PPS1

Flying back mid-week from LHR-BSL, I took the last row in ET. Sat down and a gentleman popped down next to me, in 22D. As he was putting up his luggage in the overhead bins, I saw the Premier tag. First time I've seen one in real life. Didn't know if it was "his" tag or not, so tried to sneak a glance at his BP. Yep, confirmed. He was a Premier card holder.

I got chatting to him, what a top guy! He said he worked in F1 as an dynamics engineer (whatever that means)...but got some great insight into F1, teams, drivers etc.. Really down to earth and affable guy.

CE was almost empty. Surprising he wasn't pushed up.

Anyways, here is what I observed of a Premier card holder in an ET cabin:

- Purser came to personally greet him at the back (nothing too OTT, but more like "good to see you again Mr... if you need anything, just shout")

- Same food, drinks, everything as every other ET passenger
- Cabin crew treated him the same as everyone else. The purser did a quick "fly-by" as we were descending, asking him if everything was ok and if he needed anything else before the FSBS came on.

On the ground at BSL:

- Same as everyone else (no welcome by ground staff at the gate, which happens with AI top-tier passengers)
- At baggage reclaim, his bags did come off first, I mean the VERY FIRST bags off the plane!


And off he went...

All in all, doesn't seem to be that much impact on short haul (at least not with this destination, conditions, flight, crew and specific passenger), other Premier card holders may have different experiences. No doubt on long haul, the service level would go to a whole NEW level for this gentleman, and the others like him!

BlackBerryAddict

So I always thought that Premiers were very rare, and had to be approved by the BA Board based on spend or importance. Now I may be mistaken, but it would appear to me that an F1 engineer my fly a fair bit, even in premium cabins, but surely would not normally command the sort of spend that is rumoured here to be necessary for elevation into Premier status. I could understand Ecclestone or Hamilton to be premiers, but a dynamics engineer? Or was he a driver posing as an engineer?

edi-traveller

Maybe it was the new Stig?

PUCCI GALORE

So we are saying that this was an examply of a gentleman who was the absolute opposite of DYKWIA?

Most refreshing.

EuropeanPete

My suspicion is that the more you fly, the less you want someone to Know Who You Are.

I used to enjoy a brief nod and hello to a gentleman in 1D who would be on every flight I'd take to AMS and back to LGW for about 3 months. I was commuting weekly, but I think he was daily - and there was nobody in CE as quiet or unpreposessing as him.

PPS1

Given his age, he must have been the Chief Engineer or something equally high in the team structure...definitely wasn't a driver posing as an engineer!

Of course, he was very down to earth, so he could have been downplaying his role completely...

Statusless Person

Surely by definition, a gentleman would not behave in a DYKWIA kind of way?

A fine examply to all!

HilFly

Did I miss his age somewhere?

Adrian Newey is nominally an aerodynamics engineer, but I think he has a far more hallowed position in Red Bull than "engineer". Someone like him could easily be a Prem.

BingBongBoy

In my limited experience of having Premier pax onboard, they don't want anything else... They are happy to go with the flow. They don't expect anything extra and usually are more personable than most passengers.

There is one lovely man who we fly around Europe a lot who is a bit of a character and is always lovely to talk to. I have not seem him for a while, so I hope he is still flying with us...

HIDDY

Indeed...I'm often to be seen down the back.

sunrisegirl

Scared of posting

LeisureFirst

Maybe it should be a requirement. I understand that any candidates for UGS membership are individually reviewed and those with a history of rudeness to staff and suchlike would be rejected. UGS is perhaps more equivalent to GGL than Premier, but it is an invitation-only level and no amount of miles earnt will guarantee an invitation.

dark_horse

I think I remember Mark Webber, and possibly even Jenson Button, saying last year that they had started flying EasyJet, such were the perilous finances of the sport! And any racing driver worth his salt would happily trade a seat in J for a faster front-wing...

Just a thought; this guy said he was a dynamics engineer. As in fluid / aerodynamics? I wonder if he'd done a bit of work on the side for BA / Airbus / Boeing; hence the Premier card.