self boarding gates are here
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
self boarding gates are here
did a search and couldn't find anything on this topic - if it's already covered, mods, please merge or delete.
flew from A8 last night and noticed these banners advertising self-boarding / e-boarding gates as well as the gates themselves.
they weren't in use but clearly the are coming.
be interesting to see how priority boarding etc will work - will the gates refuse anyone through who doesn't have it or will boarding become even more 'free for all'....?
Happy Flying.
flew from A8 last night and noticed these banners advertising self-boarding / e-boarding gates as well as the gates themselves.
they weren't in use but clearly the are coming.
be interesting to see how priority boarding etc will work - will the gates refuse anyone through who doesn't have it or will boarding become even more 'free for all'....?
Happy Flying.
#3
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,882
#6
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 5,380
Yeah, that's a very interesting point. One gate could be programmed to just accept eligible boarding passes, however, this would likely be clogged by people trying their luck before their priority is reached. The priority level currently boarding would need to be very very clearly shown for it to have any chance of working. I can see a bad-tempered scrum around any priority boarding gate...
#7
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,474
Previous discussion here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...es-coming.html
What is certainly new is the banners, so yes I'm sure they are limbering up for finally switching these on. As shown in the previous thread, BA have been trying to get this to work properly for years, without much success. The machines had such a high failure rate it was frankly cheaper to get humans to do it, similar to the experience of self service check-in at locations other than LHR. Those of us who travel on Lufthansa and SAS are well used to these gates, the Lufthansa version is also "tuned" to enforce priority boarding, by the way. And even if they are not, people think they are!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...es-coming.html
What is certainly new is the banners, so yes I'm sure they are limbering up for finally switching these on. As shown in the previous thread, BA have been trying to get this to work properly for years, without much success. The machines had such a high failure rate it was frankly cheaper to get humans to do it, similar to the experience of self service check-in at locations other than LHR. Those of us who travel on Lufthansa and SAS are well used to these gates, the Lufthansa version is also "tuned" to enforce priority boarding, by the way. And even if they are not, people think they are!
#8
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Singapore
Programs: BA Gold. KrisFlyer Gold
Posts: 731
Will be interesting to see how op-ups, exit row seat checks, and other random boarding pass troubles are handled. Perhaps it'll be akin to the Tesco self-service checkout situation where you have roaming assistants waiting to intervene everytime an issue arises that the technology can't handle. I fear this will be more annoying for everyone involved, particularly if the boarding becomes more of a free-for-all, as suggested above.
#10
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
I for one welcome this initiative, provided it does indeed control Priority Boarding consistently and particularly if it frees up staff to properly police hand baggage, give floating help etc.
#11
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,721
#12
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
I would guess the gate might ask you to scan your BP and swipe your passport so as to match the name on the PNR with that in the machine-readable text... which is pretty much all ground staff have the time to do now...
#13
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,721
Similar to the e-gates at immigration, but rather than matching against your passport biometric photo, it will match against the photo taken at domestic security.
It could be used for non-domestic flights, but only for passengers with approved biometric passports.
#14
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,556
I wonder if it will be manual at the gates?
#15
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 5,380
I just wondered if there was CE on domestics then it would create a greater need for priority boarding, adding considerable complexity to the process.