Horatio

Oh and re boarding, we perhaps got there too late to hear any announcements, but it certainly didn't seem like they were enforcing any particular policy. What might have been the priority queue had a trainee at the desk and it was slower than the other queue.

SCSA

Queuing at Fast Trackless (security) PSA at the moment. Total mare. Arrived an hour early and don't see how I'll make the flight No explanation or solution offered by BA save vague promise that I'll make the flight.

South London Bon Viveur

Particularly annoying given the lay-out of the gate area, because if you arrive late then you really have no chance of making it through the crowds in my experience.

ThatT1Feeling

Shambles at LHR gate A7 LHR-ZRH at 6.25am this morning. Announcement goes out that the flight is very full so not all bags may make it into the cabin.

Priority queue (starting with the usual 5), rapidly turns into a queue of 45 (yes, I counted them). Of course, I thought, they will call CE and Gold first so that will dissipate a little (I was travelling CE).

Then of course CE, G, S, B, OWE, OWS, OWR all called at once. With those who then jumped up from their seats and "filtered" into the existing queue, I was then behind a queue of over 60 people.

I was in row 1 on a full J cash ticket but my (single, small) bag ended up above row 6. Really, really poor....

papyPiHi

BA has stopped paying for fast track at CDg and ORY, but priority boarding still remains

Great_circle

Sitting in a quiet AMS lounge while the rest of AMS is a complete zoo today!
Anyway, BA check-in is in Departure hall 3, from there on your way to security you will pass a sign that says Priority Lane. Normally someone will inspect your boarding pass and I always had access while travelling ET with BA Silver status. Today there was no one to check boarding passes and I took the priority lane as I travel in Club Europe. Saves time, albeit that the security checkpoint itself is used by all passengers apparently.

Will be heading to the gate in a few moments and I anticipate a long line for priority boarding but in my (recent) experience the gate agent will once in a while ask those in the priority lane to produce their boarding passes and this can result in politely being asked to leave the queue.

South London Bon Viveur

Yep sounds familiar. Load of bollocks isn't it? It's not hard to get this right but clearly BA don't care. Yes it's first world problems, but this is a little thing that would make a lot of difference. It also makes deplaning less efficient, because you have to scramble back to the locker where your bag is etc.

Great_circle

Boarding in AMS went swift while observing priority quite good (considering it was a full flight). The only thing (bit off topic) I disliked was an Economy passenger who pushed her heavy bag in the overhead bin of row 2 while waiting for the queue in the aisle to proceed. The cabin crew said nothing. When mr 2D arrived he had no space for his bag...

contractor

The BA1370 LHR-MAN at gate A2 this morning. The general boarding arrow was pointing to the priority side and the queue was longer there than the normal zig-zag snake. Many people in there commenting on apparent lack of control and how there was no priority line.

When I got to to the gate I politely asked (with a smile) what had happened to the priority line this morning and the woman came out with a load of bluff about "we only get 17 minutes", "don't to humiliate people by refusing them" and "no one to manage the line" and then "it is what it is". With that I replied "it is what it is eh? I'll have to remember that".

At that point I think she realized what she'd said and then apologized for the boarding shambles (but not for her response) and then said jokingly "I bet you wish you hadn't asked now", to which I responded with a laugh and a "yes" and went on my way.

Virazuno

A bit more detail on SVG priority boarding: CE, Gold and Silver called at the same time. No Bronze (which I'm sure pleased any SCH/GCH FTers loitering at the gate!). It was properly enforced, with the 'normal' queue being held back by another agent.

Usefulness kind of limited by the fact they kept us waiting on the bridge behind a rope.

corporate-wage-slave

Standard practice for all departures from BGO and SVG, not just BA, I presume it's the ground handling process. The wait can be quite long. As BGO and SVG are rarely full one is best to board last, full overheads is scarcely an issue there.

rsw8

In my experience BA does fairly well at managing the priority boarding at home. From airports abroad this begins to fall apart. Most notably for me at CPH which I do maybe 3-5 times every summer. It is one of these gates where they board you but you are held in a waiting room behind. Then they call for priority boarding, but no member of staff stands by the entrance to enforce this, and its not a one-off it is every flight from CPH I've been on.

o0herbie

First time flying out of LBA last week (horrible place!).

I was helpfully told at check-in that ALL BA passengers get fast track there.

Upupintheair

+1^^

Great_circle

2 weeks ago LHR to AMS on a sunday afternoon, priority queue impossibly long 15 minutes prior to boarding, and a few people already in the general queue. First boarding announcement came for passengers with special needs, followed by a boarding call for Club Europe, gold and silver members at the same time. At this point someone from BA walked down the priority queue to inspect boarding passes of everyone in that queue and he did send people away..