Ned1968

I'm sure this is a familiar scenario, especially for regular short haul EU flyers. The fast track queue starts forming 30 minutes (or more) before boarding. Half the plane (or more) qualify for fast track, so the queue snakes around the lounge. Then when boarding starts, a handful of "self appointed VIPs" walk straight to the front and push in.

I fly a couple of times a week and this happens almost every single time. Brussels is particularly bad - especially since 75% of the passengers seem to qualify for fast track boarding.

Given that BA do absolutely nothing about queue jumpers (unlike Ryanair/Easyjet who seem to understand that this and hand luggage rules actually sometimes require enforcement), what do you do when this happens? Quietly fume but say nothing? Grumble to gate staff who pretend to sympathise? Make some noise but accept that the VIP queue jumpers will always win? Jump the queue yourself?

Calchas

Super British accent:

"Excuse me, there is a queue here!"

G-BPED

I bring out the cattle prod. Brings the jumpers down in one tap of said instrument

paul4040

I do nothing. There's a seat for everyone, and if some people need to push in to feel important, then they've already lost in life.

gw76

'excuse me, theres a queue and unfortunately youre not in it, the end is over there'

'we're all in a hurry to get on, the end of the queue is over there...'

Shout in increasing volume
queue jumper, queue jumper, qUeUe JuMpEr, QUEUE JUMPER! '

Tafflyer

I have some sympathy for these "queue jumpers". I've often politely lined up in the priority line only to find when it really is enforced that people ahead get told to wait. This causes more of a "huddle" rather than line which I do tend to bypass on the assumption that the "stragglers" simply want to already be at the front when their boarding is announced.

If 75% of the aircraft has priority boarding, then there is no priority boarding any more. And, if you think BA is bad, try flying Lufthansa. There everybody feels like they should have priority and it is policed even less than BA do.

AAtticus

I fly LHR-BRU-LHR about every other week and noticed this trend as well.

Also noticed there's a correlation between being a queue jumper, being rude to cabin crew and other passengers and failing to comply with standard safety instructions.

Unfortunately those people are flying on tickets paid with our taxes which adds extra salt to the wound.

But I don't really mind, it's 45 minutes and I (usually) enjoy that flight.

Tafflyer

Until you find out they're in your row, are HBO only and have more luggage in the locker than you paid for to check in.

dujardin

Seen it so many times... Most of the times it's just cluelessness. They can't imagine that there could be so many people with Fast Track access., i.e. as 'special' as them .Several times I have had to explain to them (talking about long haul now) that on a full 747 for example, there can be over 80 people in F and J alone, not even counting elites in WT+ and WT.

V10

This.

And yes, I've spoken up before at interlopers at Brussels who think it's fine to roll out of the lounge and go straight to the head of the fast track queue. Rather than risk the ire of the existing queue, they shuffled off to the back, huffing and puffing.

sts603

(1) BA should board CE/GGL/Premier before GCH/SCH in line with the way U.S. airlines operate

(2) On SH, the normal number of passengers with FT qualification isn't that high. There are very predictable and routine exceptions, however. But stop trodding out this 50%+ have FT thing. Its wrong.

(3) I don't see that many queues for FT. What I see is a lot of people milling about somewhere in the vicinity of the FT track. I don't consider that a queue and will generally not have a problem walking around such people.

perthflyer

You've obviously not been on a midweek evening LHR-GLA/EDI flight. Also with OWR getting FT as well it all adds up to a large amount of passengers that can use the FT lane.

sts603

As I said there are very definitely exceptions and routine one's at that. But I think the average number of FT-qualified SH passengers is much, much lower than 50%.

chalf

My current frustration is that, on a number of recent flights, they board the "fast track"and regular lines simultaneously, such that there is no benefit to being in "fast track" once one considers that 30-40% of the flight qualifies for fast track.

stevehh

This happened to me last year in Portugal, and the trio of self-important queue jumpers included none other that arch-Leftie Tariq Ali!! (who must have been returning from some kind of conference). I looked at him and just thought "You F***ing Hypocrite!!" and left it to his karma.....