Originally Posted by
red star
Most European FF (call it elites) prefer to board as late as possible. The privilege is not to be the first rather then the last one on board.
Intercon is of course different but I never experianced a European airline without priority boarding on a intercon flight.
I think most European airlines will make a general announcement for priority boarding first, but there is no separate lane for it (and poor enforcement), so if you miss the initial announcement, you're out of luck. Just had this happen this week on IB (AMS-MAD) and BA (LHR-USA).
Most US and Asian airlines have a dedicated lane, so elites can board at any time using that lane.
KLM however is an example of an European airline that didn't really have functional or user-friendly elite boarding lanes, but in 2008 made a big effort at its hub in AMS to create them. A very good step in the right direction!