We constantly see airlines tinkering with their boarding process, all with the stated goal of maximizing efficiency, or something. As reported by Zach Griff, Delta Air Lines will be updating its boarding process shortly, as the airline transitions from branded boarding to zone-based boarding.
How Delta is updating its boarding process
As of May 2024, Delta will be making changes to its boarding process. In reality, the main thing changing is how Delta is marketing its boarding, rather than the actual order in which people board.
Under the current boarding process, passengers are invited to board based on the name of their cabin or elite status. So after pre-boarding, the airline invites Delta One or first class passengers, followed by Diamond Medallion members, follows by Premium Select passengers, followed by Comfort+ passengers, etc.
With the new boarding process, the airline will no longer call out the branded product that someone is booked in, but rather the airline will call Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, etc. So you’ll no longer necessarily hear reference to a class of service or status level, but just to a number.
While this is mostly about branding, there are a couple of minor changes to boarding priority:
- Delta 360 members (Delta’s invitation-only elite tier) will be invited to board ahead of the most premium cabin, with those who are eligible for pre-boarding
- Diamond Medallion members will now board with Premium Select (on aircraft featuring that cabin), rather than before Premium Select
Why is Delta making this change? Delta claims that this is intended to “simplify the boarding process for both our customers and our employees, adding clarity of sequence and improving the overall gate experience.”
The irony in Delta’s boarding process change
The funny thing about Delta moving from branded boarding to zone-based boarding is that this is a direct reversal of a change that Delta implemented back in 2019. Prior to that, the airline also had zone-based boarding, but at that point the airline decided to introduce branded boarding.
For those curious, below is what the change looked like at the time.
This was at a time when Delta was leaning heavily into the branding of its cabins, whether it’s Delta One or Premium Select.
In 2019, Delta claimed it was transitioning to branded boarding to add “consistency, simplicity, and clarity to the gate and boarding experience,” and now the airline claims that it’s eliminating branded boarding to “simplify the boarding process for both our customers and our employees, adding clarity of sequence and improving the overall gate experience.” Tim, can you help us decipher this?
As much as US airlines tout that their boarding process is all about efficiency, I don’t actually believe that (and that’s not specific to Delta, as it’s equally true at American, and even more true at United). At the end of the day, I find the boarding process at US airlines is an extension of their credit card business — it’s a way to make elite members feel special.
I don’t think anyone could make a good faith argument that airlines separating passengers into nearly a dozen groups (United is the worst at this) speeds up the boarding process, especially when people crowd the gate, don’t actually listen to announcements, and the boarding priority isn’t enforced.
Bottom line
Delta is updating its boarding process as of May 2024, as the airline will transition from branded boarding to zone-based boarding. The airline will no longer call for Delta One passengers, but will instead call for Zone 1 passengers. There aren’t many changes here to the order in which people can board, but rather this is just about the language used.
What’s funny about this change is that it brings Delta’s boarding process back to where it was before 2019, when Delta introduced zone-based boarding, claiming it would add “consistency, simplicity, and clarity to the gate and boarding experience.”
What do you make of the changes to Delta’s boarding process?
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