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Whatever happened to...the bus and priority trial?

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Whatever happened to...the bus and priority trial?

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Old Apr 30, 2019, 7:14 am
  #1  
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Whatever happened to...the bus and priority trial?
Couldnt find anything specific in the search of this forum but i recall an article on HFP about BA trialling a bus for First pax and priority baggage handling at LHR.

Does anyone know what happened with this? I suspect it was 'unsuccessful' and 'passenger feedback suggest...' so they enhanced it away again.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2018/0...rst-class-bus/

Anyone have any up to date info?
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 7:38 am
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Originally Posted by GavT_london
Couldnt find anything specific in the search of this forum but i recall an article on HFP about BA trialling a bus for First pax and priority baggage handling at LHR.

Does anyone know what happened with this? I suspect it was 'unsuccessful' and 'passenger feedback suggest...' so they enhanced it away again.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2018/0...rst-class-bus/

Anyone have any up to date info?
I had a bus off a 747 from JFK last week. The bus said First and Club World on it. It drove off nowhere near full, and passengers were being held on the steps down from the plane while we departed. It seemed to me like there were too many passengers for it to be only First (not 100% sure on that point), but at the same time not enough passengers on the bus to be the whole Club World cabin. I suspect it was first plus a few from club world.

Either way it was quick and a perfectly decent experience coming off a first class flight.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 7:40 am
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Deleted - duplicate
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 8:06 am
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did your bags come out first?
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 8:25 am
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Originally Posted by GavT_london
did your bags come out first?
Was HBO so couldn’t say, sorry.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 9:11 am
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I arrived in F from BOS on 12th April, and there was a First only bus. In fact, J passengers were stopped from leaving until all F pax were off the plane. The bus only had all 8 F pax (from a 787). I was connecting to domestic in T5, so can't comment on baggage.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 9:18 am
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reason im asking is the last few times (like every other time) there has been no priority baggage for me at T5 but i notice article only mentions certain routes, and whilst i havent done a remote stand for long haul (short haul a few times recently) I wondered if this bus was in operation.
How does this work on 744s especially the midJ where WTP prevents any nice boarding/disembarking experience.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 9:27 am
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Originally Posted by GavT_london
Couldnt find anything specific in the search of this forum but i recall an article on HFP about BA trialling a bus for First pax and priority baggage handling at LHR.

Does anyone know what happened with this? I suspect it was 'unsuccessful' and 'passenger feedback suggest...' so they enhanced it away again.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2018/0...rst-class-bus/

Anyone have any up to date info?
There is no priority baggage as such (as in first off the plane) but for some LHR arrivals there is a cordoned off section by the relevant belt for baggage for first class passengers - a staff member will pull off all yellow tagged bags.

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Old Apr 30, 2019, 10:26 am
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Originally Posted by GavT_london
reason im asking is the last few times (like every other time) there has been no priority baggage for me at T5 but i notice article only mentions certain routes, and whilst i havent done a remote stand for long haul (short haul a few times recently) I wondered if this bus was in operation.
How does this work on 744s especially the midJ where WTP prevents any nice boarding/disembarking experience.
Priority baggage conditions: https://www.oneworld.com/travel-benefits

**Priority baggage handling is not currently available on flights operated by British Airways.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 10:39 am
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Originally Posted by DoctorCopper
There is no priority baggage as such (as in first off the plane) but for some LHR arrivals there is a cordoned off section by the relevant belt for baggage for first class passengers - a staff member will pull off all yellow tagged bags.
And more details about that are here, though obviously it's not something I have any first hand experience. I've seen the roped off area often enough in T5 however.

NEW TRIAL - Manual handling of FIRST hold baggage at arrival

Because of the bulk loading and computerisation process I can't see anyway to give true priority to First Luggage, given only 8, 14, 17 or fewer passengers, short of deliberately holding up the bags for everyone else in the same Unit Load Device, until all the First bags are extracted, which would be slower for every passenger, First or otherwise.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 10:41 am
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Originally Posted by woglet86


I had a bus off a 747 from JFK last week. The bus said First and Club World on it. It drove off nowhere near full, and passengers were being held on the steps down from the plane while we departed. It seemed to me like there were too many passengers for it to be only First (not 100% sure on that point), but at the same time not enough passengers on the bus to be the whole Club World cabin. I suspect it was first plus a few from club world.

Either way it was quick and a perfectly decent experience coming off a first class flight.
Did the flight deboard from Door 2L?

If so, the bus may have been filled with First passengers plus those Club passengers seated in rows 12-14, ie between the exit door and the First cabin. Easy enough for the crew to block the upper deck and rows 17+, but using the main door its pretty much impossible to deboard First class passengers before some seated in Club.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 2:15 pm
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
Because of the bulk loading and computerisation process I can't see anyway to give true priority to First Luggage, given only 8, 14, 17 or fewer passengers, short of deliberately holding up the bags for everyone else in the same Unit Load Device, until all the First bags are extracted, which would be slower for every passenger, First or otherwise.
BA could do what LX/LH do, which is load the F bags into the bulk hold so that when the aircraft arrives on stand they can pop the door open, whip the bags out with a belt loader in seconds and have them on the belt within a couple of minutes. But that would require them to have a dedicated person to do that, and then drive them to the terminal, long before the first ULD is even off the aircraft, and that costs.
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Old Apr 30, 2019, 2:19 pm
  #13  
 
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Originally Posted by GavT_london
Couldnt find anything specific in the search of this forum but i recall an article on HFP about BA trialling a bus for First pax and priority baggage handling at LHR.

Does anyone know what happened with this? I suspect it was 'unsuccessful' and 'passenger feedback suggest...' so they enhanced it away again.

Anyone have any up to date info?
I had this the Saturday before Easter - Remote stand, first class with about 8 passengers had a bus to itself and took off to the terminal before the rest of the plane deplaned. (The other buses had not arrived yet.)
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