LostAntipod

No priority boarding at LGW bound for NCE 9th April. So BA.... having just been impressed by the new lounge, to then take the gloss off the experience....

ianrose82

We flew out of PFO to LGW on BA 2675 on 28th May in CE. Priority Boarding DID happen and we were transferred to the aircraft by bus. ET pax were put in a second bus which followed about 5 minutes later.

Misco60

Travelling from LHR T5B to Johannesburg a couple of weeks ago. The flight was a little late in boarding, resulting in a huge number of people hanging impatiently around the gate.

A rather officious gate agent invited First Class and Gold passengers to board through the priority lane; about 30 people formed a line there.

No more than half of those passengers had been processed when the same agent announced general boarding, initiating a mass storming of the general boarding lane. We joined the priority queue but were spotted by the gate agent, who yelled at us that this queue was still only for First and Gold. I asked what CW passengers and Silvers should do, upon which he just flapped his arms as if to say "Oh, do what you like" and turned away to process the general boarding line. As we walked down the bridge, there had still been no formal invitation for CW and Silver to board.

Complete shambles.

pH

Any experience with Pula (PUY)?

For such a small airport I imagine fast track and priority boarding are unnecessary but never hurts to ask!

paulaf

SPU Split Priority boarding No all passengers hoarded into outside tented area before being pointed to the plane to walk across to, a complete shambles and crush to try and board.
Fast track No

KARFA

You could have run?

paulaf

Haha bit too hot for that 35C!

Geordie405

Having flown in to LHR today on BA288 from PHX I was actually pleasantly surprised at how efficient the new process is for clearing immigration at T5 when connecting to a domestic flight. I was less impressed to discover that there was no Fast Track security. Having taken the "Fast Track" escalator upstairs I was unceremoniously dumped into the general queue which was a bit of a zoo. According to the security managers who were on duty BA only pays for Fast Track for connecting passengers at peak times! Not sure if these "peak times" are publicised somewhere but I was a bit surprised that it wasn't available...

Misco60

Thanks for posting this.

There have been two occasions recently on which I have transferred at T5, followed the "Fast Track" signs through Flight Connections and ended up in the general security queue. I couldn't work out where I had gone wrong.

KARFA

The escalators to the right after immigration for a domestic connection are the fast track route. At the top you may be in a separate queue or may be mixed with normal passengers.

The non fast track connections now go to the left and up to south security.

corporate-wage-slave

Overall, if heading for GF or CCR, it probably still remains best to go via the UK Border to landside to First Wing, unless after about 16:00 hrs, and assuming over an hour for the connnection. The e-gates are a great addition, but the First Wing remains the best way through for Gold cardholders.

LondonTechTraveller

Just come back from Pula on the seasonal bi-weekly BA service. The airport is basic and has few services. No jet bridges - aircraft steps are a short walk from the terminal. There's only the most basic of food offerings. There's a terrace upstairs in the departure lounge with a sign to it with an image of a cocktail glass but the terrace has no catering - just benches mainly used by smokers enclosed in a high fence. The basic seating in departures was inadequate on a Saturday evening with people sitting on the floor and steps. There are no separate lounges at all.

As to the questions of fast track options the answers are "no" and "no".

The line for security was a single tensa-maze. I went down the side of it to ask if that was fast track. I was told it was but then shown to the end of the queue as the security guard lifted the last of the tensa maze barrier for me!

At the gate there was only one staff member and no priority boarding was called at all. Passengers lined up as they arrived at the gate as there was very little seating there.

All in all there's little to recommend Pula airport other than its proximity to wonderful places in Istria - Rovinj in particular is a short drive away and thankfully there are several car-hire options on site.

pH

This is very helpful info for Pula, thanks for the update!

Fitch

Total fail at RTM this morning.

No BA boards out at the gate, not a sniff of priority boarding - in fact, no boarding announcements at all...

Didn't matter though, it was all very civilized and even though the inbound was quite a few minutes late, a super-quick turnround by all involved got us to LCY on schedule.

BA - consistently inconsistent

auldlassie

Hi folks, departing BCN to LHR in a couple of weeks, travelling in Club Europe, BA Silver and UK e-passport holder. Given the very long passport/security queues reported at BCN recently, wondering if I qualify for any kind of fast track security or passport check that will minimise my wait? Can someone explain to me how the sticker for fast track (security?) , given out at check-in works? Mentioned much earlier in the thread, so perhaps out of date now? I intend to pre-print my boarding card, so hopefully it will say fast track, which might make things clearer, but perhaps that won't happen or won't be sufficient.

Not sure if the recent problems are passport check hold ups or security gate ones -might even be both?

Appreciate any clear advice on the current procedures at BCN from anyone there who knows. Thank you.