Volume 8 Number (Journal 668) May, 2015 in this issue

United testing new boarding area models at O'Hare 
By Gregory Karp/Chicago Tribune 
United Airlines is experimenting with prototype boarding areas at O'Hare 
International Airport with the aim of making the time passengers spend 
waiting for a flight more comfortable and productive at its gates there. At 
gates B-4, B-8 and B-10 in Terminal 1, United has changed passenger 
seating areas and gate-agent podiums, while adding standing work stations and boarding poles to bring more 
order to the boarding process. The airline also added mood lighting and a proprietary scent pumped into the 
jet bridge walkways to provide an olfactory experience while boarding. 
It's all part of a number of improvements United is making to its planes and airport facilities after the 
integration of United and Continental airlines, which merged in 2010. "Now that we're finished with the 
painful part of the merger, we're really focused on the customer experience," said Maria Walter, United's 
managing director of product and brand strategy. 
United is also making record profits. The airline last year earned about $2 billion, up 89 percent over the 
previous year on the strength of full planes and plummeting jet-fuel prices. 
United announced it was renovating its United Club lounges at O'Hare and upgrading the food in its clubs 
around the world. 
For the boarding-area makeovers at O'Hare, United officials are settling on a final design that it will roll out 
to its gates at the Chicago airport and be used in airports around the country. Construction, which will be 
paid by United, is slated to begin in late summer and be completed through the following year, Walter said. 
O'Hare boarding areas haven't been revamped in about 30 years, she said. Officials would not release a dollar 
figure for the boarding-gate renovation. 
Reaction to the prototypes has been overwhelmingly positive, Walter said. "Passengers are thrilled," she said. 
"People are really excited to see their home airport becoming more modern and having customer features 
they're looking for." 
For seating, United's research showed the usual long rows of seats were cumbersome and underused. It was 
difficult for passengers to shuffle past the person on the end whose carry-on luggage blocks the aisle — like 
on board aircraft, nobody wanted to be stuck in the middle seats, so they were underused. And then — 
because Americans enjoy their elbow room, especially when sitting next to strangers — often every other 
seat would be occupied, wasting space. Prototype seating is arranged in various configurations. For example, 
in clover or cluster arrangements with seats facing out, making each seat easily accessible with plenty of 
personal space. "It feels more open and less like you're sharing space with your neighbor," Walter said. The 
new design also has more traditional linear seating, but every second seat has a little table in between, 
somewhere to rest your electronic device for charging — outlets are located in seats — or drink cup while 
providing a natural barrier between seats. Some gates also will have couch like seating to accommodate 10 
people. "We want to have really comfortable options for people," she said. In the prototype boarding areas, 
nearly every seat is used instead of about half in the traditional configuration, Walter said. So, while the new 
design incorporates about 20 percent fewer chairs, more passengers overall are seated in the same space. 
Instead of the big, elevated fortress of a gate-agent podium that customers approach at chest height, new 
podiums are smaller, white, waist-height and modular — like something you might expect to see in an Apple 
store. The agent's computer monitor swivels toward the customer so they can collaborate on seat assignments 
or rebooking a flight. "We're trying to bring in things that make it easier for the agent to have a good 
customer interaction," Walter said. 
Adding workstations with power outlets is an efficient and, United hopes, appreciated use of boarding-area 
space as passengers have room to work and recharge their devices. Prototypes include stand-up and seated 
versions of the work stations with five stations on each side for a total of 10. Walter expects the workstations 
to make the final design cut. "Even if people are not boarding out of that gate, we see people sitting there," 
Walter said. "So we know passengers love that." 
New stationary boarding totems help segment groups to avoid the hoard of passengers pulsing toward the 
crowded gate as groups are announced. The poles are taller and lighted to provide a visual cue in addition to 

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15 
May, 2015 RUPANEWS 
verbal announcements that your group is boarding, Walter said. 
The goal isn't necessarily faster boarding but being "more thoughtful in how we're communicating with 
customers, to make it easier for people to understand where they need to be and what's happening," Walter 
said. 
United plans to add blue lighting to the jet bridges — the walkways from the gate to the aircraft — and scent 
machines to create "positive transition moments." "Just before you cross through the boarding door of the 
plane, you get a whiff of the signature United scent," Walter said. Called Landing, the fragrance is an herbal, 
spalike smell, Walter said, that also will be in O'Hare's United Club lounges. "We hope that's something we 
can start relying on — your sensory memory and associating that with United in a positive way," Walter 
said. United has allergy-tested it to ensure the scent won't bother most passengers, she said.