Originally Posted by
bisonrav
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Mind you, my cool, detached attitude changes when I'm actually at a gate, and I'll gladly gate lice myself onboard with the best of them. I remember being very irritated when in CW from Chennai that the priority pre-boarding was essentially everyone in Y who all had at least one small child or an elderly auntie. Rationally that made no difference to me at all, they weren't taking my overhead space, they weren't even in the same part of the cabin as me, and it only took 15 minutes maximum. But at 6am or whatever ungodly time the flight was at, I was puffing up to a minor DYKWIA and may even have uttered the words "why do we pay extra for priority boarding, harrumph" as I passed the GA.
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I can certainly relate to the picture you paint here.
I think it’s one thing to have pax with very small children, and anyone who might have significant mobility issues, board first. But when a whole host of interlopers take it upon themselves to join in, it can become difficult for GA’s to actually determine who is who (in terms of true need) amidst the resultant mêlée. And of course if the GA’s aren’t even interested in
trying to exercise control, then it inevitably descends into a free-for-all - to the irritation of many of those wishing to play to the rules.