Jan 9, 2018, 5:44 am
Last edit by: KARFA
Please use this thread for discussion, conjecture and speculation about the Group Boarding Process.
Experiences of the actual process in airports should be made in the dedicated thread:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...periences.html
Group Boarding Summary (courtesy chris1979)
NB. Customers with additional needs will be offered pre-boarding ahead of all the groups listed above.
Boarding priority for Executive Club Gold, Silver or Bronze Members or oneworld equivalents, will automatically be reflected in the group number given on their boarding pass. If they arrive after their group has been called, they can use the priority boarding lane to go through before the flight closes.
Please note that priority boarding will not be reflected for any other people travelling with an Executive Club Member on the same booking at the moment, but will be introduced in the coming months. In the meantime, the whole party can use the priority boarding lane and our staff will endeavour to board everyone together.
Pre-boarding
Families with small children
We invite families with infants under two and young children in pushchairs to board first, so that the whole family can settle in. Customers must arrive by the time specified on their boarding pass so that they are ready to board and we have enough time
to load their pushchair into the hold.
Customers requiring disability or mobility assistance
We will assist customers on to the aircraft ahead of other passengers so that they have time to settle in and get comfortable. Please contact us at least 48 hours before their flight so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
Experiences of the actual process in airports should be made in the dedicated thread:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...periences.html
Group Boarding Summary (courtesy chris1979)
NB. Customers with additional needs will be offered pre-boarding ahead of all the groups listed above.
Boarding priority for Executive Club Gold, Silver or Bronze Members or oneworld equivalents, will automatically be reflected in the group number given on their boarding pass. If they arrive after their group has been called, they can use the priority boarding lane to go through before the flight closes.
Please note that priority boarding will not be reflected for any other people travelling with an Executive Club Member on the same booking at the moment, but will be introduced in the coming months. In the meantime, the whole party can use the priority boarding lane and our staff will endeavour to board everyone together.
Pre-boarding
Families with small children
We invite families with infants under two and young children in pushchairs to board first, so that the whole family can settle in. Customers must arrive by the time specified on their boarding pass so that they are ready to board and we have enough time
to load their pushchair into the hold.
Customers requiring disability or mobility assistance
We will assist customers on to the aircraft ahead of other passengers so that they have time to settle in and get comfortable. Please contact us at least 48 hours before their flight so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
Boarding by group to be introduced [general discussion]
Dec 15, 2017, 12:22 pm
#466
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,676
Outbound of LHR - I saw people turned away at the desk and asked to stand aside when in the incorrect group - there was no line to patrol prior to boarding starting (amazingly).
Someone walked the line on my return from CDG and weeded out non-CE+Gold 5 minutes before it was called. Then promptly took all comers when they actually called it (no request to step aside).
So I think the message has gone out.
Dec 15, 2017, 4:01 pm
#467
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: London, United Kingdom
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold;BA GGL; hhonors lifetime diamond; Marriott lt Gold; IH Plat Amb; Amex Centurion
Posts: 4,739
A minor data point. I was on a flight to Rome today - which granted the destination was full of people whose attitude to rules was elastic - and several people who were ahead of me in the priority queue at the time they were calling CE and Golds were turned away. Well done gate staff!
Dec 15, 2017, 4:37 pm
#468
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: near to SFO and LHR
Programs: BA Gold, B6 Mosiac, VS, AA, DL (and a legacy UA 2MM)
Posts: 2,274
One thing that BA could do that they have not figured out yet: Don't allow people to line up inside the marked lanes until boarding starts - rope off all lanes. Lots of people think that their particular status deserves "priority" boarding and so, as I noticed Tuesday LHR->SFO, they start filling the priority lane early. Once the boarding has begun, it's difficult for people to get by when their proper group is called.
Also, is it really necessary to announce OneWorld statuses like OneWorld Emerald/Ruby etc? These names are obscure enough to the infrequent traveler that they cause people to line up if they don't know whether they should or not. Just say "now boarding First and BA Gold members". If you're an Emerald member, you've very likely already figured out that you can board with the Golds, if not...
Dec 15, 2017, 7:46 pm
#469
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: BG
Programs: BAEC Silver, TK Elite, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 827
Just flew KLM from Singapore to Bali and the boarding process was so much more organised than any flight I've had recently. A roped off area which was manned for business/elite plus members and once boarding began they waited until everyone from the roped section had boarded before the zoned boarding.
Dec 16, 2017, 1:20 am
#471
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,676
On my flight as well - I heard several people turned away for trying to board earlier than they should - well done.
One thing that BA could do that they have not figured out yet: Don't allow people to line up inside the marked lanes until boarding starts - rope off all lanes. Lots of people think that their particular status deserves "priority" boarding and so, as I noticed Tuesday LHR->SFO, they start filling the priority lane early. Once the boarding has begun, it's difficult for people to get by when their proper group is called.
One thing that BA could do that they have not figured out yet: Don't allow people to line up inside the marked lanes until boarding starts - rope off all lanes. Lots of people think that their particular status deserves "priority" boarding and so, as I noticed Tuesday LHR->SFO, they start filling the priority lane early. Once the boarding has begun, it's difficult for people to get by when their proper group is called.
All that will work is turning people who aren't entitled at that point away. Once they learn they aren't boarding and now have to go back to either a) the back of the priority queue or b) the back of the economy line - they'll stop. It'll take 6-9 months to become properly effective - but it will work over time.
Dec 16, 2017, 1:21 am
#472
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,676
Also, is it really necessary to announce OneWorld statuses like OneWorld Emerald/Ruby etc? These names are obscure enough to the infrequent traveler that they cause people to line up if they don't know whether they should or not. Just say "now boarding First and BA Gold members". If you're an Emerald member, you've very likely already figured out that you can board with the Golds, if not...
On this point - this is where the groups will come in - no more long announcements - simply "group 1 may board now"
Dec 16, 2017, 1:29 am
#473
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: UK
Programs: AVIS presidents club, BA GGL, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinum Elite
Posts: 278
I have since found out that the automatic boarding gates in T5 do not detect status or boarding group number, and more importantly, they never will.
As the plan is to introduce automatic boarding gates at every gate in T5, thereby reducing the amount of BA agents at the gate, there will be no human check of the boarding pass and therefore no human check of boarding entitlement. So those who realise this will just stroll up anyway knowing the gates will not refuse them entry.
Shame that they couldn’t build this into the automatic gate system as that would have been great to see people trying their luck and the gates refusing them entry.
As the plan is to introduce automatic boarding gates at every gate in T5, thereby reducing the amount of BA agents at the gate, there will be no human check of the boarding pass and therefore no human check of boarding entitlement. So those who realise this will just stroll up anyway knowing the gates will not refuse them entry.
Shame that they couldn’t build this into the automatic gate system as that would have been great to see people trying their luck and the gates refusing them entry.
Dec 16, 2017, 1:52 am
#474
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: London, Strathaven
Programs: BA (Gold). Various other statuses
Posts: 1,466
Boarded the 988 from LHR to TXL last night. They first called Club Europe and Gold card holders in one group, specifically asking other card holders to wait until they were called. Don’t know what happened after that as we had boarded. The cabin crew had problems storing all the hand luggage even though some pax had checked their cases in at the gate.
Dec 16, 2017, 4:01 am
#475
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold....er now Silver...er now Bronze....er now Blue
Posts: 3,507
VIE-LHR yesterday. Full flight - called Club + Gold/Silver/Bronze all together then less than a minute later tried to board by seat row but it ended up being a total free for all.
Dec 16, 2017, 4:41 am
#476
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: M&S, Radisson
Posts: 758
You may have the groups for clarity, but also to disguise that there are first- and second-class customers. UK-based pax might be accustomed to class systems, but customers from many other countries are not. In fact, people might get upset (sometimes even outright aggressive) when realizing they are not equal but second or third relative to some other pax.
Dec 16, 2017, 5:31 am
#477
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,535
I must say my favourite process is the way UA does it at some stations: one roped line for each boarding group (they have 7 or 8 I think). It is enforced and prioritised properly too. Group number is written in very large numbers.
Dec 16, 2017, 6:00 am
#478
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: City of Kingston Upon Hull
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 4,940
You may have the groups for clarity, but also to disguise that there are first- and second-class customers. UK-based pax might be accustomed to class systems, but customers from many other countries are not. In fact, people might get upset (sometimes even outright aggressive) when realizing they are not equal but second or third relative to some other pax.
It all comes down in the end that people need to learn to do as they are told, as is it is the fundamental issue with boarding, hand luggage, crew instructions etc that have been debated to death on here for years. In fact it seems to take up 90% of the DYKWIA thread.
People, please believe the fact that you are not more important than anyone else.
Dec 16, 2017, 6:08 am
#479
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: M&S, Radisson
Posts: 758
I don't like the UA process. I think they have pre-boarding + 5 groups. And sometimes, almost everybody is group 2 or higher (*S as well as holders of United-branded CCs get group 2). It makes your *G status basically useless. In that regard, other *A tend to be better, allowing priority boarding only for *G.
Dec 16, 2017, 6:26 am
#480
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,146
