Jane42

I understand what you are saying, ATOBTTR. But airlines are a business, and they should take all of that into account when flying their employees from one place to the other. There is ALWAYS a reason that so many people have excuses as to why airline crew can cut, board first, etc. but they are not the only business that has to deal with tight deadlines or manage hundreds of passengers. There ARE other modes of transportation that deal with this on a daily basis.

Or maybe I am totally wrong here. I just get tired of all the excuses - FA in a bad mood? Well, what did YOU do to provoke it??? And don't DARE go against what they say or you could be arrested! Just seems like a lot of excuses when the passenger is suppose to be the one being treated better - I mean, they DID pay for the privilege of being there.

Maybe another cup of coffee will help my mood....

ecaarch

Count me in the "who cares" camp on this issue. Besides, I can't begin to list the number of flights that I have been on where deadheading crew members or even commuting crew members helped out in a pinch.

I had already boarded an ATL-MIA AA flight once when one of the FAs get ill and had to leave the a/c. Rather than delaying the flight until a new crew member could be brought from a hub, a commuting (not deadheading) crew member that happened to be onboard changed into her uniform in the lavatory and worked the flight.

Now being rude to those in line is another issue entirely...

pvn

What starbucks NEEDS is a special line for people who have their .... together and know what they want to order. Nothing worse than standing in line for 15 minutes and the person in front of you finally gets to the front and THEN starts looking at the menu, like they've never been to bux before and have no idea what they want.

pvn

I mean, this seems like mission creep, doesn't it? Cocaine and money aren't security issues. There are plenty of legit problems with TSA letting actual weapons through, I'm not too worried that someone is going to down a plane with a fat wad of cash.

ATOBTTR

What makes it “silly”? That you can’t use it? Your profile says PM, so you seem to be okay with Delta giving you a priority lane, but seem to think another business making their own priority lane for other customers is “silly”?

ATOBTTR

I would venture to say the airline has taken it into account, and the decision they came to was that for whatever reason, and probably multiple reasons, it was best to allow deadheading and commuting crew place their bags in the cabin rather than gate check their bags.

bubbashow

Why would they care about the perception? They are deadheading to work a flight, not trying to usurp the $25 bag check fee.

MSPeconomist

No one escorted them to the front of the line. They just apparently decided on their own to bypass all the customers and shove their way in without even attempting to say "excuse me."

MSPeconomist

Another reason to avoid Starbucks.

vincentharris

Dont drink coffee so does not in any way effect me. Merely saw an odd line and commented on it....

GeorgeBurdell

In general, I usually don't say anything about pre-boarding. I do see people who I wonder why they're pre-boarding but it's not my business to make that call so I stand mute. I get that crews have to keep their bags with them, especially international crews which this one obviously was because lost luggage could be a real problem for them.

They could have waited until the paying pax who were pre-boarding had gotten on board. Or better yet, board just before SkyPriority which still leaves plenty of overhead space in the bins. But to march up there and cut in front of other passengers was just wrong. And then the GA grilling the guy after them about why he was qualified to pre-board was way out of line. I also think the lead FA celebrating a working employees birthday was not the best idea either. If the FA was retiring after many years of dedicated service, that would be commendable. But a birthday? Obviously, they didn't mind working on their birthday or they wouldn't have bid for the flight, right? What about paying pax birthdays? The lead could have just taken the (I think) cinnamon roll back to the FA and wished her a happy birthday instead of making this a DYKWIA moment.

One positive comment here. I've noticed that Delta is letting what I assume are service members pre-board. This is great and they definitely deserve the special treatment.

Loadmaster

If we're addressing crew boarding priority and baggage, this is utterly ridiculous; If we're addressing crew pushing past pax, that's absolutely unprofessional and should be reported.

If we are indeed talking about crew, their boarding priority and amount of baggage, I'll just have to say that I think some folks must have a misreable life to complain something this mundane. Would you chastise a Captain or First officer for carrying on an additional bag that contained the Jepps Charts to the airport that they're flying you to?

The fact of the matter is that they (the crew) are employees of the carrier, ergo, they should indeed have a bit of extra benefit when traveling on business for their company on their company's equipment. I may get flamed for this, but I honestly have no issue with an employee, trying to get to their job / next assignment, using company resources to affect a positive outcome for their customers.

Another thought, just for kicks and giggles: How many times have you boarded an aircraft and witnessed pax putting more than one item overhead (rather than placing their second smaller item under the seat in front of them?) .... I only bring this up for obvious reasons .... I mean if we're going to complain about crew baggage, why don't address the 900Lb gorilla in the room as well

I have a simple solution; I propose that the carrier labels at least 4 overhead bins at the back of the aircraft just for FA luggage, the carrier should then give priority boarding to any FA requiring access to these bins before any other pax board so they can ensure that their bags make it into these allocated bins and not inconvenience any other paying pax.

GagaPilot

Just my two cents here as an airline pilot myself:

Any time I am commuting or deadheading (yes, there is a difference) in uniform, I ALWAYS board in zone SKY unless I am extremely lucky to score a seat in the F cabin, in which I board in zone PREM. I never "pre-board." Yes, when I'm in 40F on a 757 my boarding pass shows Zone 2 or Zone 3, but I always board in SKY and have never had pushback from a GA. It is a rightfully known courtesy to allow crew members space to stow their bags. I never stow mine in a row that isn't in the same cabin as myself. Our crew bags are incredibly important and there just simply isn't enough time to check them.

I have heard of some airlines requesting jumpseating pilots to pre-board to complete a credentials check with the Captain, but have not experienced that myself.

Also, crew members should not "skip" others in line, unless they are working on that specific flight and have duties to attend to. I have done that before, but always politely. Usually when people see me rolling my bag down the jet way they naturally allow me to pass.

Traveling across the country tomorrow night as a revenue pax. Going to be strange boarding in Zone 1 (I have the DL AMEX). But at least I can enjoy a drink since I'll be out of uniform!

pvn

I don't doubt that they are incredibly important, but everyone who travels for business (and most people traveling for pleasure, for that matter) would tell you the same thing about their own bags.

kb9522

The difference being that business travelers have actually paid the airline for the space.

This "crew bags are really, really important" argument is the most ridiculous thing I've read on this site in a while.