FenLandK

Why not just check it in then..????

Swanhunter

I suspect it is. A KA A320 departure from HKG normally has 5 staff at the gate - BA at LHR normally 3.

LeisureFirst

That is (unless things have changed in the last few months) consisently the (non-)policy at MAD. There are always some Club/status pax who walk to the front of the queue expecting to find a priority queue and are turned back by the gate agent smugly saying something about how their boarding procedure is very democratic: chippie tosser .

Your timing must be better than mine. The walk from the lounge to the gate can easily be 10-15 minutes at some airports. You don't really know how far advanced the boarding process is when it's announced in the lounge - sometimes well under way. If you're trying to arrive when the queue has shrunk to nothing, it seems to be a fine dividing line before you cross into "offloaded" territory, no?

At some airports (e.g. JFK T7) with a short walk to the gate and no issues about finding locker space (in Club or F) I do always manage to arrive when there's no queue to speak of. The longer boarding process probably helps too.

Jenbel

Hmmm - the only recipe I have for Capercaillie, the first step is 'buy a plane ticket to Scandinavia for your husband to go shoot one' With only 1000 birds in the UK, anyone caught killing one here is liable to an unlimited fine and/or 6 months in jail. They are on our most heavily protected list.

Besides, Hiddy gives elites way too much credit by comparing them to Capercaillie. Much more like black grouse - a whole mob of them at each lek, each demanding attention and trying to show how special they are in a rather ostentatious manner - 'look at my eyebrows' being the equivalent of 'look at my gold card'!

Caper, on the other hand, are much more solitary, exclusive, fairly dignified, although can get violent when they feel under threat.... BA Premiers?

OPebble

I am confused! Aren't capers small green berries(?) that are a constituent of tartare sauce?

SpeedbirdLHR

If it isn't done by seat number and the priority call made, you should ask the gate team leader about it. That is if you read this in the lounge while intransit.

Jenbel

When you cure the flower buds of a plant, you get capers. I think it's a relative of the Narcissum family, but not entirely sure.

But caper is also how birdwatchers tend to abbreviate down capercaillie, since it's a bit of a mouthful to speak and write (and too many people don't know where the 'i's go in the bird name).

And very boringly, capers (the bird) also like to eat flower buds in season...

HIDDY

Trust you to spot that.

This old grouse knew the word Capercaillie would cause some confusion so that's why I chose it.

heartybob

Admittedly it was "a few" years ago that I last saw a Capercaillie hanging in one of the game-merchants' outlets at Smithfield.

geo-womble

A fine example of 'priority' boarding at Aberdeen this morning on the red-eye down to LHR, almost all the pax had status resulting in the kind of spherical queue with people pushing in front of each other. Was pretty similar in T5 on the late Thursday flight too.

Thinking about it, on my last flight to SIN from T3 there was no obvious CW or F queue, as I just sat there with another CW passenger who also just couldnt face barging their way down the glass corridoor to get to the boarding pass check.

I tend to just wait to the end, but it backfired this morning as I did have a lot of hand luggage and an emeragncy exit seat, so my bags and coat were spread out around the plane!

Sixth Freedom

My last CE was LHR-GVA in June 2007, so I cannot comment on recent developments.

However I have successfully demanded a second channel being opened at LHR T4 when European flights left from gates with two channels.

Flying CW from T5 I have yet to go through a gate without a priority channel being available. Apart from A10 of course.

Genius1

I type this in the MAD lounge. Just hopped over from BCN on an Iberia domestic in Business, where there was a big sign at the gate saying īBusinessī with the oneworld frequent flyer colours underneath but no separate line

As always seems to happen in Spain, there was a HUGE queue of pax waiting to board. I discreetly walked to the front and approached the gate agent asking whether it was OK to board. She sort of gestured at the queue and said something in Spanish which I didnīt understand (she didnīt repeat despite my querying look). So I politely squeezed myself in before the next person in the queue got to the desk, and she let me through (although strangely she didnīt seem to recognise me despite me speaking to her all of 15 seconds previously!).

So yes, I have no qualms about walking to the front and very politely squeezing in. If squeezing in can ever be done politely. I have paid for priority boarding after all.

About to attempt the same thing boarding my flight back to BCN now, and then again at BCN to LHR (that leg is on BA).

YClass

I for one (and I seem to be almost on my own here) tend to prefer to get on the plane early and sit down - I like to read a paper or grab a bit of extra kip on S/H or on L/H have a drink/settle in. The point of premium travel IMHO is that it should be a calm and easy travelling process. Queuing/scrumming isn't part of that.

To be honest, I rather shamelessly sit around till boarding and join the queue somewhere near the front. I try not to jump J pax if there is already a bunch at the front. I fly [what I consider] a silly amount and consequently have some status or am fortunate to be in J/F these days so I use priority boarding to its max. That said, I never wonder up saying "I'm business" or "I'm Gold". To be fair, I have never noticed anyone really complain. Most Y pax (we've all been there) expect a queue as standard these days and aren't too fussed if they see status/J pax overtake. Being overtly abnoxious is of course never warranted.

I recall flying to JFK once on VS UC. Comedy moment when they announced boarding (no priority order) and everyone (one kid literally) scrummed to get on - it was mental. Several "holiday pax" saying "I'm UC, I'm UC" and trying to push through to the extent of almost pushing over a wheel chair passenger. Personally had to almost restrain them and say "Look mate, you're not the only UC pax here - most of us are, wheelchair has priority." Safe to say VS isn't my carrier of choice ;-).

Coincidence as I started similar topic last week in LX forum - they specifically ask J to wait in lounge until boarding completed.

aristoph

Yes, but they have large stickers on the overheads in the J cabin which read "Business Class Passengers Only", and (being Swiss) they enforce that rule. ^

itsmeitisss

Flying to NRT yesterday it was chaos. BA5 was flying out of B37 and there was no fast track for First and CW passengers. It did in the end get sorted out but as a result of being right next to the US gates and it was confusion galore as the staff want everyone to go the opposite way to the signs, and the queue was running all the way to the next gate