Don't crowd the gate: United rolls out a new boarding process 
 
 CLOSE United says it’s streamlining its boarding process. Gone are the five boarding lines used in the previous process. It is a new two-lane, color-coded process that will handle a staggered boarding call. USA TODAY 
 
 United has become the latest airline to tweak the way it calls passengers to board its planes. 
 
 In a change that’s rolling out to United gates nationwide on Tuesday, the carrier says it’s streamlining its boarding process. 
 
 With that, United joins American and Delta in making changes to the boarding call since early 2017. 
 
 TODAY IN THE SKY: 'Nobody is winning' the airline boarding nightmare 
 
 At United, gone are the five boarding lines used in the previous process. In is a new two-lane, color-coded process that will handle a staggered boarding call. 
 
 The lanes will be numbered “1” and “2.” Beyond that, lane 1 is the “blue” lane while lane 2 is “green.” 
 
 When it’s time to board, United will call pre-boarding that's open to its top-tier “Premier 1K” and “Global Services” frequent-flyers, active military, customers with disabilities and families with children ages 2 and younger. They'll board via lane 1. 
 
 This graphic provided by United attempts to explain its new boarding process. (Photo: United Airlines) 
 
 Next comes Group 1, which includes first- and business-class customers plus Platinum- and Gold-level frequent-flyers. Group 1 also boards through lane 1, while Group 2 lines up in lane 2. 
 
 Group 2 boards once the Group 1 queue clears. Who is in Group 2? Silver-level frequent-fliers and certain United credit-card holders and customers who’ve purchased United’s priority access or boarding privileges. 
 
 Travelers in Groups 3, 4 and 5 will be asked to remain seated while the first two groups line up and board. 
 
 After Group 1 and Group 2 have boarded, Groups 3 through 5 will board through the green-colored Lane 2. They’ll be called by number, starting with 3 and ending at 5. Group 5 will include most Basic Economy customers. 
 
 Members of Group 1 and 2 who are still arriving to the gate area will priority board via the blue-colored Lane 1. 
 
 United says it’s implementing the boarding change after “testing a variety of boarding concepts” since last fall. The new system has been in affect at Los Angeles International Airport since February and will now roll out to all United locations beginning Tuesday. 
 
 United’s changes hint at the struggle airlines have had in creating a boarding process that doesn't stress out customers. Even with precisely delineated groups and queues, many travelers still feel compelled to stand in line to hold their spot. 
 
 Both American and Delta rolled out similar changes in early 2017. 
 
 Southwest, of course, has its own type of system since it has no assigned seats. It calls for fliers in its “A” group to line up at their corresponding pillars, which display numbers indicating where passengers should stand. As the “A” group boards, Southwest repeats the process for the “B” and “C” groups until all passengers have boarded. 
 
 That system, enacted in 2007, was meant to address crowding in the gate areas as customers queued up to be first on the plane. The move didn’t eliminate pre-boarding line-ups, but it did add order to the process. 
 
 “Airlines now have so many different tiers of boarding groups, between their different levels of elite-status members and their co-branded credit card customers and others," Henry Harteveldt, an airline analyst and founder of San Francisco-based Atmosphere Research, told USA TODAY's Today in the Sky blog at the time. “The result is frustration, crowding, unpleasantness and stress. Nobody is winning here.” 
 
 TODAY IN THE SKY: Would you bid 420,000 miles to see a parked plane? These frequent-fliers did (story continues below) 
 
 United said customer feedback helped push it to come up with a new system. 
 
 "The boarding process was one of the top areas customers told us they wanted improved,” Sarah Murphy, United’s vice president of Global Operations Strategy, Planning and Design, said in a statement. “We listened to customers and employees as we tested a variety of processes on thousands of flights until we found a better boarding process that results in less time spent waiting in lines, improved communication and a better way to recognize our Premier customers while balancing out the number of passengers in each boarding group.” 
 
 One big challenge that could remain for United is how its elite-level frequent-flyers will sort themselves out in the updated process. 
 
 When a large number of United’s elite customers are flying on a single flight, it's been a frequent complaint in recent years that it would seem as though half the plane (or more) boarded in the first two groups. Whether elite customers now filter more evenly into the updated boarding groups on such flights remains to be seen. 
 
 Stay tuned … 
 
 30 COO AVIATION PHOTOS: The last MD-11 to Dreamlifters to test planes 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2NjrbY6 ||||| Saddle up to the gate on your next United flight and you may notice that there's now a different system in place for loading passengers. Just this week, Chicago-based United Airlines updated its boarding process to rely on fewer boarding lanes, a move that will cut down on congestion and potentially speed up passenger loading. 
 
 The new boarding process has been in the works for months. In June, United started experimenting with different boarding procedures in a handful of test gates in Chicago and Houston, two of the busiest hubs in the airline's network. Now, as of this week, the official new boarding process is finally in place. 
 
 Moving forward, the airline will still have five boarding groups but will only use two lanes for boarding. Elite and other priority passengers in group 1 and 2 will load through lane 1, while customers in group 3, 4 and 5 will use lane 2. Those not actively boarding will be asked to remain seated until paged. Chase co-branded credit card holders, according to the blog Wandering Aramean, will board in group 2. 
 
 In addition to the new boarding process, United is also launching push notifications for those who have the airline's mobile app. Those who opt in will be given a push notification when boarding starts, a tool that will be particularly useful if a flight is delayed or if the ground crew decides to load the aircraft early. 
 
 This week's updates come as the latest milestone in a long history of experimentation that United and other airlines have performed around the oft-complicated and congested boarding process. Several years ago, in an effort to better segment the cabin and speed up loading, United started using five lanes to feed through passengers. And while that method successfully segmented passengers in the boarding zone and prepared them for departure, it also created a fair amount of idle, standing passengers and congestion near the gate – especially during delays. The new strategy launched this week helps alleviate that problem. 
 
 Indeed, some of United's peers are already using this simplified process. American Airlines currently boards by zone using only two lanes while Delta Air Lines splits the difference and boards with four. One difference between United and its competitors, however, is that as of this week, top tier or "1K" elite members will be able to pre-board before the official process starts; with most carriers only VIP passengers are given that access. 
 
 New boarding lanes and gateside notifications should roll out to airports this week. ||||| Fuller flights are a boon to airlines but overcrowding at gates has become an unwelcome side effect. 
 
 United Airlines says its customers have complained about clusters of travelers around its gates. Travelers spilled into corridors and arriving passengers who just stepped off a flight were met with hordes of departing travelers. 
 
 "It's too congested," said Maria Walter, United Airlines' managing director of global operations strategy. "It created a lot of angst from our customers." 
 
 The airline on Tuesday debuted a new boarding process in an effort to combat this passenger pain point, and make sure flights depart on time as more travelers than ever opt to fly. 
 
 United reduced the boarding lines to two from five, and is urging travelers to wait until their boarding group — numbered 1 through 5 — is called. United carried close to 155 million passengers in the 12 months ended in August, up 6.1 percent from the year-earlier period, the company said last week. 
 
 The airline now sends out notifications to passengers on their mobile devices to let them now boarding has begun once the first boarding pass is scanned, so that travelers don't have to hover around the gate. 
 
 Travelers would sometimes queue up an hour before a flight, Walter said, which would attract even more passengers to the line. "It's like a magnet," she said. ||||| United Airlines said a man wouldn't give up his spot on a flight. According to witnesses, he was pulled screaming from his seat by security and back to the terminal at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. (The Washington Post) 
 
 Lawyers for David Dao, the Kentucky man who was violently removed from a flight for refusing to give up his seat earlier this month, said Thursday that they have reached a confidential settlement with United Airlines. 
 
 The agreement comes on the same day that United released the results of an internal investigation that found several mistakes were made before, during and after Dao was dragged off the April 9 flight, including calling in law enforcement to resolve an incident that was neither a safety nor security issue. The horrifying scene was caught on video and viewed by millions of people worldwide. 
 
 “We are pleased to report that United and Dr. Dao have reached an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411. We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do,” United said in a statement. 
 
 “Dr. Dao has become the unintended champion for the adopting of changes which will certainly help improve the lives of literally millions of travelers,” said Thomas Demetrio, one of Dao’s two lawyers. “I sincerely hope that all other airlines make similar changes and follow United’s lead in helping to improve the passenger flying experience with an emphasis on empathy, patience, respect and dignity.” 
 
 Demetrio described the settlement, the terms of which will remain confidential, as “amicable.” 
 
 In its report, United says it had allowed internal policies to distract from the need to treat passengers with dignity and respect, and it outlines what the company intends to do to prevent a repeat of the incident. 
 
 “This is a turning point for all of us at United and it signals a culture shift toward becoming a better, more customer-focused airline,” chief executive Oscar Munoz said in a statement that accompanied the release of the report on the April 9 incident at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. “Our customers should be at the center of everything we do and these changes are just the beginning of how we will earn back their trust.” 
 
 Under the airline’s new customer-first policy, travelers who voluntarily give up their seats will be eligible to receive up to $10,000 in travel certificates. United employees will be given new authority to find creative solutions to get bumped passengers to their final destinations — even if it means booking them on another airline or sending them to another airport. 
 
 Demetrio said United is taking the right steps and that he hopes other airlines will follow suit. 
 
 “Both Dr. Dao and I applaud United for promptly addressing the many issues that have plagued passenger satisfaction in the arena of airline customer service,” Demetrio said. “All of its policy changes announced today are passenger friendly and are simple, common-sense decisions on United’s part to help minimize the stress involved in the flying experience. Dr. Dao is proud, despite his ordeal, to have played a role in spearheading these announced changes. And going forward, he hopes United takes the lead in inspiring the entire airline industry to supply passengers the dignity, respect and fairness we all deserve.” 
 
 Demetrio said Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose and two missing teeth, among other injuries. Four aviation security officers involved in the incident have been placed on leave while the investigation continues. 
 
 In an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Munoz called the incident “a system failure across the board.” He said outdated policies and procedures, which focused more on operations and logistics than customers, put all those involved in “impossible situations.” 
 
 When asked about the conduct of the officers involved in the violent removal of Dao from the plane, Munoz said that, yes, he thought it was wrong. But he took responsibility for the situation, saying: “Did I believe what law enforcement folks did was wrong? Yeah. But once again, it was I and we who put them in that situation.” 
 
 The 11-page report lays out how a series of unrelated events came together and created the situation. 
 
 “United Airlines takes full responsibility for what happened,” reads the report’s introduction. “The intention of this report is to communicate concrete and meaningful actions that will avoid putting our customers, employees and partners in impossible situations.” 
 
 The report lays out four ways in which United says it failed both its passengers and employees. In addition to unnecessarily summoning law enforcement, the airline should not have tried to find space on the flight for crew members at the last minute. It also should have offered more compensation or more transportation options to entice customers to give up their seats voluntarily, but it acknowledged that agents did not have the authority to make such decisions. Finally, the report said the airline has not provided regular training for employees on how to deal with “denied boarding situations.” 
 
 “Our review shows that many things went wrong that day, but the headline is clear: Our policies got in the way of our values and procedures interfered in doing what’s right,” Munoz said. 
 
 The report, which outlines 10 changes the airline is making to prevent a repeat of the incident, is the most detailed account yet of the events that led to Dao’s removal from Flight 3411. 
 
 [United chief accepts blame for dragging incident] 
 
 According to the report, Flight 3411, scheduled to leave Chicago at 5:40 p.m. for Louisville, was overbooked by one seat. After no volunteers came forward, the airline bumped a passenger who had not yet received a seating assignment. That person received a check as compensation and was booked on another United flight, the report said. The remaining passengers were allowed to board. 
 
 At the same time, however, another United flight to Louisville that had been scheduled to depart at 2:55 p.m. was delayed because of mechanical difficulties. The airline needed to get four crew members who had been booked on that earlier flight to Louisville on Sunday night in order to prevent at least one flight — and possibly several others — from being canceled. 
 
 And so the crew members were rebooked on Flight 3411. As a result, the airline needed four of the 70 passengers aboard to give up their seats. The gate agent offered $800 in travel credits plus the cost of meals and a hotel stay. When no one came forward, the agent then followed United’s procedure for involuntarily bumping passengers. A United supervisor boarded the plane and told a couple they would have to leave. The couple left. The supervisor then told Dao and his wife they would have to leave. Dao refused. After receiving multiple refusals, United officials told Dao they would call authorities if he continued to protest. At this point, another passenger volunteered to leave the plane in exchange for $1,000 in compensation. But United officials still needed a fourth seat. Chicago Department of Aviation officers, who have “historically been effective in getting customers to voluntarily comply,” then arrived on the scene, the report said. They, too, were unsuccessful in persuading Dao to leave. 
 
 According to the report, the United supervisor left the aircraft to call a manager. It was at that point that Dao, the report said, “was physically removed from the aircraft” by the aviation security officers. 
 
 That moment, captured on video by other passengers aboard the flight, showed Dao yelling as he was pulled from his seat and then dragged down the aisle of the plane. 
 
 But United is promising change. 
 
 [Here’s what United with do differently after the infamous dragging incident] 
 
 In addition to increasing the compensation for passengers who voluntarily give up their seats, the airline will create an automated system to identify passengers willing to give up their seats and allow them to set the level of compensation they would be willing to accept. Starting in August, the airline also will offer additional training for front-line staff and later this year will roll out an app that will allow employees to immediately compensate customers when a service issue arises. It also will create a “customer solutions team” charged with finding ways to get displaced passengers where they need to go. 
 
 Even though United officials say only a small percentage of passengers are involuntarily bumped from the airline’s flights, they said they will reduce overbooking on those flights on which volunteers are less likely to come forward. Overbooking is not illegal, but it has drawn new scrutiny from members of Congress following the airline’s treatment of Dao. 
 
 United’s offer of $10,000 in flight certificates brings it in line with Delta, which announced earlier this month that it was boosting the maximum amount of compensation it would offer passengers. Prior to this most recent change, United agents could offer up to $500, and supervisors could approve up to $1,500 in travel certificates and $1,350 cash. 
 
 It’s unclear whether United’s actions will be enough to satisfy lawmakers, who are already demanding changes to the way airlines treat customers. Among the provisions of a bill introduced in the Senate on Wednesday is one that would require the secretary of transportation to reexamine airlines’ practice of overbooking to determine whether limits should be placed on how many seats an airline can sell. 
 
 United had already announced some new procedures and changes. Munoz said the airline will limit the use of law enforcement to “safety and security issues only.” He also announced that the airline will no longer bump passengers once they have boarded their flight unless it involves a safety or security issue. 
 
 [After United dragging incident, 3 major airlines change passenger bumping policies] 
 
 The report noted that after being removed from the plane, Dao returned and, according to video and passenger accounts, his face was bloodied. Incident reports released by the Chicago Department of Aviation this week said Dao became increasingly combative and began swinging his arms with his fists closed after one of the officers tried to grab him. It says the officer was able to pull Dao up from his seat and toward the aisle, but then lost his grip because Dao kept fighting. The police report said Dao was removed from the plane with “minimal but necessary force.” 
 
 Munoz, however, again apologized for the events and took responsibility. 
 
 “Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect,” he said. “Two weeks ago, we failed to meet that standard and we profoundly apologize.” 
 
 An earlier version of this post misstated the number of failures that United officials identified as part of their investigation. The airline found four instances of failure. 
 
 Read more: 
 
 ‘Re-accommodate’? United ridiculed for corporate speak response to passenger dragging. 
 
 United chief Oscar Munoz: The rise and fall of a ‘Communicator of the Year’ 
 
 Following United dragging incident, Congress to hold oversight hearing on airline consumer issues
– The "angst" travelers feel at overcrowded gates may soon be eased at United Airlines terminals, an exec for the airline says. That's because United just began a new initiative designed to relieve that particular "passenger pain point," as CNBC puts it, by changing up its departure protocol: The number of boarding lines has been cut from five to two, and overeager customers are now asked to stay out of the boarding area until their boarding group (one of six in total, including pre-boarders) is announced. "It's too congested," a UA rep says of the current procedure, which often results in arriving fliers having to push their way through throngs of departing ones. Forbes notes customers can also opt in to receive push notifications via the mobile app, meaning they can hang out in nearby restaurants or shops until they receive an alert on their cellphones that it's time to board. Over the past year, United test-drove a variety of boarding options on about 12,000 flights, ending up with this system, which is similar to the way American, Delta, and Southwest queue up. United has been using the procedure at LAX since winter and will now implement it at all locations, per USA Today. It's also spreading passengers around more equitably within its six boarding groups, which includes pre-boarders (e.g., families with young kids, service members), first-class passengers and frequent fliers in groups 1 and 2, and then everyone else in groups 3, 4, and 5. "The boarding process was one of the top areas customers told us they wanted improved," another UA rep says in a statement, noting customer and employee feedback guided the airline on the enhancements. (United had some "unfortunate dog incidents" earlier this year.)