American Airlines to change boarding process for first-class passengers starting May 1

The new boarding procedure details are as follows:

Preboard: ConciergeKey members, first- and business-class passengers, and those needing extra time.

Group 1: AAdvantage Executive Platinum status members and active-duty military with IDs.

Group 2: AAdvantage Platinum Pro elite status and Oneworld Emerald members.

Group 3: AAdvantage Platinum elite status and Oneworld Sapphire members.

Group 4: AAdvantage Gold members, Oneworld Ruby members, Lifetime AirPass customers, and certain Citi / AAdvantage credit cardholders.

Group 5: Main Cabin Extra passengers, non-status AAdvantage members with 15,000 Loyalty Points, and eligible credit cardholders.

Groups 6 to 9: AAdvantage members, main cabin, and basic economy passengers, respectively.

Previously, premium-cabin passengers were in Group 1. The change moves them to preboarding, reducing congestion in Group 1, notably crowded at major hubs like Dallas Fort Worth and Charlotte Douglas.

The airline expects that a "better-paced boarding process" will result from these changes beginning on May 1. Furthermore, boarding now commences 35 minutes before departure for certain Airbus aircraft and 40 minutes for Boeing 737 or A321 flights, with wide-body aircraft boarding starting 50 minutes before takeoff.

American's software to curb line-cutting, introduced last fall, is now implemented across 90% of its flights, ensuring passengers only board when their group is called. Feedback for the initiative has been described as "overwhelmingly positive" by the airline.

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