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]
Jan 16, 2018, 11:45 pm
#661
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Cambridgeshire
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold, UA Silver, Marriott LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 233
I've got a bit of a news update. LHR T5A is now fully on Group Boarding, so effectively shorthaul (which I would have thought would be trickier than longhaul). T5B will "probably" move next week, and perhaps T5C. Adding up the dots I think that Group Boarding should be network wide in about 3 weeks or so. I'm sure some will want to know why it's taking so long, and the answer is largely down to the fact that 3,000 people need to be trained in this in LHR alone.
EDIT: T3 is only doing a few destinations at the moment, LGW is doing most (all?) of them.
EDIT: T3 is only doing a few destinations at the moment, LGW is doing most (all?) of them.
Jan 17, 2018, 1:27 am
#662
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: 63,772
Reading between the lines of what I gleamed yesterday I think they are a week or two away at T3. They have quite a variety of gates, the usual longhaul gates will be fine for this, but there are a set of low numbered gates used for shorthaul with a LGW style entrance desk to a dedicated seating area. So the bottleneck is often the check-in desk at the front, and less so the actual boarding process: they can be boarding people fairly seamlessly while there is a long queue of people trying to get to the check-in desk. I'm not sure how that will be managed under this system.
Jan 17, 2018, 1:32 am
#663
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: 63,772
We might need that marriage counselling too. Single PNR. The missus is dead scared of being turned away if she comes with me into the group 1 queue but the information I have from previous posts is that I can guest her onto the plane with me. We'll let you all know how it goes...
Jan 23, 2018, 7:29 am
#664
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: London Town
Programs: BA Silver, AF Silver
Posts: 465
I've not experienced Group boarding yet as my last flight was in December. However - I'm struggling to understand how it can be so difficult to implement. Like every other policy relating to the experience of flying, from lounge entry to onboard behaviour and protocol, the rules depend solely on the willingness of staff to enforce them. As a top tier FF in the past, I've been left scratching my head, confused and annoyed by the lack of enforcement of both priority boarding and amount/size of hand luggage. Hand luggage is a bit trickier as time is tight, and shuttling bags from the cabin to the hold once on board could easily cause slots to be missed. But it could be done at the gate, of course. As far as priority boarding went, there was really no excuse. Ditto onboard behaviour - from phone use to those who are on their feet and opening bins before the plane is even parked, that's what the crew are there for.
On the face of it, group boarding could not be simpler - groups are determined by cabin and status alone (except 4/5 perhaps), so how hard can it be firstly for passengers to get into the right group, but secondly for staff to enforce this and move people to the right groups. Frequent Flyers will learn quickly enough that they won't get away with group-jumping, and the masses of non-status economy passengers will only ever experience one group, so no issues there.
Unless I'm missing something really obvious....
On the face of it, group boarding could not be simpler - groups are determined by cabin and status alone (except 4/5 perhaps), so how hard can it be firstly for passengers to get into the right group, but secondly for staff to enforce this and move people to the right groups. Frequent Flyers will learn quickly enough that they won't get away with group-jumping, and the masses of non-status economy passengers will only ever experience one group, so no issues there.
Unless I'm missing something really obvious....
Jan 23, 2018, 7:49 am
#665
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: LH SEN; BA Gold
Posts: 8,405
Looking at how airlines in the US manage their groups/boarding system quite well, it's merely a question of getting a working system and ruthlessly apply it (both in terms of sticking to it and enforcing it). If you keep altering it, then passengers are just going to be confused and/or frustrated.
Jan 23, 2018, 8:16 am
#666
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 935
I think the best way to deal with groups in small boarding areas would be to have one large queue for non-priority and one/two priority lines and they'd just ask Group 4 to queue in the general one and Group 1 and 2 to stand in their respective queues with Group 3 and 5 being asked to remain seated. Group 3 would be asked to start queuing once all the waiting Group 1 has vacated that priority line. Group 5 would start queuing once Group 4 starts boarding.
Looking at how airlines in the US manage their groups/boarding system quite well, it's merely a question of getting a working system and ruthlessly apply it (both in terms of sticking to it and enforcing it). If you keep altering it, then passengers are just going to be confused and/or frustrated.
Looking at how airlines in the US manage their groups/boarding system quite well, it's merely a question of getting a working system and ruthlessly apply it (both in terms of sticking to it and enforcing it). If you keep altering it, then passengers are just going to be confused and/or frustrated.
Jan 23, 2018, 8:20 am
#667
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
I agree the general thrust of that comment, but until people get used to the idea of gropu boarding, multiple queues are at least a start. AA generally seem to manage with 2, but then Americans are generally accustomed to the process.
Jan 27, 2018, 11:53 am
#669
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 5,380
Jan 27, 2018, 1:25 pm
#670
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
The hundreds (I exaggerate) of assistants to the deserving pre-boarders is what really annoys me!
Probably 50 pre-boarders on our last trip, of whom 5-10 were actually in wheelchairs or on crutches. How much help do they need, I have to ask? Do the children help too?
However, nothing will change that without serious enforcement.
Probably 50 pre-boarders on our last trip, of whom 5-10 were actually in wheelchairs or on crutches. How much help do they need, I have to ask? Do the children help too?
However, nothing will change that without serious enforcement.
Jan 27, 2018, 1:42 pm
#672
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 257
The hundreds (I exaggerate) of assistants to the deserving pre-boarders is what really annoys me!
Probably 50 pre-boarders on our last trip, of whom 5-10 were actually in wheelchairs or on crutches. How much help do they need, I have to ask? Do the children help too?
However, nothing will change that without serious enforcement.
Probably 50 pre-boarders on our last trip, of whom 5-10 were actually in wheelchairs or on crutches. How much help do they need, I have to ask? Do the children help too?
However, nothing will change that without serious enforcement.
By the time she boarded she decided her vertigo meant she couldn't be wheeled down the plane and demanded a free seat in CE (2C). She was wheeled down the back. Incidentally the 2C seat was taken by the OH of 2A who came up sometime later mid-flight.
We heard nothing more from the "ski legger" until our return.
In Linate airport (as we hastened towards the lounge) Mr M pointed to a woman with a serious amount of baggage. We realised it was "her". On closer inspection, part of her baggage was her "ski boot" complete with hospital-looking-bandages. Her legs were fine(!) and her mobility unhindered. Sure enough, she turned up at the gate in a wheel chair with ski boot on her leg. She caused mayhem at LIN and managed to get herself moved up to CE due to her 'mobility issues'.
Jan 27, 2018, 1:43 pm
#673
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,664
We might need that marriage counselling too. Single PNR. The missus is dead scared of being turned away if she comes with me into the group 1 queue but the information I have from previous posts is that I can guest her onto the plane with me. We'll let you all know how it goes...
Feb 3, 2018, 11:31 am
#674
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, HH Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador
Posts: 77
I've probably missed this further up (sorry!), but if there is a long-haul flight without a first class cabin, is Group 1 just Gold then, or does it become Gold + CW (as the highest-level cabin)?
Feb 3, 2018, 1:43 pm
#675
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: 63,772
Group 1 in that scenario would be "just" Gold and Emeralds. On many (most?) flights that would be the greater number of passengers anyway.