rossmacd

This is something LX has chosen to do for their newly conducted group boarding "trials". Any one attempting to board not in the correct group will be met with a rather unceremonious buzzer and red flash on the boarding scanner.

It appears to work rather well - one person gets the buzzer, then a number of people then step aside not wishing to be subjected to similar shaming.......

SWISSBOBBY

The last few times I have been though GLA I have been extremely impressed with their set up even running multiple gates, from the same queues.
The idea of haveing seating in the queues is great too.

paulaf

Malaga last month, queues for Groups signed and with rope barriers 1, 2 & 3, 4 & 5 respectively so being 2nd in the Group 1 line was hopeful for an organised correct boarding. Announced boarding started but no mention of by group so all pax moved forward and were accepted from each line. What was the point of lining up by group! Was about 10th to board, no big deal but would have been very peeved if I was at the back of the Group 1 queue.

cameramaker

WAW is terrible for group boarding. There’s a Group 1-3 lane and a Group 4 & 5 lane. Once boarding is called its a DYKWIA competition and general scrum.

TFS on Sunday was the complete opposite however. Boarding was called group by group and anyone attempting to board early was literally shouted at and frogmarched away by the gate dragons. There was then further shouting on the microphone.

What is the protocol when you’re in Group 1 and your companion, on a seperate reservation, is in Group 5? Can they board with you in Group 1?

Spongthrush

Travelled in Brazil recently. OT (sorry), impressed by the lack of panic at the gate generally and the willingness to plonk small hand luggage under seats, but Azul's moving magic carpet boarding method was new to me and thoroughly entertaining. I guess it must exist elsewhere in the world as someone will be trying to sell the projection kit globally, but I haven't seen it before.

For general boarding they board every fourth row starting at the back, you line up on your row number as projected on the floor of the terminal and shuffle toward the gate as the line moves. I can't find an official video so here's a holiday clip:

TWCLAM

You'd normally ask at check-in ( if not done before) if they could associate the bookings so that said friend then inherits your, more favourable, boarding group. If travelling with friends who book independently then once booked I call BA with the booking ref and ask them to do so that way my friends( who typically travel a lot less therefore don't really care about joining any scheme) then get all the silver benefits.

BertieBadger

Possibly some confusion here. Linking bookings does not transfer status benefits, tho Gold members may link bookings as a precursor to making a free seating request for someone on a separate booking (subject to some conditions). When this is done, the other booking will now inherit the GCH's Group 1. Possibly they are manually adjusting groups for Silvers as well, though I have seen no reports of this. But as a general rule, linking is nothing more than a manual note in each booking to identify people who are travelling together, and which is only really meaningful in rebooking scenarios (i.e. IRROPS) etc.

However, my experience is that none of this is really necessary w.r.t. the original query. While I have not done so recently, I have been in this scenario in the past. No need to link bookings, visit check-in or anything like that. A simple, polite enquiry to the gate staff ahead of time such as "we are travelling together, would it be possible for my companion to board along with me" was always met with a positive response at a number of airports. Naturally I would apply a "reasonableness" test - making the request for 1 other person is likely fine, if you are travelling with many other people in group 5, I would not do so.

TWCLAM

On more than one occasion Mrs Clam & myself have made our booking for a flight and then our friends have made theirs. Called BA CS and asked for them to be linked. At this point( soon after booking) our non status friends have inherited ALL silver benefits. Free checked baggage at the appropriate amount for the flight( SH/ LH), free seat selection from the moment onwards, use of business class check in & fast track security. Along with this they have been given BG1 when checking in even if they do this without us present. The last time we did this was LGW-CGN us in CE, them in ET in December.

BertieBadger

ALL benefits?

So to be clear, let us take the example you gave of LGW-GCN with you in CE and them in ET. Are you saying that e.g.

- They could have entered a business lounge without having status of their own or you being there to guest them?
- They could pick their seats for free, ahead of the time period they could ordinarily do so?

If so, this is no more than an error on the part of BA. Even a Gold card holder could not get free seating for someone in a different cabin as in this scenario.

If BA policy has changed on this matter, they have kept if very quiet indeed.

KARFA

Indeed. I am slightly sceptical about this story too. TCP transfers exactly no benefits to the non status booking and as you note it is merely adding a note to cross reference one PNR to the other. For golds they can call to do the free seat selection across on to the non status booking under certain circumstances, but that is it.

Also to note there is absolutely no entitlement to guest people on separate bookings to board with you. As you advised in those circumstances a polite request to the gate staff should be sufficient and will usually work, but there are some places where you will most likely be refused - GVA comes to mind.

TWCLAM

The lounge part we guested them in ( sorry should've clarified that part)

Check-in as above used J/ club desks to do so( after i've told them to do so with the caveat that technically we as the silver members should be there so to accept if asked to use normal desks but on this specific occasion a chat with check in staff about it confirmed it was absolutely fine as the bookings were linked)

Seat selection. Able to pick any seat for free immediately after i had called BA and asked them to link/ associate the bookings. *

Allowed Silver level baggage allowance.

Assigned BG1 & fast track security

Totally separate bookings made independently with own unique booking refs and lead pax names maintained.

We are essentially travelling together but had booked independently initially.

*idk if using the words "associate" and "linked" have different meaning internally but I view them to mean the same thing from my end. I couldn't swear to which term any member of BA staff might've said back to me when I've called up to ask for this to be done. It's also never been an issue or anything that needs to be checked and has been completed in a matter of minutes whilst on the phone to them.

My interpretation, as an outsider, is that calling BA and asking them to link the other booking to our own then qualifies those on the second booking to be classed as being on the same booking in some way ergo those benefits then get passed onto our friends / comes under the "everyone on your booking" part listed in the benefits. Whether that's what happens or not is by-the-by. Whatever actually happens has the end result as above. We've done this 3 times, 2 SH and one LH with said, different friends, being in WT/ ET and us in J/ CE & as I said BA staff have never so much as paused for breathe before doing it.

BertieBadger

So not all benefits then Consider, if they did transfer in this way then BA would effectively be providing a trivial way to circumvent their own guesting policy. Just book 7 people on one ET booking and a SCH on another, then link them. If status transferred, that would be 8 people into the lounge....

Which can be explained as a simple courtesy on behalf of the agent doing the check-in. It doesn't need a formal transfer of status benefits.

This is most odd, unless there has been a silent change in policy. It is flatly contradicted by BA's own information on seating: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...ving-your-seat
It is also at odds with the process that GCH need to use, whereby manual requests are made to the seating team.

Was this actually tested? Including the waiving of overweight charges, i.e. 32Kg allowance

Silver (and J on LH) gets Boarding Group 2. https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...rding/boarding
I can't see why such a transfer of Silver benefits would result in Group 1.

We may be drifting OT from group boarding, but it seems to me that much of what your friends experienced can be explained as either a simple courtesy or agents not enforcing the rules, or not needing to (e.g. if baggage allowance was not used). As such, I would certainly not recommend that anyone rely upon this outcome from linking bookings, at least pending any clarification.

None of this is to doubt that your experience is being reported in good faith, but it simply doesn't tie up with what advice is routinely dispensed on this forum by long standing members (no, not me!) so something strange is going on.

Status has not previously transferred in this way. If there has been any change in this space such that it does, it should be top-of-forum news!! It really would be a dramatic change in policy, and demonstrative of a generousity that BA is not known for.

TWCLAM

BertieBadger On the LH our ( 2) friends had 3 large cases with them. I seem to remember the ladies being near 30kgs on the outbound leg ( so over the 23kgs for non status pax but within the 32kg allowed for Silvers/ Golds) if that's what you mean? If you mean over 32kgs then no that's not been tested with friends. Also BG1 was for SH, you are of course right about it being 2 on LH, me over simplifying there.

Seating 100% ive even checked with Mrs Clam as to whether I was 'mis remembering' or that is what's happened and while she couldn't think back to the other occasions she confirmed that for LGW-CGN our friends were able to pick seats, for free, straight after the call was made to BA. She was that confident she pointed out they had one of the wing exit rows and swapped between window and aisle each way and managed to keep the middle one free both ways.

I honestly see it as an extension to everyone on "your booking" getting the baggage & free seat selection allowance as noted in the image. Whilst accepting they are on a unique booking ref I have just presumed that CS linking the bookings allowed the love to be shared with them.


Agree we may be guilty of going OT here so sorry y'all.

BertieBadger

This is most perplexing. I think it's worth exploring a little further, as it possibly indicates a (entirely silent) significant change in policy. The extension of seating requests in particular is a fairly common query on this forum (e.g. one person travelling for work with their partner joining on a distinct PNR). The T&Cs you quote are quite clear that for silver it must be the same booking, so I'm at a bit of a loss what's going on here.

Hopefully you won't object if I spin this out into another thread, as it is - as noted - a fairly frequent query. This will avoid further OT in this thread.

Regards
Bertie

EDIT: Discussion here: Status benefits extended to separate PNR - Policy change?

xenole

LHR-HEL just now.
Group 1 called and most people moved forward. Loads of Group 4 in front of me as zero checks being made.

Then get on and find my seat has been torn to pieces and the woman in the aisle has now got the row to herself as I've been shifted back after she let me know.

Can see why I've heavily reduced my BA flights.