American, Delta & United: How Do Boarding Groups Compare At The 'Big Three' US Airlines? (2024)

boarding

By Sruti Kafle

Published 13 hours ago

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Summary

Different types of passengers get to preboard on AA, UA, and DL.
Economy passengers board in different groups/zones among the Big Three airlines.
Priority boarding varies by airline, but can often be purchased for an additional fee.

American Airlines (AA), United Airlines (UA), and Delta Air Lines (DL) are often dubbed the 'Big Three' airlines in the US. These carriers lead the way in terms of operations carried out, fleet size, and other factors. But how do the boarding groups of these three carriers compare? Let's find out.

What Is The Fastest Way To Get Everyone Onboard An Aircraft?

There are much faster boarding methods than current procedures.

Comparing the preboarding across the Big Three

American Airlines

Passengers who need special assistance or ones with a child under two years of age get to preboard on AA. ConciergeKey® members of AA have a ConciergeKey® boarding type. These members also get to preboard.

American, Delta & United: How Do Boarding Groups Compare At The 'Big Three' US Airlines? (7)

Photo: David Tran Photo | Shutterstock

Delta Air Lines

Here is a list of people who get to preboard on Delta:

Active-duty US military members with identification
Customers who need extra time to board or the ones needing assistance
Delta 360° members.

United Airlines

United Airlines lists that the following people get to preboard:

Customers with disabilities
Unaccompanied minors
Anyone flying with children 2 or younger
Active military members
Global Services® and Premier® 1K® members

In which groups/zones do economy passengers board?

American Airlines has nine boarding groups. Untied, on the other hand, has six boarding groups. In contrast to these two, Delta has eight boarding "zones".

American, Delta & United: How Do Boarding Groups Compare At The 'Big Three' US Airlines? (8)

Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying

On AA, basic economy passengers within the US, Canada, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean board in group 9. On UA's flights, "travelers in basic economy and travelers who do not have a boarding group number listed on their boarding pass" board in group 6. On Delta, basic economy passengers board in zone 8.

Comparing the first five boarding groups/zones of the Big Three

Let's compare the first three of the groups/zones in the table below:

	American Airlines	United Airlines	Delta Air Lines
Group/ Zone 1	First class passengers US military on active duty. AAdvantage Executive Platinum® Business class passengers	Premier Platinum and Gold members Star Alliance™ Gold members Travelers in United Polaris®, United First® and United Business® cabins	First class passengers. Delta One passengers (two-class aircraft)
Group/Zone 2	AAdvantage Platinum Pro® oneworld® Emerald (Business on a 3-class plane)	Star Alliance™ Silver members Premier Silver members Holders of Priority Boarding or Premier Access. United Explorer Card, United Club Infinite Card, and other cards	Diamond Medallion members. Delta Premium Select passengers (on eligible aircraft). Passengers traveling with car seats and strollers
Group/Zone 3	AAdvantage Platinum® oneworld® Sapphire℠	Economy Plus® or United Economy® travelers in window seats or exit row seats	Delta Comfort+ passengers.
Group/Zone 4	AAdvantage Gold® AirPass℠ oneworld® Ruby℠ Travelers who bought Priority boarding Premium Economy Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive card members	Economy Plus or United Economy travelers in middle seats	Flying Blue Platinum and Gold members. Platinum Medallion members. Gold Medallion members. LATAM Pass Black Signature, Black and Platinum Elite members. SkyTeam Elite Plus members. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold members. WestJet Rewards Platinum and Gold Elite members.
Group/Zone 5	Main Cabin Extra (excluding Basic Economy) AAdvantage® members who earn 15,000 Loyalty Points Eligible AAdvantage® credit card members	Economy Plus or United Economy travelers in aisle seats	Delta Corporate travelers. Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum and Reserve American Express cardmembers. Flying Blue Silver members. LATAM Pass Gold+ Elite members. Silver Medallion Members. SkyTeam Elite members. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Silver members. WestJet Rewards Silver Elite members.

The remaining boarding groups

American Airlines Boarding Group 6-8

Group 6: AAdvantage Members

Group 7-8: Main Cabin

American, Delta & United: How Do Boarding Groups Compare At The 'Big Three' US Airlines? (9)

Photo: American Airlines

Delta Air Lines Zone 6 and 7

Zone 6: SkyMiles members in main cabin

Zone 7: Non-SkyMiles members in main cabin

Comparing Priority boarding across the Big Three

United Airlines

Passengers who purchase United Airlines' Priority Boarding board with Group 2. Priority boarding at United starts at $15. Some of the factors that determine how much is charged for priority boarding include:

Type of flight booked
When the flight is booked

Is Priority Boarding Worth It?

Even passengers of no-thrills airlines often pay extra to obtain priority boarding. For some low-cost carriers, the cost is even higher than the base ticket fee. Still, several travelers feel it’s worth the money. I feel it can be worth it, as early boarding isn’t the only benefit. Other advantages include a larger carry-on that can be placed in the overhead bin, which is essential for some trips. What do you think? Is it worth it? Let us know below!

According to Upgraded Points:

"United says that this is a good opportunity for passengers to make sure there will be a place for their carry-on bag since space often runs out by the time boarding gets to Group 4 and 5. Critics say that this is a way for United to effectively charge for carry-on bags. As it is a fairly new option, it remains to be seen how popular Priority Boarding will be and whether it will, in fact, make it more difficult to get your carry-on bag on board if you don’t purchase the service."

American Airlines

Here's a brief on who gets priority boarding on AA:

All passengers flying in a premium cabin.
Holders of Oneworld alliance , AAdvantage, or JetBlue elite status
Holders of Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
Be an eligible corporate traveler i.e., a passenger who is on company business (on AA flight) for an employer who is bound by an American Airlines Corporate Travel Agreement

American, Delta & United: How Do Boarding Groups Compare At The 'Big Three' US Airlines? (11)

Photo: Justin Hayward / Simple Flying

In addition, you can also purchase priority boarding on AA.

Delta Air Lines

The ways to earn priority boarding on Delta are quite similar to those on AA:

Possess a co-branded Delta SkyMiles credit card.
Active members of the US military who are on active duty.
SkyMiles members with Platinum and Gold Medallion status.
Fly in premium cabins such as Delta One or First Class.
Be a SkyTeam Elite Plus passenger.