Originally Posted by UnitedEF (Post 12003559)

Is that standard practice on B6? With UA they are the last to board the plane.

Originally Posted by dinosims

You've paid extra for the extra legroom. That's it - that fee doesn't entitle you to priority boarding, getting snacks/drinks first, extra overhead space, or whatever else status on United gets you.

Originally Posted by UnitedEF (Post 12003559)

Was on 226 yesterday LGB - SJC. I am sitting in front of the gate and the GA calls up stand-bys and two B6 employees walk up to the GA chat a little, get their BP's and head onto the plane. They board the plane before anybody. Is that standard practice on B6? With UA they are the last to board the plane. I used to fly B6 alot but stopped because of my international travels and left for UA and I never paid attention to NRSA behavior. Second complaint was being served last on their express service. I paid extra to get the even more legroom seat. One FA starts at the front of the E90 and the second starts from the row right behind me. You would figure that a PAX that paid extra would at least get served first. The only plus was that the flight left on time. The last several flights I had with them all had at least 1 hour delays. As soon as I get my points I will be transferring the remaining required points from my AMEX and be done with B6. I don't know if I have just been spoiled by UA now that I have status or my expectations were just high for B6.

Originally Posted by colmc (Post 12003570)

Spoiled by UA?

*blinks*

Originally Posted by dinosims (Post 12003616)

You've paid extra for the extra legroom. That's it - that fee doesn't entitle you to priority boarding, getting snacks/drinks first, extra overhead space, or whatever else status on United gets you.

Originally Posted by Brigri (Post 12003671)

Why do you care that 2 non-revs boarded before you? You had an assigned seat? I don't see the point of your post. Your flight left on time and you got to your destination. Good luck with UA.

Originally Posted by JAX2BOS (Post 12009905)

Hi,

I'm also confused as to why NRSA crewmembers boarding early is a complaint. When I am F1 I ask to have all crewmembers (both other airline and JB) preboard prior to customers if possible. At B6 it is a requirement to introduce yourself to the flight crew and if you are an offline jumpseater (ie Comair, DL, etc) they must introduce themselves to the flight deck. By having crewmembers both from the company and non-reving pilots or fas board early we can avoid congestion near the entryway as they introduce themselves to the flight crew and expedite our boarding process. Additionally, having bags already stowed saves a LOT of time. This is to make sure our customers have a smoother boarding experience.

Originally Posted by flying4aliving (Post 12003912)

Hi and thanks for giving JetBlue a try. I'd like to address some of your concerns. It's not unusual for the employess to board first, IF they are positive they are receiving seats or even into a jumpseat. If the gate agent was calling standbys that means he had cleared the list and the employees knew they were cleared. Often, when we board early, we are able to help the working crew get ready for the flight. Once the customers start to board, no working inflight crew member can leave the plane. As non-revs we can run errands for them, including retreving items customers left behind, help with seating concerns, getting caterting items, etc. It appears you were on the 190, if you had extra leg room, that means your were in the emergency exit row. Our company splits the service into sections, which leaves that row last for the front crewmember. If that bothers you, you can always go to JetBlue.Com to the speak up button and suggest they change their service standards. Please remember, extra leg room is not first class, as in other airlines, it is simply what it states. Extra leg room,, nothing more, nothing less. Thanks for Jetting with us.:D

Originally Posted by UnitedEF (Post 12089508)

Just to reply to other posts I flew B6 up to the bay area and UA back down to LA. My flight was on UA 931 on the way home, 7/5 6:59 pm departure. Departed on time and landed 20 minutes prior to scheduled arrival. I hate when the plane comes in early because if I didn't park at LAX than the person coming to pick me up rarely checks the flight status and I stand curbside for half an hour. I guess it is better than being late. I got to the Premier line, checked my luggage and went through security in 5 minutes with only 10 people in front of me in line. This happened on the Sunday at the end of the 4th of July holiday weekend at SFO! Contrast that with the TSA officer at LGB who asked me three times if I followed the 3 oz rule for my toiletries and even asked for another TSA person to check my toiletry bag to make sure I was in compliance after it went through the X ray machine. I guess looking at my neatly packed 3 oz canisters in the TSA approved bag size was not convincing enough? TSA is not B6 but huge difference in treatment between this and SFO TSA. I guess because the Premier line at SFO is used to frequent fliers? No FF line for B6 which is always annoying because there are people who walk through security 4 times because they do not remove all the obviously metal items either in their pocket or on their person. What's even more distrubing is when those people still make it through the metal detectors and metal objects are visible on that person :confused: :eek:. Sat in economy plus exit row seat with 45" pitch, which was complimentary, on an A320. My bag was 6th off the carousel when I arrived at LAX with all of the other priority tagged luggage. There was no cost differential on the flight between UA and B6. Actually B6 would have cost $10 more if I wanted legroom comparable to what I got on UA. Oh not to mention that I accrued mileage towards future e500 and CR1 upgrades as well as redeemable miles. So yeah I would called that being spoiled by UA ;)



Judging by post #5 management agrees with me in serving people who pay more first. Did they read my post and issue a memo?



On the flipside why do you not care that non-revs board before you, a paying passenger? If it's all the same, why can't the non-revs board last? They can do all of the required things mentioned above even if they are last to board. Wouldn't it be better to let the paying passengers on first so they can get settled in? I like to get on board the plane asap stow my belongings and read the paper or finish talking on the phone. I can't imagine that I am the only one that likes to do that. Every carrier that has a decent FF program gives their status passengers priority boarding so it can't be because I think it's a perk. It must be because it is generally accepted as a perk. Even WN allows priority boarding that you can pay for or earn and aren't they a big competitor of B6? All of you loyal B6 fliers wouldn't you like to have more perks for the loyalty you've shown to B6? I mean after all you guys actually fill the plane shouldn't you get more than just points that other people who don't even fly that much or at all on B6 can also get via their branded AMEX or through AMEX MR point transfers? Back on topic, non-revs on UA are generally last to board unless the plane is empty and one reasons is to allow all paying customers space for their carry-ons. I know I get a little impatient when passengers are wandering around the plane looking for overhead space but that's just a part of flying so I deal with it. If the situation was caused by a non-rev who stowed their bags first forcing paying passengers to wander around looking for bin space, then I would get really irritated. I can't be the only person that gets irritated watching someone hold up a flight in this manner.



A crew member can stow their bags a lot faster than the leisure traveler right? Wouldn't it be faster for the passenger to load bags and get settled in instead of the NRSA flier stowing their bag and possibly having to get up and dig them out to make room for a revenue passenger? Or would B6 force a paying passenger to gate check their bags to accomodate NRSA travelers? NRSA boarding last would also avoid congestion problems you speak of because you would be last to board. When I am sitting in First on United sometimes there are bags in the overhead from the working crew which I don't mind because they are working and there is closet space in the First cabin. On B6 I have never seen such a closet so it might be an issue. Seems like common sense to me but hey I am not B6 management.



The non-revs on my flight just sat in their seats and didn't do anything. I actually used to fly B6 exclusively for business travel to LAS, ORD and JFK. I had ridiculous delays LGB to LAS on just about every flight I took, usually by an hour or two but I still stuck with B6 thinking that the last time the flight was delayed was an anomoly but it turned out to be a flaw of the point to point system where delays at the top amplify the delays on the bottom. Since B6 doesn't operate hubs there are no aircraft they can move around during irrops. The delays getting to LAS really hurt because I was going there to setup our exhibit for a trade show. One time my flight home from LAS to LGB was delayed a few hours and the GA had to call in the supervisor and walk us all over to the WN ticketing desk where everyone thought that B6 would buy us tickets home. We all were astonished when we had to pay for our own WN ticket home and B6 was to reimburse us because B6 did not have any agreements with any of the other airlines. Come to think of it I don't think I was ever reimbursed and I sure didn't earn the Trueblue points for the flight after that long delay. To add insult to injury I had to pay a walk up fare at LAS on WN for $144! Had I chose to build status on United then, they would have gotten me home in first on the next United flight or via US Airways or some other carrier along with an apology and an ecert UA flight credit for $100 for the delay instead of having us pay for our own tickets and fight customer service for reimbursement without any type of apology. The flight was on 8-14-08, LAS - LGB I think the flight was suppose to leave around 3 pm in case any of you B6 people would like to verify my story. Absolutely ridiculous. Delays happen but for B6 to handle it like it did and not even send an apology or try to make it right, that was one big reason why I left. I could have made a big deal out of it but I figured I got what I paid for and instead voted with my wallet. Had I known about FT I might have posted my story here. I hope what happened to me never happens to anyone in the B6 forum or anyone else that flies B6.

I understand that EML is not first class, I would have flown United if I wanted first. What I was stating was that in this ultra-competitive industry where passengers notice everything especially those that are willing to pay more, would it not make sense to at least start onboard service with those that paid your company more revenue? You are just starting service 1 row up from where the service starts and are not really going out of your way. That small gesture might entice someone to pay extra for EML in the future when they might not have otherwise. Again looks like I am right as noted by post #5.

Originally Posted by UnitedEF (Post 12089508)

NRSA boarding last would also avoid congestion problems you speak of because you would be last to board.

Originally Posted by UnitedEF (Post 12003559)

Was on 226 yesterday LGB - SJC. I am sitting in front of the gate and the GA calls up stand-bys and two B6 employees walk up to the GA chat a little, get their BP's and head onto the plane. They board the plane before anybody. Is that standard practice on B6? With UA they are the last to board the plane. I used to fly B6 alot but stopped because of my international travels and left for UA and I never paid attention to NRSA behavior. Second complaint was being served last on their express service. I paid extra to get the even more legroom seat. One FA starts at the front of the E90 and the second starts from the row right behind me.

Originally Posted by JAX2BOS (Post 12091222)

A MAJOR overhaul to the TrueBlue program is underway, some of the perks you see at UA MAY just make their way to us. We are not rolling out our new program until our new Sabre system comes online. Our current loyalty program is limited to select travelers right now and is definitely overdue for an upgrade. Some of the perks mentioned to us in business meetings (although never confirmed) are very nice and comparable.

Originally Posted by dinosims (Post 12094207)

Any idea as to an ETA on the new Sabre system coming online?

Originally Posted by magiciansampras (Post 12094259)

It's been a long time in coming, has it not?