Is zoned boarding Swiss's perfect procedure?
In the past few days I have been flying in premium economy with Swiss, a carrier that belongs to the Lufthansa Group, and I was pleasantly [...]
Swiss
Star Alliance
In the past few days, I have been flying in premium economy with Swiss, vector that belongs to the Lufthansa group, and I was pleasantly surprised by their boarding policy. I think it is one of the best in the world and should be copied by all carriers, something very similar from the one I had with Lufthansa departing from Munich., but here we were not at a home airport and so it has even more value.
In this article:
Zone boarding is now present on almost all carriers, but it is unclear how zones are assigned.
Certainly class of travel, status, type of travelers, and fare paid affect it, and the result is a mix of all these variables. Then of course in the U.S. things get even more complicated if you also add in the "military" factor and other subcategories that you only hear about at the gates in the stars and stripes. The worst procedure that exists is, probably, by file.
In the U.S. the zones often go all the way up to 8, and the last one is often the one that identifies ultra basic economy tickets that often include nothing, not even carry-on luggage. A clear distinction that helps boarding agents handle these situations easily.
During covid these procedures were disrupted, for reasons of force majeure such as social distancing. And actually if there's one thing I regret about the covid period, it's the landing procedure by file. I don't know if you traveled between 2020 and 2022, but many companies were asking passengers to disembark in order. Disembarkation was by rows, and passengers were asked to stand up the moment the front row became free. It was a spectacle.
Swiss's policy
When I arrived at the gate, there were two banners, in dual languages, explaining how the little number printed on the boarding pass originated.
Zone 1 is reserved exclusively for first class passengers, Swiss's 777/300s are all configured with 4 classes, and to HON Circle status holders the highest in Lufthansa's Miles&More program. Zone 2 is the zone reserved for business class passengers and to holders of Senator status in the company's frequent flyer and those who hold Gold status in one of the many Star Alliance companies.
Up to here there is nothing special. Most airlines make a similar choice, certainly those that offer first class are very few, but the result does not change. Elite and loyal passengers are rewarded, regardless of the cabin of travel.
Zone 3 is reserved for premium economy passengers, Swiss recently installed this cabin on its entire fleet and with this dedicated area those who choose these seats can board before all other passengers.
Things change a lot for economy passengers who, even if they travel together in the same reservation could see themselves split at boarding. In fact, Swiss's choice is to assign the zone based on where the passenger is seated and not based on other factors. This means that zone 4 will only be on the boarding pass for passengers sitting near the windows, followed by zone 5 which is The one assigned to the innocent victims of the "place in the middle" and finally the last one, zone 6, which is the one that belongs to those who sit aisle-side.
The logic behind this strategy is simple to understand. Dividing passengers in this way will result in much faster and more orderly boarding. You avoid the queues caused by passengers having to get those who were already seated to get to their seats. You get to your seat, place your luggage and sit down, and you will not be in anyone else's way during boarding.
