SWISSBOBBY

3 data points from last weekend.... All shambles

GVA undermanned gate... Lots of special needs - annual trippers then no proper PA or checking of boarding passes.... Club gold silver bronze all together...

JER managed not to direct me to side room from where the world and his dog was being given priority boarding... Despite. asking

LHR yet again half the plane on pre-boards then all priority together with 8 rows of business there can not have many for general boarding.

Turboprince

BA2598 LGW-VRN / AUG 2016

boarded from gate 109 - no fast track / boarding priority. No announcement.

I dared to mention to my boarding agent that I don't find it alright.
Answer: "It's only the two of us boarding today" (2 agents)

I'm sorry darling, are you boarding an A319 or a bloody B747?

crowe

That's for security not boarding

ettrich

I recognised after a recent BA flight VIE to LHR T3, that Fast Track upon Arrival can not be used by BA Club Europe/GCH!!!
You need an Invitation of BA.But it is only handed out in First and Club World.
So not good for non British/EU Club Europe or Status passengers.Is this new?

Kind regards,
ettrich

corporate-wage-slave

Fast track on arrival? Is that for clearing the UK Border? In which case that is only for non EEA+Swiss citizens. If you are EEA+Swiss or a Registered Traveller you should use the brand new e-gates. If you are not EEA or Swiss then you should be able to use Fast Track immigration, by showing your boarding pass or status card. Ideally the SCCM would hand out a leaflet with the UK Landing Card. But no, not new, at least 7 years old.

The logic behind this is that the non European clearance takes a lot longer since these passports don't carry the right of entry into the Common Travel Area. Therefore BA pays for a fast track for status and Club/First passengers to allow them to get through quicker. The service level for the e-gates should be under 20 minutes (and hopefully a lot less).

ettrich

Exactly same experience at JER on 2nd of August.Not one word about the "extra private pre-boarding room" where 1/3 of the passengers were waiting like cettle.
After 50% percent of them had boarded, the other door opened too, leading to a terrible queue to walk to the plane in pouring rain.

Kind regards,
ettrich

ettrich

Many Thanks for the prompt answer.

The issue is about LHR T3 Arrival, (not T5)

I was told by an Agent there, that BA passengers (non British/Non EEA) can only use fast track for Immigration with an Invitation of BA."BA is not paying for it generally,only with Invitation."
There is also no signage anymore about eligible BA passengers.

My wife, Brazilian citizen in possession of an Arrival Club Europe Passport,GCH, was denied Access to Fast Track Immigration."No Invitation of BA, no access.Status or Class of Travel doesn't matter when arriving with BA at T3,You need the Invitation of BA" she was told.

But obviously this Invitation is not handed out in Club Europe, only when flying in First or Club World.

If really correct, very poor of BA.There are nowerdays some dozens of Club Europe flights from T3.
So sharing any experience with Fast Track Immigration upon arrival on Club Europe(or with Status) on BA at T3 appreciated.

Kind regards,
ettrich

corporate-wage-slave

Unfortunately on this went wrong on two aspects: HAL should not deny entrance if her boarding pass or her Gold Card is presented. There is actually a long upright board on the right side of Fast Track in T3 giving the entrance criteria, so in theory she needs only point to that. That looks like a staff training error. Secondly the invitation should have been handed out by the SCCM on the BA service, yes including in Club Europe. Because the invitations are not essential this hand-out stage is a bit hit or miss, in fact the usual complaint here is that they get handed out to European citizens in error. But your wife should ask for the invitation next time to minimise problems. Some people carry a stockpile with them.

If you were travelling with her, and you have a European passport, then she needs to go with you in the EEA area, though you won't be able to the use the e-gates.

mlafqtv

What? 99% of the time there are only 2 staff at the LGW boarding gate for SH flights, even when the flights are full!
True, there are quite often times when boarding calls don't follow correct procedure, but nothing new there.

ettrich

Again many thanks corporate-wage-slave.

When I flew another time alone to LHR T3 I went to the Fast Track Entrance to investigate, spoke (probably) to another agent and she repeated what my wife had been told before.
And the board to the right doesn't show anything anymore of BA Criteria.

So sharing any recent experience at Fast Track Arrival/Immigration T3 is very welcome.

Kind regards,
ettrich

lostinlondon

I've experienced the same experience back in April and not looking forward to it again in a few couple months. Any particular reason for this or any updates? Tried to talk to the agent but he was unwilling to budge.

wind-blownmind

Does priority boarding extend to connecting domestic flights when you are transferring to (or from) long haul F?

subject2load

Data point from this past Monday, MIA-LHR departing early evening (BA206).

By sheer chance, I had the good fortune to meet corporate-wage-slave - who was en route to Lima - in the BA lounge. He forewarned me about the likely disorganisation at my assigned gate, E8.

And so it proved. I arrived at E8 just in time to hear an announcement to the assembled masses ...... "We apologise for the delay but we are now ready to begin boarding and would first like to invite our (usual list ......) to come forward"

There were no defined lines or signage - just a series of those 'rope' barriers', almost entirely obscured by pax who had clearly been standing around for quite some time. It was quite impossible to work out where I should stand as a CW passenger, and I was on the point of simply retreating from the whole mess, sitting down, and taking the advice of c-w-s to board last.

I then spotted a BA staffer hovering around and asked him "What sort of 'priority boarding' is this" ? when self-evidently all pax were simply joining the same queue. He then said "I see what you mean, please come this way Sir, " and escorted me towards the desk, lifted the rope barrier, thereby giving me immediate access to the scanning point, and within around 20 seconds I was walking down the jetty.

So on this occasion I was actually able to board fairly promptly, but I felt more by chance than design. I have seen other situations where there is similar chaos - but nobody around to call upon and thus secure a satisfactory outcome.

corporate-wage-slave

Lovely to see you in Miami, I did wonder how you got on, I hope 62A was to your liking. E8 is a stubby little area used by the early 747, with Qatar boarding from the same area. Americans aren't good at airport design in my view - see LAX T6, very recently rebuilt, to see what I mean. There isn't really space for everyone and so they then crowd around the boarding lanes. They sometimes invite people to remain seated until their group is called, but if there aren't sufficient seats it's never going to work (and even if there were sufficient seats it is unlikely to work). But yes, otherwise board late, you can breeze to your seat and let it be everyone else's problem.

jah718

Hi all, I was reading the wiki but I am not sure about my situation.

I am flying PVG-DOH-LHR on Qatar in Business and then LHR-DUB on BA in Economy. I am also a Oneworld Sapphire. When I am connecting in LHR, will I be entitled to any fast track for security? The booking is all on one ticket if that makes a difference.

Thanks!