Slotski

​​​​​​​I thought it was a BP issue rather than rejection because of Y class. Had something similar at T5 just a few week's before, where I went to the staff member next to the automated machines and he had no luck and said I had to go back to check-in. So I thought it was a similar problem.

South London Bon Viveur

This sort of thing is very unsatisfactory and I feel for the OP. I don't necessarily blame BA, but it's the sort of thing that would irritate me greatly. For me a real tangible benefit of being Gold is expedited security (for others its the lounge, priority boarding etc, but these rank below security for me). As I tend to fly defensively I do factor in potential long waiting time in security (and passport control) and tend to arrive in good time, not least because the rules vary and sometimes you cannot use fast track, but i can easily understand how passengers make the assumption that they will have fast track security, especially if they usually fly on routes where this is afforded to them. I'm still unclear from the above what the actual rule is in LIS, but if it is the case that the OP should have been allowed through Fast Track then I think he should very rightly feel aggrieved. I would like to think that BA would at least take this up with the airport, because it seems to me that but for the bad attitude of security staff, he would have made the flight.

There are periodic anecdotes from Amsterdam that fast track security is only for CE and not elites in Y, but this is not my experience, and I use AMS a lot, so I put this down to inconsistent application of the rules by staff (I'm pretty certain that it is clearly stated at the entrance to fast track at AMS that Gold and Silver Ba also have access), which points to a potentially wider problem of inconsistency in terms of entitlement to benefits. Presumably it is ultimately up the airport to decide the criteria for fast track access?

Palal

If you're still at LIS file a complaint (ask for a Livro de Reclamações) against the ground handler and the security company at fast track.

LCY8737

UKTraveller4Fun

As others have stated in this situation as soon as it appears the answer is no, get a picture to prove you were there before the 20 mins cut off. That way you have a far better change to claim.

cauchy

Can be done on-line, try this:

https://www.livroreclamacoes.pt/inicio

The complaint then gets forwarded to some or other agency to look at. You might even get something back!

RichP

kaka

Dave Noble

On the BA website at https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...flyer-benefits, the tab for Fast Track airport locations has a link "See where this privilege is available" which simply provides a link to the Oneworld Site ( http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/emerald-privileges/ )

The OneWorld site ists airports in alphabetical order where the benefit applies

Lisbon is not in the list , so it seems that by policy there is no entitement to fast track at Lisbon for an economy passenger, so the airport agent seems to have acted quite correctly in declining access to the facility

Often1

Don't get all wrapped up in the Fast Track issue. It is irrelevant.

The sole question is whether BA off-loaded OP too early. If he made it to the gate by T-20, he was denied boarding. If not, he was late.

EC 261/2004 claims should be made in writing with specific facts. In this case, the claim should omit the entire Fast Track issue and merely state that you were at the gate prior to T-20, that the dispatcher acknowledged this to you but said that she had no other transport to offer out to the aircraft, so nothing she could do.

If BA denies the claim, simply file with MCOL. You will need a Letter Before Action (form on the MCOL website).

Dave Noble

More relevant would be to be able to prove that he was there by that time as well as documentation that indicates that 20 minutes is a published policy for Lisbon

IAN-UK

It is indeed. But perhaps useful to log that Y boarding passes will not trigger entry to fast-track at LIS. The check-in desk can add a marker to the boarding card which permits f-t use (essentially acknowledging the airline accepts the associated charge). Without that sticker, electronic or physical, the agent was simply doing doing his job, rejecting a Y passenger not carrying authorisation to use fast-track, i.e refusing entry for those not generating the revenue to pay for the f-t service. The guards are not required to understand the nuances of FFP membership levels across alliances: they simply protect the airport's interests by ensuring fees are paid.

It is up to BA to jiggle its system to automatically add authorisation to those it wishes to assist with fast-track. But it doesn't. Indeed the airline has had a pretty patchy approach to looking after passengers at Lisbon. Stand-offs with ANA-LIS have reflected badly on customer service, which is a shame.

I note the the flight was over-booked at least to the extent that the OP had been upgraded. The gate agents were aware they were missing a passenger, and I wonder if they were over-eager to abandon him to balance available seats with passengers. Perhaps denial of boarding was inevitable: a late at gate a fig leaf.

Absolutely. By all means address the fast-track issue separately. But don't start your complaint by explaining why you were almost late at the gate: it clouds the issue and fuels the argument that you were late.

plunet

If you cant easily get the CCTV footage from the airport (you should be able to under a data subject access request') another option is to see whether the location tracking feature in your phone, if enabled, gives you enough data to show what time you got to the gate. Might be worth checking.

LTN Phobia

Just a question here.

Given the BA boarding pass no longer (usually) tells you that gate closes 20 minutes before departure, and it merely says "Board At", are we sure, in this particular case, that the gate was supposed to close 20 minutes before, rather than longer period before, given it was a bus boarding?