American Airlines ‘simplifies’ flying with 9 distinct boarding groups

American Airlines just found a way to streamline the boarding process — or needlessly complicate it, depending on whom you ask. “March 1, we’re launching a new, simplified boarding process,” the company said Wednesday. The company is no longer announcing the members of its first 4 groups by name, and is instead listing them from 1 through 9, adding a new class of “basic economy,” which will board last. This high number of boarding groups makes the process anything but simple, said a consumer travel advocate. “This is a case study in corporate double-speak” he said. “American has created at least 8 distinct groups of passengers, from the have-nots to the have-it-alls. This kind of stratification…has absolutely no place in the 21st century.” American Airlines disagrees that it overcomplicates things. <br/>