
3) I was recently on a flight out of Japan and CDG. Before general boarding, the gate agents actually start lining up passengers by their zones with signs of the different zones and checked their boarding document. Anyone in the wrong line for his/her zone is directed to queue at the correct line.
As an actual handicap person, spina bifida atrophied leg, rod hip to ankle so leg does not bend I need to board early, get settled, make sure I have bulk head by law due to fixed leg. If you view this as an advantage, resent me boarding first perhaps you should be ashamed of yourself, maybe you will be in accident, be wheelchair bound, see how healthy people use handicap parking spots, use handicap stalls.
Software code the gate agent’s scanner to reject a boarding pass prior to its zone being called. It’s not rocket science.
Thumbs up about modifying the gate agent’s scanner to reject boarding in wrong zone – simple fix.
I totally support this effort. I have been in C+ only to be walking behind a single guy in Zone 3 yet he still gets on first. Just very irritating if I am paying for earlier boarding yet is not enforced. Come on, Delta.
C+ is Zone 3 —- I’m guessing you meant Zone 5 (based on my experiencing the exact same thing).
This assumes the flight will actually operate as scheduled which is a 50/50 proposition on Delta
@Matthew – Zing! Ouch!