So now that I am flying JQ more often on my CHC-AKL-CHC hops to get QF status points (see previous posts) I get to sit in the very comfortable working seats at CHC near the jet boarding gates. Just observed a 9am Air NZ departure to AKL. The boarding proper would have finished at 0845, which was followed by at least 5 other "final calls", "your last opportunity to board", "the offload process has begun", names calls for pax etc.

Some people ran from the security gates, while some were just sitting near the gates nonchalantly waiting till their name was called a few times. Even at 0857 they were still giving one last passenger who they were paging the opportunity to board, this probably 10 minutes after they said the last call had been issued.

While I know that offloading is a pain as they have to find bags, do you think they should be stricter about the offload process?

If they actually enforced last call as say departure minus 10 would people actually show up on time. Looking at the latecomers they were a mix of families (who probably dont travel frequently) but there were also a few who looked like business travellers (and should know better). It would only take one offload for a regular traveller to get them to arrive five minutes earlier presumably?

Has anyone here ever actually been offloaded in a late boarding situation by Air NZ?