Frequent flier Steve Lapin of Elkins Park, who now lives in Tampa, Fla., said he used to board in Group 1 because he has the American "aviator" MasterCard, which gave him Group 1 boarding and a free checked bag. Now, he said, he will be in Group 5. "The same number of people are going to board before me as did before. I don't think that has changed, and that is the most important thing."