Airport News

American Airlines adds extra first-on-the-plane boarding group

One American Airlines plane, many classes.

American Airlines

Fort Worth-based American Airlines is making changes to the boarding process, under the guise of "making the airport experience even simpler and more straightforward."

According to a release, on May 1, American will "refine" the boarding process by updating boarding groups and adding an additional five minutes of boarding time.

Updated groups for preboarding
Under the new system, First and Business customers will now get to pre-board first, along with those who used to be in the pre-boarding group: people in wheelchairs and parents with children age 2 and under.

AAdvantage members stay in their same mid-range groups, and as for the economy traveler, you're pretty much dirt.

5 more minutes
In February, American announced it was adding five additional minutes of boarding time to domestic mainline flights beginning May 1. Their theory is that this extra time, coupled with these updated boarding groups, will allow for a better paced boarding process. They also say it will result in as better management of overhead bin space, because "fewer carry-on bags will need to be checked at the departure gate" — although they do not explain why this is true.

As of May 1, here's how much time they're alloting for boarding:

Airbus A319, A320 aircraft: 35 minutes
Boeing 737, Airbus A321 and all widebody aircraft: 40 minutes

These "enhancements" come on the heels of American’s launch of new boarding technology last fall, which tells AA how many customers there are in each group to maintain a steady boarding process.

This technology is available to 90 percent of customers when boarding, including most of American’s major hubs, with the remaining 10 percent rolling out before the end of 2025.

The haves and have-nots
Below is a chart with the updated boarding groups. Basically, they've broken what used to be "Group 1" into two levels: Preboard and Group 1.

Preboard was previously for people who needed more time getting onto the plane (although is that not true of all of us?). In the new scheme, the wheelchair brigade and the breeders are now joined by ConciergeKey and all Business travelers (some Business travelers used to have to board with the icky lower groups but now they're bumped up).

And in the department of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it": ConciergeKey is the highest tier of the airline's AAdvantage elite status program, reserved for top-spending customers and corporate travel influencers. It's an invite-only status, not open to everyone.

While Business gets bumped up, U.S. military gets bumped down from pre-boarding to Group 1.

Preboard

ConciergeKey
First/Business
Families with children ages 2 and under

Group 1

AAdvantage Executive Platinum
Active duty U.S. military with military I.D.

Group 2

AAdvantage Platinum Pro
oneworld Emerald

Group 3

AAdvantage Platinum
oneworld Sapphire

Group 4

AAdvantage Gold
oneworld Ruby
AirPass
Citi / AAdvantage Executive cardmembers

Group 5

Main Cabin Extra (excluding Basic Economy)
AAdvantage members who earn 15,000 Loyalty Points
Eligible AAdvantage credit cardmembers

Group 6

AAdvantage members

Group 7-8

Main Cabin

Group 9

Basic Economy

transportation airport

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS

Napa wine brand The Debate uncorks new Texas Hill Country tasting room

The Debate/ Facebook

The Debate will source both Napa Valley and Hill Country grapes.

Need further proof that the Texas wine industry has arrived? Acclaimed Napa Valley wine brand The Debate is expanding into the Hill Country with plans to open a new Stonewall tasting room in spring 2027.

The brand was founded in 2010 with a slightly esoteric philosophy. The Debate believes that wine isn’t just a product, but a way of “fostering connection through conversation.”

One topic will surely be about the finer points of Napa versus Hill Country terroir. The tasting room will pour The Debate's top-rated wines from California alongside new bottles made from Texas fruit. Additional wine programs under the brand's umbrella will target a range of wine drinkers.

"We've always believed that wine is at its best when it brings people together," said Todd Kerlin, the brand's general manager, in a statement. "Texas Hill Country is writing a genuinely exciting chapter in wine right now, and we saw an opportunity to be part of something real here, not to import an experience, but to build one that belongs to this place and the people in it."

The Debate tasting room Once completed, The Debate's tasting room will presumably look less like The Sims.Rendering courtesy of The Debate

Wine industry vet Jean Hoefliger will spearhead the project in Texas. He's not an area newb — he's spent the past five years working with Hill Country producers with Texas Wine Consulting.

"After years of working across wine regions around the world, nothing prepared me for Texas," Hoefliger said. "The energy here is unlike anywhere else, and so is the sense of place."

The Debate plans to partner with regional restaurants and take part in Hill Country wine events as part of its rollout. Membership details, programming, and information on the brand's first Texas releases are expected to be announced closer to the opening.

Once open, it will join two other recently opened tasting rooms on Wine Road 290 between Fredericksburg and Johnson City: playful concept Acquired Taste Wines in Stonewall and Rebecca Caroline, William Chris’ new sparkling wine tasting room in the historic Hye post office.

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