Better than Priority Boarding
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Programs: AC A50K
Posts: 339
Better than Priority Boarding
Happy New Year all.
Last week I flew LAX to RAR on Air NZ.
I was waiting for my flight in the lounge. The lounge staff would announce each upcoming flight, and would herd the passengers from the lounge to the gate like a group of school children on a class trip. The best part was that the lounge staff pushed her way through the gate lice and took us right to the gate agent at the priority lane.
I wish AC would emulate this, as it seemed to be a great way to avoid the gate lice and the usual crush before boarding.
Anyone else on this forum experienced this with AirNZ or other airlines?
Last week I flew LAX to RAR on Air NZ.
I was waiting for my flight in the lounge. The lounge staff would announce each upcoming flight, and would herd the passengers from the lounge to the gate like a group of school children on a class trip. The best part was that the lounge staff pushed her way through the gate lice and took us right to the gate agent at the priority lane.
I wish AC would emulate this, as it seemed to be a great way to avoid the gate lice and the usual crush before boarding.
Anyone else on this forum experienced this with AirNZ or other airlines?
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Toronto
Programs: UA 1K, AC MM E75, Marriott LT Ti, IHG Da Amb, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 15,458
Yes, I've flown Air NZ in J and no I haven't experienced this. As a matter of fact, I remember sitting in the priority area at the gate in AKL about 2 months ago and they made ~12 of us vacate the seats for 5 unaccompanied minors. (These minors were in the 13-15 yr old age bracket.)
I also flew in J on Air NZ from MEL-AKL and again there was no preferential treatment. As a matter of fact the Express Pass line they had for Priority customers to clear customs was so bad (only 1 agent), that we abandonned it for the regular line.
New here?
I also flew in J on Air NZ from MEL-AKL and again there was no preferential treatment. As a matter of fact the Express Pass line they had for Priority customers to clear customs was so bad (only 1 agent), that we abandonned it for the regular line.
New here?
#5
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Toronto
Programs: AC E, *A G, Starwood Platinum, Fairmont Platinum, Porter Points
Posts: 719
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9700; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.666 Mobile Safari/534.8+)
I prefer how some carriers board premium cabins last, minimizing the time you sit on the plane, so you don't have to wait as everyone else boards
Although that method won't work if your goal from priority boarding is to get adequate overhead bin space
I prefer how some carriers board premium cabins last, minimizing the time you sit on the plane, so you don't have to wait as everyone else boards
Although that method won't work if your goal from priority boarding is to get adequate overhead bin space
#8
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Iqaluit
Programs: Programs? I don't need no stinking programs
Posts: 1,194
You can in fact still do this on trains in Canada^ but no doubt there are all kinds of security/logistical reasons it wouldn't work with airlines.
#10
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 6,329
IME that is routine at LAX... but I haven't seen it anywhere else with NZ...
Either they feel it necessary at LAX specifically for some reason... OR it is just a habit of the lounge staff...
I have never seen the lounge staff "push" through anyone..... the boarding lane has always been clear when I've been in the "school crocodile" down to the aircraft...
Either they feel it necessary at LAX specifically for some reason... OR it is just a habit of the lounge staff...
I have never seen the lounge staff "push" through anyone..... the boarding lane has always been clear when I've been in the "school crocodile" down to the aircraft...
#11
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: AC E50K
Posts: 3
Happy New Year all.
Last week I flew LAX to RAR on Air NZ.
I was waiting for my flight in the lounge. The lounge staff would announce each upcoming flight, and would herd the passengers from the lounge to the gate like a group of school children on a class trip. The best part was that the lounge staff pushed her way through the gate lice and took us right to the gate agent at the priority lane.
I wish AC would emulate this, as it seemed to be a great way to avoid the gate lice and the usual crush before boarding.
Anyone else on this forum experienced this with AirNZ or other airlines?
Last week I flew LAX to RAR on Air NZ.
I was waiting for my flight in the lounge. The lounge staff would announce each upcoming flight, and would herd the passengers from the lounge to the gate like a group of school children on a class trip. The best part was that the lounge staff pushed her way through the gate lice and took us right to the gate agent at the priority lane.
I wish AC would emulate this, as it seemed to be a great way to avoid the gate lice and the usual crush before boarding.
Anyone else on this forum experienced this with AirNZ or other airlines?
Some might not like it as there are announcements every 5-10 minutes in the lounge but I like it because it ensures no wasted time at the gate waiting to board.