Originally Posted by
45128
Hello britbronco22,
I totally agree with you when you say "the class of travel also makes a difference how quickly you get off the plane", but that's the extent of the carrier's responsibility IMO.
I travelled JFK-LHR in F a couple of weeks ago, and yes, I disembarked first. However, because of temporary disability I walk very slowly and so I arrived at UKBF immigration a lot later than most of my "fellow travellers".
Could I then have insisted that I be allowed to jump all the queues, on the somewhat specious grounds that I was a first class passenger? If I did, I could imagine the gauntlet I would then have to run!
You'd be surprised at how much responsibility a carrier can take. Checking in as a BD*G in AKL, I was given a priority card to use for immigration and customs in Sydney (and that was great). I'm guessing the airlines that give their passengers these cards pay to do so.
It's the same in ZRH and FRA if you're travelling *A and have status (or class of travel) - priority everything.