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]
Nov 17, 2017, 11:33 am
#62
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond *, IHG, Couples Romance Rewards
Posts: 2,346
Priority boarding group for common PNR
I don't have a good answer - but remember that priority boarding entitlement is technically for the individual only.
https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/sapphire-privileges
(Note the differentiation between lounge access and priority boarding/check in).
BA do generally allow you and a guest through fast track and priority boarding ... but it's not actually written anywhere AFAIK.
https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/sapphire-privileges
(Note the differentiation between lounge access and priority boarding/check in).
BA do generally allow you and a guest through fast track and priority boarding ... but it's not actually written anywhere AFAIK.
We will see what happens at an outstation and report back. We are flying back in early December from MCO. MCO boarding is generally chaotic anyway because of the number of tiny passengers needing assistance, the fact it's generally a holiday route with a lot of inexperienced travellers, the restricted gate area at gate 80 plus the need to collect duty free on the jetway. There's no First on this flight so technically group 1 is GGL/GCH travelling in CW. So it will be interesting to see if groups 1 and 2 are called together or separately.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:00 pm
#65
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
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FIRST should be FIRST.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:22 pm
#66
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Cumbria
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 4,510
The pre boarding would be more of a concern when half a dozen people board with just one person. Surely a restriction should be applied on the numbers in this type of situation as there will always be those who seek uk take advantage.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:25 pm
#67
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond
Posts: 7,744
Boarding F first is good and well, but when you've got 80 people crowding the tensa barriers at the LHR T5C gates for example, you can't get through in the 5-10 secs you're given before the next call. At that point, half the plane pushes forward and it's a free for all.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:31 pm
#68
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: BA GGL, LH FTL
Posts: 3,577
Never really understood the problems people have with the boarding process. As long as you board halfway through the process you always get overhead space. For those boarding last presumably this new system is not going to make any difference.
I suspect this is a bit of the old British class system....
I suspect this is a bit of the old British class system....
Nov 17, 2017, 12:33 pm
#69
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: BA Bronze, Hilton Gold, IHG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 454
This is a really positive step but agree it must be consistently enforced to be meaningful. I hope they've also remembered to configure the new LHR self-boarding gates to reject those why try and board before their group is called.
The issue with the current system is there's often a long queue of people in the single "priority" line when I arrive from the lounge. On EDI flights that can be 50% of the aircraft and although I'm entitled to be at the front (as Gold), I don't feel I can push in and end up joining the end of the line behind the mass of Silver and Bronze customers. With the new system, I want plenty of signage and announcements confirming that group X should be pushing to the front, reassuring them that its OK to push in, and let everyone else know they should stand back and make room.
For those trying to board early, strict enforcement and the walk of shame for those trying to break the rules, should be enough to change behaviours.
The issue with the current system is there's often a long queue of people in the single "priority" line when I arrive from the lounge. On EDI flights that can be 50% of the aircraft and although I'm entitled to be at the front (as Gold), I don't feel I can push in and end up joining the end of the line behind the mass of Silver and Bronze customers. With the new system, I want plenty of signage and announcements confirming that group X should be pushing to the front, reassuring them that its OK to push in, and let everyone else know they should stand back and make room.
For those trying to board early, strict enforcement and the walk of shame for those trying to break the rules, should be enough to change behaviours.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:43 pm
#70
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
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There is an expectation of enforcement at least from the Waterside end. I suspect for those European destinations with quick loading times it may not happen in some/many out-stations (particularly if buses are involved), but the point about group system is that it breaks away the confusion about who is supposed to queue where: it's just Group 2 or whatever and it's on your boarding pass. I haven't heard anything about guesting yet, which was always an unofficial dispensation, but in theory if it is boarding pass led as intended then there would be no guesting.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:52 pm
#71
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
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The [curiously] disciplined AA pax seem to conform to a simple system with 2 lines ... one Priority and one General Boarding. They both tend to hover, but they don't create a crush: they just wait for their Group to be called. As a 'Group 1' pax, I've never had an issue with crowding. Perhaps the AA Ground Agents are more assertive? Certainly a lack of assertiveness, consistency and indeed clarity of communication is something that bedevils BA at LHR/LGW - outstations IME tend to do it much better than on home turf (LAX, IAD, CPT, assorted Caribbean airports and, indeed, MLA and JER in recent experience.)
Nov 17, 2017, 12:54 pm
#72
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 5,380
What we do know now from CIHY is that Group 1 is F, Golds and Emeralds and that a group is a group. Therefore from what I can see the system will work with Group 1 being called, and that includes Golds, Emeralds and F class passengers at the same time. A maximum of 14-17 people boarding increases to who knows how many, 40? 50? 80?.
Nov 17, 2017, 12:59 pm
#73
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,072
There is an expectation of enforcement at least from the Waterside end. I suspect for those European destinations with quick loading times it may not happen in some/many out-stations (particularly if buses are involved), but the point about group system is that it breaks away the confusion about who is supposed to queue where: it's just Group 2 or whatever and it's on your boarding pass. I haven't heard anything about guesting yet, which was always an unofficial dispensation, but in theory if it is boarding pass led as intended then there would be no guesting.
Nov 17, 2017, 1:08 pm
#74
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: 63,731
Yes, typically they would be in the same boarding group anyway, it's rare for them to be on separate PNRs, but if not in the same group then they would have to board with their parents. Preboarding of those "who need more time" will continue too.
Nov 17, 2017, 1:25 pm
#75
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Scotland
Programs: # Neodymium #
Posts: 968
I’ve just done a dozen flights on Delta in the last 2 weeks.
They have zoned boarding. Despite “gate lice” as the forum refers to the peri-gate swarm of pax, their boarding process sort of works... because:
1. They enforce it. With a pause between groups. And rejection of blaggers.
p.s. I think First should board before Gold (if they are already at the gate)
They have zoned boarding. Despite “gate lice” as the forum refers to the peri-gate swarm of pax, their boarding process sort of works... because:
1. They enforce it. With a pause between groups. And rejection of blaggers.
p.s. I think First should board before Gold (if they are already at the gate)