The Problem with Zone 2

For the last couple of months I've been commuting weekly from my home near Atlanta to Dallas. I pretty much always take the same two flights -- I'm even starting to recognize some of my fellow passengers.

On each of these more than a dozen flights so far, exactly the same thing has happened: more than half the passengers are listed for an upgrade. The planes on this route typically seat about 140 passengers, and the upgrade list always has at least 75, sometimes more, passengers on it.

For those of you who are not familiar with Delta's upgrade policies, that means that 75 or more passengers on the flight are SkyMiles or SkyTeam Elite members (Silver, Gold, Platinum, or the new Diamond). The lucky one or two who get the upgrade get to board in zone 1; the rest get to board in zone 2.

To the business traveler, being able to board in zone 2 is important. It means that you have a chance of getting your roll-aboard bag into an overhead bin. Usually, you have a really good chance, because there are only some 25 of you. The seven zones of passengers behind you are the occasional travelers who won't be too bothered if they have to check their bags.

This all works fairly well on the typical flight. Zone 1 boards, gets their free drinks and hangs up their coats. Zone 2 boards and puts their bags in the overheads. Zones 3 through 9 get on board and try to find an empty bin for their stuff.

Do you see the problem? With 75 or more people in Zone 2, quite a few of them aren't going to find room in the overhead bins. So, to help increase the odds, all of them try and get to the front of the line when zone 2 is called. Once, just once, I had a gate agent call zone 2 by rows, which was a decent way to handle the traffic jam.

But there needs to be a better solution, because this does not account for different levels of elite status within zone 2. Remember how Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members all board in the same zone? So it turns out a lowly Silver could get a bin for his bag while an exalted Diamond has to check his.

My hack for this problem is to check my bags and board some time well after zone 2. It's liberating to sit out the medallion crush, and just stroll on sans bag. Sure, I have to wait for my bag to show up, but it's just not worth the hassle of trying to carry it on.

On the road again, again.

In an unexpected turn of events, as of mid-November of last year I find myself back in consulting and immediately back on the road at a major client for a long-term project. It's been interesting to find myself back in place that I never expected to be again: commuting by air and living in a hotel for weeks on end.

I will try to find something interesting and relevant to blog about in this space.