No Priority Boarding Filter at T5
 

For the second time this week, I’ve arrived for a euro flight at B gates at around T-25/30 and found a long queue with no priority boarding filter queue.

I was as a result last on the plane to a full flight to WAW earlier this week, and was lucky to find a space for my bag. Today, better as I was told at security we were B gate, but anyone coming behind me with any status would have to join a queue.

I was told it hasn’t been reinstated, and it’s due to the auto gates not working, and staffing numbers. That doesn’t make sense. A simple filter queue that gives Group 1 (or 2/3!) a bypass seems to work well at every BA outstation. It is extremely odd (not to say annoying) that it doesn’t seem to be available at BA’s home airport.

Anyone know what’s going on? I am at serious risk of a DYKWIA next time it happens…!

I’ve also noticed since it was re-introduced, they seem to have forgotten the procedure. More often than not, they call for groups 1,2 and 3 at once too.

Agreed, it’s a little annoying as essentially, you’re paying for a service that you’re not receiving.

It's a Sunday morning, I've had a good cycling workout, the sun is shining and I see a soapbox I want to get on.

The 1-2-3 thing I think has been around for a while, surely in 2018 when Klaus (remember him?!) was the COO. He did a workshop to control punctuality ahead of the summer and I facilitated some of the breakout sessions. Boarding was one of the hot topics as it highlighted what I took to call the schizophrenia at the heart of BA's product in those days. We want to be premium, but we also want to be dirt cheap. We want to be giving this and this and that (there were some seeeeriously outlandish ideas tabled by people who shouldn't be in charge of a lemonade stall but, now, have failed upwards very well) but at the same time we want punctuality.

In the end, punctuality was everything that matter. That, and cost control. So it meant that you had a 220-seater A321 with only one aisle and one boarding jetty being given (from memory) 20 minutes less time to board than a 216-seater B789 with two aisles and two jetties, if the TRM/IRS felt brave enough and wanted to put the one at D1L (it's pretty close to some sensitive bits of equipment, probes and stuff). When this was flagged as a problem on short-haul, it was shrugged off. The A321s - or any densified short hauler for that matter - wouldn't get any more minutes because turnrounds would then get longer, utilisation would go down and so on (there's also the problem of stands availability in a saturated terminal in a saturated terminal but whatever).

At the same time, because cost was king and IAG decided that Heathrow Customer Services wasn't cost competitive, ground teams saw people disappearing.Tthe TRM became the ADM or whatever it was and was barely if ever there, then the node position went, then the baggage team leader became the IRS and was responsible for driving the Mototok, the jetty, ensuring gate bags were done, collecting the figures, ensuring priority bags went to where they needed to go, clean the windows, wave to the Captain, load the coffee and possibly pose for photos. But at the same time punctuality was key and if you don't close the doors 5 minutes prior to departure woe betide you! I can't remember how many lates you get, but if it was beyond a certain amount... you need to speak with the management and have a serious conversation about how to ensure that, next time, 150 Lebanese with 350 gate bags will board in 10 minutes flat.

So, having considered all of the above, is it any surprise if ground staff starts boarding the moment the crew have stepped onboard, leave people waiting on a jetty for 15 minutes, call group 1-2-3 plus preboards plus people who've checked bags? I've left for a while now, and of course Covid has put a massive spanner in the works, but as I was leaving I had years of data on delays and it didn't seem that this 'focus on 5' had actually made an impact. Sure, some delays had gone down... but others went up. You had less delays in boarding but more delays due to airfield congestion: in other words, planes ready early but with nowhere to go.

Anyway, off the soapbox I go.

Thanks 13901. Funny and serious at the same time and is why this forum is such good value. I hope your new career is fulfilling.

Not exactly the same, but the trick to pre-boarding seems to be travel with a child, where it seems anyone under 18 now needs more time to board and can skip the queue.

Get allowing people with infants and young children to pre board, but seriously some enforcement is needed as last couple of flights I was one, anyone with someone under 18 decided it meant them and when one set of parents see it, they all join the queue and were allowed!

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Pretty much my experience in recent months. Summed up very nicely. 👍🏻

Palmer

At B-gates last week for LHR-IAD and had each group called in sucession. Addmitedly, most in the '1-2-3' were in group1, so by the time they called group2, then group3 there were barely and handful of pax.

Thank you Ladyfliestheredwhiteandblues, that's very kind of you. I must admit, after a few side steps (and being made redundant, which was good in the end) I think I've landed somewhere I'm mentally challenged by. I do miss, however, the people, the dynamism, the actual feeling of the air transport industry. There's a lot to be said of BA, but I don't think I'll ever find a place with a cast of characters as diverse, and as interesting, as there was. Not for nothing most of my friends are still from that time.

My issue is not so much that they don’t call groups - they do - as much as there is no ability for ‘status’ passengers to bypass the enormous queue any more if I miss my group by a minute. I am fully understanding of the necessity of getting people to board quickly, but in many (or most?) outstation there is, by my reckoning, a priority line that allows 1-2-3s to ‘jump the queue’ and at least not have to wait to board after the 9’s as they check their bags into the hood due to no room. That, for me, would be a enough. It’s a no-cost improvement.

I sent a comment in about this and got a reply back saying priority boarding was yet to come back (it was back).
Like you all I want is for them to put the separate group queues back to allow you to go to the front if you miss priority boarding.

I don't understand why BA added more boarding groups and then just dropped the idea of boarding properly by number.

Even at LHR, the Group 1 boarding lasts for about one minute so one has to be an olympic runner to get to the boarding area before the next groups are called.

All T5B/C gates should have a separate lane for assistance customers and groups 1/2/3. If this isn’t present then it’s the gate agent and this needs to be addressed directly with that person as a performance issue. In addition, they have all been told to call each group individually using the automated announcements.

T5A has reverted to one lane due to the size of the queue space which previously meant that after about 10 people in group 1 the queue would be back to entrance. This is being reviewed to see if it can be made to flow better.

Difference between a wide body and narrow body aircraft was more about wide bodied aircraft generally used on long haul where entry requirements may mean additional checks such as selectees on US service and then to factor in the pre-departure service in First and Club. In reality it’s only a 10 minute difference which on some flights isn’t enough.

As for the 787s, most airlines restrict use of door 1 and that’s down to Boeing design not just a decision by BA or the individual dispatchers. When these first came in, there was every intent to use both doors but experience from other carriers meant that was reviewed and dropped following various tests. One option was even raised to get HAL to cut slots in the jetty to avoid risks for damaging the tubes which are the issue. From what I’ve been told, some airports started to do this to allow for door 1 use.

That's fine and dandy for long hauls, and I don't think anyone was advocating reducing those values. Rather, I wanted to point out that the times to board a 320, or a 321, haven't changed at all since the days of the fat reclining seats in Club. A 320 moved from having 162 to 180 seats (more on the G-GATx, I think?), a 321 went from 180 to 218 or thereabouts. +10~15% and no changes to timescales for boarding. If anything, more pressure with the -5min closure. So it's kind of to be expected that people are being thrown on the plane...

Sadly not always the case. We travelled in CE with our 1 year old last month from LHR for there to just be a “Groups 1-2-3” boarding call which was about half the flight who push past us in a mad rush.

Having a small child I’ve found it slightly easier to get her settled if we’re on early as it gives her time to adjust before she has to be strapped in and makes for a much easier and more enjoyable flight.

The biggest problem seems to be the lack of enforcement with gate bags. Despite travelling with a little one we managed with a backpack and a handbag between the three of us while single passengers were boarding with a roll-on case, backpack and handbag. Then there is a 10 minute period of trying to find spaces once everyone is onboard and messing around moving bags around. Many other carriers just enforce the rules at boarding and it’s a much more relaxed affair once onboard.

Although I only fly around 18-20 return trips a year, I still do not understand this need to be first on the aircraft.You are either first on and waiting for others to board or last on and the aircraft departs soon after. Its not like a train where you may have to stand if it is busy, the flight departs, when it departs

I don't pay extra to sit in an over-busy lounge knowing that the food and space is better elsewhere in the terminal, being self employed I try to ensure that I need not work when at an airport and seek to manage my time and any feelings of indispensability accordingly. I pay extra because I want a little more room and perhaps something to eat.