Frequie

I fly 1-2 times out of CPH every week and I must say that CPH is the worst airport to use priority boarding that I have experienced anywhere. I am flying with SAS. OSL/ARN might be worse - have no experience with these.

And why is this the case? Is it because of SAS being bad at implementing this, or is it just CPH airport in general? As I almost only fly with SAS out of CPH, I don't know how other carriers are handling priority boarding in CPH.

Most of the times it is just chaos. Like on a flight to AMS last week, there was one huge line and everybody boarded as they wished. This resulted in me standing in line for 15 minutes and not having space for my hand luggage. Other times they have a call for priority boarding but not enforce it. Maybe in 10-15% of time they actually enforce priority boarding.

If I just was flying on vacation 2-3 times a year, then I could not care less. But as a frequent business traveler, this gets quite annoying.

I also fly with United quite often, and maaaaan there is a difference in how priority boarding works there. As a Star Alliance Gold member, I always get in their first boarding line and they treat me much better at boarding than SAS.

What are yours experiences?

fassy

1) On European Short haul I usually board last as I always take an isle seat and don't fancy getting up to let people to their window or middle seat - instead I can just sit down, read some more mails or finish a call. If I have a larger carry-on, in the worst case the cabin crew will put it in the locker. As real frequent flyer I do not see any value being on board first

2) Yes, Priority Boarding in SAS hubs plainly sucks and is never enforced properly.

3) Even other airlines in CPH have serious issues issues implementing it, so far I have experienced that priority boarding on OS and LX flights works properly from time to time.

diesel2k

In my experience the priority boarding process is just as bad in Stockholm and Oslo.

Most times they actually call for priority boarding, but it is not enforced and a lot of people just line up even though they are not *G or flying SAS Plus.

Mattyb44

5 years flying every single week with SAS, and I think maybe only 1 or 2 times have I ever seen it enforced!

alibi

I have noticed a marked improvement in GOT over the past couple of months. Previously there wasn't even an announcement, but now i have actually seen people being turned back.

CPH however remains bad and with the introduction of the automated gates i guess it will get even worse. On a recent flight they had a separate priority line that got boarded by hand while everyone else used the automated gates (which was a lot faster).

HaaZe

CPH boarded both my recent SK flights (SAS Plus, Star Gold) by hand prior to activating (and calling) any other boarding. Same at CDG and interestingly also at BGO of all places.

nacho

I don't fly weekly, but I have used CPH as my hub since I moved to Denmark and this is what I experienced:

For gates without counters where they check your BP and passport:

Those who couldn't get a seat will tend to gather/queue by the gate, then when boarding is announced they will run right into the gate if no one stops them. I have seen TK staff stopping people from running through, but it's not all the time.

For those gates without counters, I tend to see people queuing/gathering right in front of the counter, usually they block the whole area so that they can be the first one who run onto the flight. Last flight to LHR was so packed that we had to 'squeeze' through them just to get priority boarding. If you don't struggle up it would be too late, then you might as well wait until they got on board.

I think it's due to inconsistency of staff - they enforce it if they feel like it.

I really don't understand why people queue so early by the counter - this is not just CPH, but for flights bound towards CPH (even on a recent AC flight to CPH - with mechanical related delay that AC didn't know when it would be ready, you see a bunch of Danes stayed right by the counter queuing). We were told to go back to MPL to wait.

Maybe it's a Danish thing to queue up (could be German too I believe - my sis told me that about 20 years ago when a train approach a station, people will get up and rush to the door, and then the train conductor had to say something like there is still 15 minutes before the train will arrive, please sit down). You don't get to the destination faster just because you started queuing 15 minutes before actual boarding. Just because you queue there doesn't mean that you can board first - maybe it works differently with easyjet or ryannair - I have no idea.

fassy

It is a typical "me first" mentality which is pretty strong in Germany (one of the reason I left Germany for good). Sometimes it is hard to even get out of a train/tram because people squeeze into the trains before letting anybody leave.

Standing in line is much more common in Sweden for example and people who don't stick to the line are frowned upon and considered very rude.

Not sure about Danes but I have mixed experiences there.

But if it comes to transportation like trains or boarding an airplane these kind of national behavior seems to be lost and taken over by either panic to not get on board or the urge to be better then the rest and be on board first to show off or grab the best spot (which is quite ridiculous as seats are assigned anyway - at least in planes, very different in trains).

That is a quite normal phenomena which here is often called "gate lice" and it can be anybody and is not tied to any nationality - perceived-over-entitled elite flyers, tourists which are afraid not to get a on board, people with huge amounts of carry on luggage etc.

nacho

I don't see those gate lice in Hong Kong (where I regularly fly to), GA will tell them to sit down and wait. It feels particular bad at CPH because of the staff there don't enforce the rule - so people know they can just squeeze through by being a gate lice. Plus the fact that the waiting areas at CPH are pretty crowded.

When we walk to gates for flights to CPH, we even joke about you don't need the gate number, just see a bunch of people queuing long before boarding then you know it's our gate.

Having lived in Sweden for 9 years I have a mixed feeling about Swedes queuing: their queuing behaviour is highly regulated by queuing. I think some bigger queuing tag companies are Swedish. However I think they have deteriorated since - it used to be that when there is a new 'kassa' open in a supermarket, people will let the first one in line to move to the newly opened one. Now people just ran to there without thinking who should be the first one.

I did experience something positive about queuing in Germany: when I'm queuing at supermarkets with 1 or 2 items, people tend to let me queue in front of them. Forget about this in anywhere in the world. I miss the fast checking out in German supermarket almost 20 years ago - it was my turn even before I got the money out.

Jespersm

That's the way to go: Just relax and take it esay. Everyone will get their preassigned seats and all the luggage will eventually fit in. I don't see the real value of priority boarding at all.

fassy

Hmmm, no idea about HKG but I have seen Gate lice everywhere in the world. CPH is in my experience not worse than FRA, VIE, SFO, ORD or JNB. The only difference is that CPH airport staff does not enforce priority boarding.

Not to my experience. Still working pretty well and people are usually not in a big rush.

There are people which are nice everywhere as well as the opposite. I always invite people to go first when they only have a couple of items and I have a fully loaded cart - no matter if I'm in Germany, Sweden or Uganda. But also I have been harshly rejected when I asked friendly if I can just skip the line all over the world

Especially in Germany it is very different where you are - northern or north-western Germans have a very different attitude than Bavarians or people from Saxony.

SK2751

In CPH it would help if the airport arranged waiting areas for people. The focus on terminal commerce is really irritating. Most gates have not enough seating spaces (and lucky you if the gate is open at all). There is little seating spaces in the main part of the terminal too.

When I arrive at a gate and boarding has not yet started I often start queuing at the gate, because what else can I do? I just left the lounge, my work was interrupted, and I am eager to sit again as fast as possible to start working or reading again.

I do think that the interior facilities of CPH have some influence here as well.

Other than that, LCCs have educated all pax, including the non-status pax, that it is quite doable to fly with carry on only. So it feels like this is what more than half of us on the plane does now. No surprise then that everybody is worried to get their carry on stowed before the space runs out ... otherwise you are stuck with it under the seat in front of you. That is given that the leg space is hardly sufficient, without anything stowed there ... I personally think that enforicng one piece per pax carryon could help the gate behaviour too.

nacho

CPH is a revenue focus airport - and apparently it has done a great job in generating $ that other airports sent their staff to CPH to learn about the model

I hate walking through a duty free shop right after security - the airport is somewhat like a shopping mall (apparently that's what CPH wants to turn itself into - airport shopping mall).

When I see the closed gate is full when I get close to it, I'll stay outside since there won't be any gain to squeeze in and queue (before we got *G).

Now we will stay at the lounge as long as we can to avoid being at the gate too early, we start walking when it say go to gate.

From what I have observed about those queuing people - they don't have that much carryon. The ones who usually have a lot are those who buy tons of duty free - they usually board late because they need to somehow buy up whatever they are allowed to buy.

fassy

The funny thing is that most peolpe by stuff at the airport which they could get cheaper outside. But it says 'tax free' or 'great offer/bargain' and they fall for it.

SK2751

I actually like CPH airport-mall strategy. I think it is fine for them making money. What I don't like is when they get pushy with it (like keeping the gates locked, so that most pax have no other choice than wandering around the shops). I was pleasantly surprised in YYZ recently where the restaurant offer seems to have been expanded quite nicely over the last few years, and there is plenty of tables to eat. On all of them there is a sign that you can seat and enjoy the place, even if you don't buy anything. I found it very passenger friendly.