AA Boarding in LHR - Is my experience normal?
Sep 3, 2013, 6:57 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NYC
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Posts: 417
AA Boarding in LHR - Is my experience normal?
Here is my experience in boarding a AA flight in LHR. I am curious if this is the standard procedure in LHR, or I was treated differently. I was flying back LHR-ORD in AA 91 departing from T3 Gate 30.
In the US, we walk to the gate, sit on the waiting area until the gate agent call for boarding. Then we show the passport to the gate agent, s/he scans the boarding pass, and I walk to the plane. I was expecting something similar, but that wasn't the case in LHR.
When I reached gate 30, there are 3 or 4 agents sitting on a desk blocking the door to the waiting area. I showed them my passport and boarding pass (with Priority Access, Platinum, TSA Pre Check printed). One agent looked at me and my boarding pass and then showed the way to a podium on the side. There was an agent on the podium who took my passport and started asking the following questions:
1. Why were you in the UK?
2. Where did you stay?
3. How long did you stay?
4. What did you do in the UK?
5. Tell me about yourself.
6. What do you do in the US?
She flipped through every page of my passport, looked very carefully the cover of the passport (even nail-scratched the covers). I was very patient and answered all her questions. Finally she attached a Blue color ICTS sticker on the back of my passport with a "+" sign and the date "dd/mm". Then she asked me walk to a 3rd desk with 3 other agents. There one agent took my passport and boarding pass, scanned the barcode of the boarding pass, and started typing in a computer (for about 3-5 minutes). I have no idea what she was typing. Afterwords, she asked me to enter into the waiting area and show my passport and boarding pass to a 4th agent standing on another podium. The 4th agent was very nice. She saw me Platinum and immediately requested me to take a sit for boarding.
So, I passed through 4 set of AA agents. I had to show my passport and boarding pass 4 times. Except the last agent, all other 3 groups were VERY unpleasant, disrespectful, and unhappy.
When I land in ORD, everything went smooth.
Is this normal? Is AA handing their Platinum Elite w/ TSA Pre-Check this way? On my way to Gate 30, I passed through gates of several other airlines. No other airline had so many (or, any) security checkpoints/desks/podiums setup to enter the waiting area.
Plus, I saw that there is a 5th group of agents inside waiting area standing near a big table. Perhaps they are checking the carry-ons of some passengers. I am not sure.
Also, I wonder what did the 3rd agent entered in the computer. She was typing for about 3 minutes after scanning my boarding pass.
Also, I used the self-service Kiosk to print my boarding pass. But, I did noticed that you have to pass-though an agent before you may see the agent on the check-in desk. Every check-in desk is guarded by one additional agent. Why?
<removed by moderator>
Any feedback?
In the US, we walk to the gate, sit on the waiting area until the gate agent call for boarding. Then we show the passport to the gate agent, s/he scans the boarding pass, and I walk to the plane. I was expecting something similar, but that wasn't the case in LHR.
When I reached gate 30, there are 3 or 4 agents sitting on a desk blocking the door to the waiting area. I showed them my passport and boarding pass (with Priority Access, Platinum, TSA Pre Check printed). One agent looked at me and my boarding pass and then showed the way to a podium on the side. There was an agent on the podium who took my passport and started asking the following questions:
1. Why were you in the UK?
2. Where did you stay?
3. How long did you stay?
4. What did you do in the UK?
5. Tell me about yourself.
6. What do you do in the US?
She flipped through every page of my passport, looked very carefully the cover of the passport (even nail-scratched the covers). I was very patient and answered all her questions. Finally she attached a Blue color ICTS sticker on the back of my passport with a "+" sign and the date "dd/mm". Then she asked me walk to a 3rd desk with 3 other agents. There one agent took my passport and boarding pass, scanned the barcode of the boarding pass, and started typing in a computer (for about 3-5 minutes). I have no idea what she was typing. Afterwords, she asked me to enter into the waiting area and show my passport and boarding pass to a 4th agent standing on another podium. The 4th agent was very nice. She saw me Platinum and immediately requested me to take a sit for boarding.
So, I passed through 4 set of AA agents. I had to show my passport and boarding pass 4 times. Except the last agent, all other 3 groups were VERY unpleasant, disrespectful, and unhappy.
When I land in ORD, everything went smooth.
Is this normal? Is AA handing their Platinum Elite w/ TSA Pre-Check this way? On my way to Gate 30, I passed through gates of several other airlines. No other airline had so many (or, any) security checkpoints/desks/podiums setup to enter the waiting area.
Plus, I saw that there is a 5th group of agents inside waiting area standing near a big table. Perhaps they are checking the carry-ons of some passengers. I am not sure.
Also, I wonder what did the 3rd agent entered in the computer. She was typing for about 3 minutes after scanning my boarding pass.
Also, I used the self-service Kiosk to print my boarding pass. But, I did noticed that you have to pass-though an agent before you may see the agent on the check-in desk. Every check-in desk is guarded by one additional agent. Why?
<removed by moderator>
Any feedback?
Last edited by JY1024; Sep 3, 2013 at 9:47 pm Reason: not germane
Sep 3, 2013, 7:08 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, AA EXP
Posts: 2,704
Here is my experience in boarding a AA flight in LHR. I am curious if this is the standard procedure in LHR, or I was treated differently. I was flying back LHR-ORD in AA 91 departing from T3 Gate 30.
In the US, we walk to the gate, sit on the waiting area until the gate agent call for boarding. Then we show the passport to the gate agent, s/he scans the boarding pass, and I walk to the plane. I was expecting something similar, but that wasn't the case in LHR.
When I reached gate 30, there are 3 or 4 agents sitting on a desk blocking the door to the waiting area. I showed them my passport and boarding pass (with Priority Access, Platinum, TSA Pre Check printed). One agent looked at me and my boarding pass and then showed the way to a podium on the side. There was an agent on the podium who took my passport and started asking the following questions:
1. Why were you in the UK?
2. Where did you stay?
3. How long did you stay?
4. What did you do in the UK?
5. Tell me about yourself.
6. What do you do in the US?
She flipped through every page of my passport, looked very carefully the cover of the passport (even nail-scratched the covers). I was very patient and answered all her questions. Finally she attached a Blue color ICTS sticker on the back of my passport with a "+" sign and the date "dd/mm". Then she asked me walk to a 3rd desk with 3 other agents. There one agent took my passport and boarding pass, scanned the barcode of the boarding pass, and started typing in a computer (for about 3-5 minutes). I have no idea what she was typing. Afterwords, she asked me to enter into the waiting area and show my passport and boarding pass to a 4th agent standing on another podium. The 4th agent was very nice. She saw me Platinum and immediately requested me to take a sit for boarding.
So, I passed through 4 set of AA agents. I had to show my passport and boarding pass 4 times. Except the last agent, all other 3 groups were VERY unpleasant, disrespectful, and unhappy.
When I land in ORD, everything went smooth.
Is this normal? Is AA handing their Platinum Elite w/ TSA Pre-Check this way? On my way to Gate 30, I passed through gates of several other airlines. No other airline had so many (or, any) security checkpoints/desks/podiums setup to enter the waiting area.
Plus, I saw that there is a 5th group of agents inside waiting area standing near a big table. Perhaps they are checking the carry-ons of some passengers. I am not sure.
Also, I wonder what did the 3rd agent entered in the computer. She was typing for about 3 minutes after scanning my boarding pass.
Also, I used the self-service Kiosk to print my boarding pass. But, I did noticed that you have to pass-though an agent before you may see the agent on the check-in desk. Every check-in desk is guarded by one additional agent. Why?
<removed by moderator>
Any feedback?
In the US, we walk to the gate, sit on the waiting area until the gate agent call for boarding. Then we show the passport to the gate agent, s/he scans the boarding pass, and I walk to the plane. I was expecting something similar, but that wasn't the case in LHR.
When I reached gate 30, there are 3 or 4 agents sitting on a desk blocking the door to the waiting area. I showed them my passport and boarding pass (with Priority Access, Platinum, TSA Pre Check printed). One agent looked at me and my boarding pass and then showed the way to a podium on the side. There was an agent on the podium who took my passport and started asking the following questions:
1. Why were you in the UK?
2. Where did you stay?
3. How long did you stay?
4. What did you do in the UK?
5. Tell me about yourself.
6. What do you do in the US?
She flipped through every page of my passport, looked very carefully the cover of the passport (even nail-scratched the covers). I was very patient and answered all her questions. Finally she attached a Blue color ICTS sticker on the back of my passport with a "+" sign and the date "dd/mm". Then she asked me walk to a 3rd desk with 3 other agents. There one agent took my passport and boarding pass, scanned the barcode of the boarding pass, and started typing in a computer (for about 3-5 minutes). I have no idea what she was typing. Afterwords, she asked me to enter into the waiting area and show my passport and boarding pass to a 4th agent standing on another podium. The 4th agent was very nice. She saw me Platinum and immediately requested me to take a sit for boarding.
So, I passed through 4 set of AA agents. I had to show my passport and boarding pass 4 times. Except the last agent, all other 3 groups were VERY unpleasant, disrespectful, and unhappy.
When I land in ORD, everything went smooth.
Is this normal? Is AA handing their Platinum Elite w/ TSA Pre-Check this way? On my way to Gate 30, I passed through gates of several other airlines. No other airline had so many (or, any) security checkpoints/desks/podiums setup to enter the waiting area.
Plus, I saw that there is a 5th group of agents inside waiting area standing near a big table. Perhaps they are checking the carry-ons of some passengers. I am not sure.
Also, I wonder what did the 3rd agent entered in the computer. She was typing for about 3 minutes after scanning my boarding pass.
Also, I used the self-service Kiosk to print my boarding pass. But, I did noticed that you have to pass-though an agent before you may see the agent on the check-in desk. Every check-in desk is guarded by one additional agent. Why?
<removed by moderator>
Any feedback?
There have been reports about this happening:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ba-vs-why.html
Last edited by JY1024; Sep 3, 2013 at 9:51 pm Reason: deleted response to redacted content
Sep 3, 2013, 7:14 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 282
Were you connecting at LHR? Just curious because some of my colleagues went through the same thing not too long ago.
Last time I connected there from DUB, I had to re-check at the oneWorld counter to get my BP. Skipped the long waiting line and had the same thing happen at the First/Business counter. Got the usual 20 questions, sticker with + and the date, and was on my way.
They were doing the same thing as you described to pax that weren't connecting or hadn't stopped at the connections desk like I had.
Seems to me that these aren't AA employees, but rather contractors and/or security personnel at LHR. Plus, they're under a heightened security watch right now, IIRC.
Last time I connected there from DUB, I had to re-check at the oneWorld counter to get my BP. Skipped the long waiting line and had the same thing happen at the First/Business counter. Got the usual 20 questions, sticker with + and the date, and was on my way.
They were doing the same thing as you described to pax that weren't connecting or hadn't stopped at the connections desk like I had.
Seems to me that these aren't AA employees, but rather contractors and/or security personnel at LHR. Plus, they're under a heightened security watch right now, IIRC.
Sep 3, 2013, 7:15 pm
#4
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Sep 3, 2013, 7:17 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: YTO
Posts: 594
<moderator has deleted response to redacted content>
Does anyone actually know why this special setup exists and whether it is, indeed, only AA? I'm not entirely sure I'd submit to the interrogation without understanding exactly who employed the person. I do NOT instinctively answer such questions; I instinctively bristle.
If a government agent asks such questions as I apply to enter a country, I submit to an interrogation (although on occasion I demand to move the interview to a private room if there is too little privacy and the interview is audible to strangers... try it, if you dare!). But a person in an airline uniform will not get answers to the questions cited by the OP. What were the uniforms?
Does anyone actually know why this special setup exists and whether it is, indeed, only AA? I'm not entirely sure I'd submit to the interrogation without understanding exactly who employed the person. I do NOT instinctively answer such questions; I instinctively bristle.
If a government agent asks such questions as I apply to enter a country, I submit to an interrogation (although on occasion I demand to move the interview to a private room if there is too little privacy and the interview is audible to strangers... try it, if you dare!). But a person in an airline uniform will not get answers to the questions cited by the OP. What were the uniforms?
Last edited by JY1024; Sep 3, 2013 at 9:51 pm Reason: deleted response to redacted content
Sep 3, 2013, 7:19 pm
#6
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Posts: 44,578
It is of course your right to not answer questions as it is also the airline's right to decline to transport you should you refuse to go along with the security questions.
Sep 3, 2013, 7:19 pm
#7
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Sep 3, 2013, 7:28 pm
#8
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Sep 3, 2013, 7:30 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2011
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It's been my experience when flying through LHR that my travelling companions have always been stopped. They have non-US passports, and go through this 20-questions non-sense.
I've read other threads that talk about the same thing, and it always seems like we get nowhere on why exactly this is required. Is is an AA policy? A selective US DHS policy?
Seems absolutely inane that US carriers flying out of London (only as far as I know) have to do this, while BA doesn't.
I've read other threads that talk about the same thing, and it always seems like we get nowhere on why exactly this is required. Is is an AA policy? A selective US DHS policy?
Seems absolutely inane that US carriers flying out of London (only as far as I know) have to do this, while BA doesn't.
Sep 3, 2013, 7:35 pm
#10
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Sep 3, 2013, 7:40 pm
#11
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: YTO
Posts: 594
Who are these people?
Do they work for the airline?
And you know this how?
The appropriate protocol would be to present their credentials with proper signage and badges explaining whom they represent. If one isn't in a Customs hall, one doesn't expect an interrogation about my trip, why I went to England, where I work, or my shoe size.
There is a limit.
The opposite of Security is convenience.
Sep 3, 2013, 7:41 pm
#12
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: YTO
Posts: 594
Describe a question that the airline may not ask, then. Or is there no limit to their entitlement?
Sep 3, 2013, 7:44 pm
#14
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Yes, what happened at AA gate is "normal".
Sep 3, 2013, 7:54 pm
#15
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I went through LHR twice last month: your experience is common. My wife and I were asked many (very) personal questions and had to redo security twice. No one seemed to know where anything was located. I asked "uniforms" (BA flight crews), and they were just as lost as I. One of the security goons, opps, guys, was very rude and actually pushed me when he assumed I was moving too slow (I'm 68, am recovering from a broken leg, and have an implant). LHR is, by far, the worse airport I have ever transited.