Delta Air Lines has announced it would scrap the standard boarding process, which sees passengers walk on the plane according to the zone they’re assigned, and replace it with a new colour coded system that will be introduced on January 23.

The new system will prioritise people who pay more for their seat.

Passengers in the luxury Delta One cabin will go first, first class and premium select passengers second, and those who upgraded to Delta’s Comfort Plus seats go next.

They will be followed by frequent flyers in the Sky Priority boarding group, and then everyone flying in the main cabin, who will board in groups of three.

Pre-boarders, such as military personnel or those needed special assistance, will still board before everyone else.

The shake-up is meant to make the process of loading passengers on to planes a lot smoother and less crowded, Delta said.

“Every customer values consistency and a sense of knowing what to expect when they’re travelling,” the airline’s senior vice president Tim Mapes said.

“We have been listening to our customers about the stress they often feel at the gate before boarding, and implementing small changes for years. This latest enhancement further refines how Delta’s process works.”

The sections will be denoted by colours on tickets and airport screens.

But people have picked up on some confusing details of the new system. While the previous system boarded passengers in groups of six, the new process has “simplified” it to groups of eight.

And while Delta is using colours to denote the order of boarding, five of those colours are shades of blue.

Delta’s new boarding system is one way airlines have been trying to improve the process of boarding and minimising delays.

This week, Virgin Australia said it would join Qantas in weighing passengers’ cabin luggage before flights to ensure everyone was sticking to the 7kg limit.

The airline said passengers should expect to have their bags weighed this week, before the new approach is fully enforced from Monday.