In an effort to shorten boarding times for flights, United Airlines said it would begin boarding passengers in economy class with window seats first, starting the following week.
The airline announced in a statement to employees that the plan would go into effect on October 26. At four domestic sites and one hub, the WILMA (window, middle, and aisle) plan was evaluated.
According to United, it can shorten the boarding process by up to two minutes. Group 4 passengers will experience the change first. First to board are those with window seats, then those with center seats, and finally those with aisle seats.
Families with reservations for multiple passengers in economy, according to United, will be permitted to board their flight.
On some domestic and international flights, the strategy will be put into effect. The boarding procedure for passengers in first class and business class won’t alter.
The pre-boarding group, which includes passengers with impairments, unaccompanied juveniles, members of the armed forces on active duty, and families traveling with children 2 years of age or less, will not alter either.
The third quarter, which was a busy time for vacations, saw United earn $1.14 billion, but the airline anticipated worse profits for the rest of the year due to rising jet fuel prices and the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In contrast to Wall Street’s forecast of $2.09 per share, United projected an adjusted profit for the fourth quarter of between $1.50 and $1.80 per share. The United forecast’s high end expects that the airline will start flying again to Tel Aviv in the next month, while its low end assumes that there won’t be any more flights this year.
The flights were terminated by United and numerous other airlines shortly after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel. Before the market opened on Wednesday, shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc. dropped by more than 5%.
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