


United Airlines will give passengers who choose window seating a higher priority during boarding in hopes of reducing boarding times as airlines head into a crowded holiday season.
Passengers who typically board in the fourth and fifth groups will see those with window seats moved to board in group three, followed by those with middle seats moved to group four, and aisle seats moved to group five. Those who travel in first or other premium classes as low as group three will not be affected by the change, and those who board in the sixth group will not have any changes.
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"Multiple customers in a same economy reservation will receive the same and highest applicable boarding group excluding Basic Economy customers in boarding Group 6," a memo obtained by ABC News said.
The new model, "WILMA," was tested at four domestic locations and one hub to ensure it reduced at least two minutes from boarding time. This comes after the time it takes passengers to board has increased by two minutes since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the airline.
Passengers with disabilities, as well as passengers who are active military, unaccompanied minors, and families traveling with children 2 years and under, will not be affected by the change because they also board earlier in the process.
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The new seating plan will go into effect next week, on Oct. 26, and will affect all domestic flights, plus some international. It comes ahead of a busy holiday travel season.
The Washington Examiner reached out to United Airlines for comment.