How are boarding groups divided?

Groups one to four are made up of first class or business passengers, frequent flyer passengers, or military service passengers. After they are boarded, the fifth group is the “Main Cabin Extra” group, and they are boarded together up to the eighth group following the seat number.



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No matter what tier of elite status you have, you'll get to board the flight during priority boarding — even if you're flying in economy. Executive Platinum members can board in Group 1, while Platinum Pro (and Oneworld Emerald) members may board in Group 2.

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Group 4 is considered priority boarding on American Airlines. Eligible passengers include elite flyers holder AA Gold or Oneworld Ruby status, as well as AirPass travelers, premium economy ticket holders, travelers who bought priority boarding and eligible corporate travelers.

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Next comes Zone 1. This is for Silver status (the easiest to achieve), and those with the company's credit card. You can also pay extra for early boarding, allowing you to join this group. Next is Zone 2. This is considered “general” status.

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Groups 3-5
Keep in mind that basic economy passengers board last, unless they are able to board in an earlier group due to holding elite status, a United credit card or otherwise qualifying for priority boarding.

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Group 5 (Preferred boarding) - Main cabin extra (including basic economy). AAdvantage credit cardholders.

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Group 2 is mostly reserved for elite members. However, Flagship Business class passengers board during Group 2 if they're flying on a three-class aircraft. This is the case on American's Airbus A321T and its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Premium economy passengers also get priority boarding.

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Take a look at the boarding group number that's listed on your boarding pass, and listen for announcements from your gate agents. They'll let you know when your group can board. You can also view the digital displays around the gate area to see what groups are currently boarding.

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If you have a B group boarding position, the chances are good that you'll still be able to get a window or aisle seat or find 2 seats together if you're traveling with a companion. Hot Tip: If you are in the B group (or even one of the first numbers in the C group), head to the back of the plane.

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Front row if first class. Airplanes empty from the seats nearest the doors. In many planes that's the location. Some larger long distance planes board between first class and the next lowest class.

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Group 4: Passengers in Premium economy and paying for priority access, AAdvantage Gold, oneworld Ruby status holders, Citi/AAdvantage Executive cardholders, and select corporate travelers.

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Southwest® Boarding Process. How does the boarding process work? You will be assigned a boarding group (A, B, or C) and position (1-60+) upon check in. Your unique group and position combination (for example: A35) will be displayed on your boarding pass and represents a reserved spot in the boarding group at the gate.

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Zone was started when LH imagined they would do something that resembled priority boarding. So window seats at the back of the plane were labelled Zone 1, then middle seats Zone 2, Aisle seats Zone 3 etc for that rear section of the plane. And an aisle seat in the front of the plane would be zone 5 or 6.

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