Check in queue policy at ALC - unusual or the norm these days?
Dear All
Would be grateful for people's opinion on the following.
Arrived at ALC check-in desks to be faced with a large queue for both Club Europe and Euro Traveller desks. There were only two desks in operation, one for each.
Interestingly, the check-in staff did not prioritise the CE queue and instead checked in both classes simultaneously. On all previous occasions I have used a BA check-in desk, the ET check-in queue was held up and CE was prioritised until that queue was dealt with and ET processing would then commence.
The staff member serving the CE desk was incredibly slow and thus the ET queue moved much faster, to the point that it was empty whilst around 8-10 passengers remained in the CE queue. The Agent serving the ET desk then disappeared, prompting further gasps and howls of derision from the CE queue.
I must say I found this incredibly poor service and did mention it when we (finally) checked in. Apparently it is standard practice at ALC and I wondered if this is an isolated case or the norm at other airports. I am strongly of the opinion that CE should always be prioritised at check-in and the ET queue should be held up until such time that the CE queue no longer exists.