I've been Silver Elite on Continental for a couple of years now, and given my preference for sitting at the front of the economy cabin in a window seat, I find the ability to board first quite helpful, as I can get on board, settle in, and let the rest of the passengers do their thing. That said, I've never been opposed to waiting, and if the pre-boarding amenity went away, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

That said, I think part of the problem is that airlines don't adjust their Elite pre-boarding routines by market. Continental calls the first-class cabin, then all elites, then starts boarding economy by row from the back of the plane. Trouble is, if you're departing from a hub (like EWR), easily half the plane is Elite, and there's a mad crush to get on that blue carpet first - almost like a rugby scrum. By contrast, I've flown out of smaller markets like Nashville or Austin and been one of the few elites on the plane. In both situations, the routine is the same - all elites are called at the same time. Continental could easily eliminate that 'rugby scrum' at EWR and other hubs by calling elites in some sort of order - either by priority, or by seating location (window first, then middle/aisle).

In the end, I think it's important to remember that jerks come in all shapes & sizes - first class, elite, economy passengers, etc. - anyone can be a jerk under the right (or wrong) circumstances.

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