United Airlines to seat window passengers first to cut down on boarding time
UAL's new boarding policy is called 'WILMA' = Window-Middle-Aisle
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United Airlines plans to let economy passengers with window seats board before middle and aisle seats in an attempt to speed up the boarding process.
Starting Oct. 26, economy passengers with window seats will board in Group 3 followed by passengers with middle seats in Group 4 and passengers in aisle seats in Group 5, the Chicago-based airline told staff in an internal memo.
United Airlines interior economy cabin (United Airlines)
The seating plan, called WILMA, which stands for window-middle-aisle, will save up to two minutes on the boarding process for each flight, the memo said. The change will affect all domestic and some international flights.
A United Airlines plane takes off from San Francisco International Airport on June 21, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via / Getty Images)
United said the boarding process has increased by two minutes since pre-pandemic times. The carrier has been testing this new process out at one of its hubs and four domestic locations to ensure that it will help reduce that time.
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United had this seating process in place before 2017. However, when it introduced its carry-on restricted Basic Economy product six years ago, United was limited to a five boarding group structure, and therefore had to condense people with middle and aisle seats into Group 4.
United Airlines
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The carrier said it now has more technical flexibility to add another boarding group.
There is no change for first-class or business-class passengers. Pre-boarding through Group 3, which includes people with disabilities, unaccompanied minors, active-duty military and families traveling with children 2 years old and under, will also remain the same.
Additionally, multiple customers on the same economy reservation will be allowed to board together.