United finally admits boarding window, middle, then aisle seats is faster — and more enjoyable

• United Airlines is changing the way it boards economy passengers starting October 26.
• Boarding window seat first, then middle, and aisle last is up to two minutes faster, United says.

Boarding an airplane is inherently awkward.

After fighting off "gate lice," being whacked by backpacks, and sacrificing personal space for overhead space, you finally sit down and get comfortable. A minute later, you feel the dreaded shoulder tap signaling that your middle-seat neighbor has arrived — prompting more awkward shuffling to swap places or, even worse, you're that person who refuses to stand and gestures for your fellow traveler to shimmy on by in uncomfortably close quarters.

United Airlines is trying to change all that, according to an internal memo shared with Insider.

Starting October 26, economy passengers with window seats will board first, followed by middle seats, and then aisle seats. Economy passengers who booked tickets together will board at the same time in the highest applicable group, per the memo.

The change will not impact pre-boarding groups, first-class ticket-holders, business-class passengers, or premium card holders, who will still have priority boarding.

Following six years of boarding the middle and aisle seats in the same group, United Airlines has come to learn that this method of boarding is as aggravating as it is slow.

The airline tested the boarding process, known as WILMA, at five airports and found it was up to two minutes faster than current boarding procedures, the memo says. The WILMA boarding order also led to higher net promoter scores, a metric used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction.

How cheaper tickets made boarding worse

United previously used the WILMA boarding method until 2017, when the carrier introduced its Basic Economy product. In exchange for a cheaper ticket, Basic Economy passengers board last and pay extra for carry-on baggage.

The creation of this new boarding tier led United to combine middle and aisle seats into the same boarding group (Group 4) to make room for the new Basic Economy boarding group (Group 5).

However, having middle and aisle seat passengers board at the same time slowed down the boarding process. Boarding times have increased by up to two minutes since 2019, according to the internal memo.

United's reintroduction of WILMA in October will once again separate middle and aisle seats into two boarding groups — and add an additional sixth group for Basic Economy passengers.

"When we introduced our carry-on restricted Basic Economy product in 2017, we were limited to a 5-boarding group structure," a United spokesperson told Insider. "Now that we have more technical flexibility to add an additional boarding group, we're excited to bring WILMA back to provide a smoother window, middle, aisle boarding process flow that helps get passengers in their even seats faster."

Earlier this year, Southwest said it was also experimenting with new ways to speed up boarding — starting with upbeat music and flashing lights to get passengers moving.

Do you work on an airplane or cruise ship? Got a tip or story to share? Email this reporter at htowey@insider.com.