cplona

So annoyed with treatment of Paid Premium and Elites boarding at AMS today. Half of Y boarded while we were left standing. Can't blame Schipol because chief FA claimed the scheme was her clever idea.

This is my third flight of AY premium fare. (OW Emerald from AA and Sapphires from QR). They haven't boarded in a remotely competent way yet.

Is their revenue model different from other airlines? They seem all around indifferent to passengers that other airlines seem to value and treat well.

Ok end of rant. Only one more flight and my brief experiment flying AY "J" will become a distant memory.

Fitch

I only fly AY J for the cheap fares, decent food and friendly service.

Hoping for "elite" treatment on a Nordic airline out of egalitarian Netherlands is the very definition of hope over expectation 😀

ffay005

I guess you could say it sort of is. The bulk of AY pax are inexperienced fliers from China, and price is the decisive factor for them. You can treat them pretty much like cattle – most of them won't be returning customers and don't know what to expect, anyway. Add to that a very undemanding homebase clientele who don't need any pampering and the result is more or less what AY strategy is about. However, the cabin crew members are mostly friendly if not very attentive and the phone agents, while not too knowledgeable, are friendly too. You just need to be friendly but firm to get what you need.

I call them the Scandic of the Skies. If you are familiar with the Nordic hotel chain, you'll know what I mean.

I would send an email about that boarding process if the case really was that they actively denied priority pax from boarding and wanted Y pax on board first.

The normal AY procedure is to read from a paper (or to sound like it, anyway) in which order you are to board and then let anyone in at any time anyway.

intuition

Finnair boarding process is bad and if priority boarding is what you need to feel valued then you can without a doubt say they don't care about elites.

The mentality is more like "what is practical". Meaning staff will do things in a way they think is the most practical or efficient from their perspective. For some staff, that coincides with how their own job is made easiest, while others do have traveller experience in mind.

Every airline has a span between good and bad staff, but with Finnair it seems that this span is larger and kept large over time. Service leadership is weak in Finnair, so bad staff are rarely corrected or inspired to become better, while good staff rarely gets appraised. (We should all make sure the good ones get our feedback!)

Also, you should be aware that coming from an egalitarian culture, an elite hierarchy isn't generally something desirable and even some of the highest tier members of the Finnair program would feel awkward getting preferential treatment.

However, they have introduced a elites recognition program and while onboard staff generally will hint to you that they are aware of your status and get you something extra.

As for boarding, there is no hope of improvement. But do take your time interacting with staff onboard and you might find the trips much more enjoyable!

Fitch

I only fly AY J for the cheap fares, decent food and friendly service.

Hoping for "elite" treatment on a Nordic airline out of egalitarian Netherlands is the very definition of hope over expectation 😀

ffay005

This is extremely well said. If I was working as a trainer for AY staff, I would print this out and ask every one of my trainees how they think such an utterance has come into existence and what they could do to make no one think like this. Ever.

intuition

Yes, give us FT'ers a few weeks and we sure are going to make some changes!

(ffay005, do remind me of your handle when we meet, I have trouble putting faces on all handles)

feixing

At least to me priority boarding is least of my concerns. I would be happy to see staff being directed to more value adding activities, such as helping with oversized hand luggage to get plane going as soon as possible. Boarding narrow-body should not anyway take more than 5 to 10 minutes. Priority deplaning matters much more in most cases.

Maybe it should be a service that airports offer instead of airlines. In some airports it is airport crew who handle the boarding. This way it could be a differentiating service for markets where it is appreciated.

intuition

I believe Airbus experimented and patented a boarding process where you take your seat in the gate lounge, and they just fork lift the whole section onto the plane.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...-a6752736.html



The slow boarding due to bags exists only because airlines charge for checked luggage. If they gave checked luggage for free but charged for carry-on... Man that would be great boarding experiences!

feixing

That would be quick ! Plat / J could be allowed a small briefcase for recognition.

haapalainen

On my previous flight at HEL they actually turned away customers at the gate who were trying to board before their group was called. I gave the gate agent positive feedback on the spot and I hope that encourages him to continue with that practice in the future!

The_Director

I've seen this a few times as well. This is the way it should be.

The thing what really annoys me are Plat / J pax that think they are allowed to cut in line, most likely based on my appearance

It happens on 50% of my flights...I don't look or dress like a business type of person but I dress neat and casual, 90% of times a black t-shirt, black jeans/pants, and a backpack. A few tattoos, and cool shoes. I stand about a half meter to meter from the gate, or the person in front of me, and yeah, about 50% of my flights there's a middle aged guy with a suit and a roller carry-on who casually just comes up and parks in front of me. There's no doubt that I wouldn't be standing in line, but they just come and cut. I feel mad but as a good Finn I STFU.

NoWindowSeat

It is funny..I often get this when travelling for leisure with a small backpack (and often w/ checked luggage) some a****le tries to cut in (I never let them, though) ...when I travel for work (no diff. in appearance/clothes) with my aluminium AY Rimowa the "same" jerks stay put behind me...ridiculous people..😂

The_Director

But...sometimes it gives me pleasure to get a peek at their boarding pass if it says Y and mine says J.