KLM requests your input regarding Priority Boarding
 

Flyertalk members,

As you know the Priority Boarding concept is discussed quite often. KLM is also aware of certain situations where they may have room for improvement.

I refer to the message below requesting your input regarding your feeling of Priority Boarding on intra-Europe flights.

Your comments/suggestions are highly appreciated. All comments will be forwarded to the appropriate KLM department.

Best,

Gajan

Good to see them asking such questions :-)

I think the current system, if respected and properly implemented, works fine. Having Business and elite(+) passengers starting boarding earlier and at their convenience is a must in my opinion.

I would definitely not implement a boarding by rows from the back, as premium passengers are usually in the front. This results in a lengthy boarding process, long queues, and also problems with overhead luggage bins as people tend to fill sometimes the luggage bins of the front of the plane (not only when the rear is full)

I had this issue as YNO explained multiple times with pax filling the front luggage bins and then sodding off to the rear of the cabin, it drives me nuts! So many times pax joining the ST+ queue and then getting shoved to the back for being in the wrong line or one guy with ST+ and all his brood with no status jumping the line.
I agree that we should either board first OR give me more time in the lounge to board last and leave me space in the front luggage bins.

This problem has become even worse since they hit on the bright idea of adding seats 1ABC to the EB cabin, which seats have no under-seat storage, nor any overhead storage whatsover on 737s.

As far as SkyPriority is concerned, KL's CPH handling agent Novia seems never to have been informed about this concept, or else they pretend they haven't. KL are well aware of this issue, since I've been asked to report directly to them every time I fly from Kastrup, but so far there is no sign of any improvement.

All my AMS flights this past half year have been on KLC, and thus from B-gates. These at least have the physical infrastructure and signage in place, but the GA's level of enthusiasm varies considerably. On full KLC flights (and all mine have been) it is unfortuntely imperative to board first if I want to find overhead space for my small backpack & jacket.

Johan

Hello Gajan
Interesting survey and good to know they are trying to improve the system. Here are my answers :

Why is priority boarding valuable to you:
- not having to stand in line;
- being sure you there is enough space left on board for your hand luggage;

Would you rather board as one of the first (which means you have to be at the gate on time, before boarding starts) or board later, using the priority lane to pass the queue?
Answer : both :) = board first if you are at the gate when boarding starts or, if you arrive later, board using the priority lane to pass the queue

Which scenario would you prefer:
The current boarding process (implemented correctly) starting with priority boarding for premium customers and boarding other passengers after that.

Thanks

I am for boarding at your leisure via a separate queue. But then that lane has to be enforced! Send everyone who bypasses the regular line without status back.
And the GA should always serve the priority lane first, and not make the Elite wait (defeats the purpose).

+1. Priority boarding must be available during the entire boarding process IMO.

Good survey and +1 to keep the system as is, but reinforce it - let us board at our own pace whenever we want to.

Certainly on those Embraers flights ex Amsterdam - even more when travelling with kids - the gates are a pain - stairs down and stairs up - so even if you board early you get overtaken because kids with carryons take more time. But is sometimes almost embarrassing to use the priority lane - the GAs are so rude.
And on board - why don't the FAs just make sure the overhead storage in the front is used by those seating close to them in stead of row 37 (if that even exists on an E190). Certainly when boarding just starts, make people take their carryon's on to their own rows !

Alas - probably all in a vain

Oh how very timely... I had a particularly interesting priority boarding experience at HAM last Sunday which I was going to share with you all but hadn't yet got round to writing up, and here is a thread on that very topic!

To answer the questions... how can they even be thinking of boarding by seat rows, taking an important benefit away from their most important customers? And I don't think they'd gain anything efficiency-wise because frequent flyers normally know not to block the aisle for longer than necessary (i.e., we normally move into the row, if we can, and put our stuff into the overhead locker from there)

Why is priority boarding important to me? These days, primarily because of overhead locker space. This wasn't so much of a problem in the past, when people tended to check baggage - but it seems that the LCC experience has conditioned travellers into trying to fit everything into their hand luggage.

And it really goes without saying that we should have both - we should be called for boarding first, and then the priority lane should stay open for any Sky Priority passengers who weren't at the gate at the time the initial boarding call was made.

And please, KLM - get your ground handling agents to get things right. Johan has mentioned CPH. HAM is another bad one - and I, too, have had phone calls from KLM in response to complaints, and have been asked to keep them informed if procedures aren't followed, and nothing has ever changed.

In answer to the specific questions:

I prefer to board last (standing in line anywhere is something I only do if it is absolutely unavoidable), but when overhead space is likely to be insufficient to meet demand I will try to board as one of the first. Proper enforcement of hand luggage weight, size and number restrictions would certainly help in this regard.

On fairly empty flights boarding last also allows me to pick any vacant seat, instead of taking my assigned one in a row which the airline is almost guaranteed to have crammed full in recognition of my LTPE status.

The last question is worrying, it conveys the impression that KL is already having second thoughts, before they have even managed to properly implement SkyPriority boarding.

Regardless of which system they choose, they ought to have figured out by now that the key to smooth, efficient and timeous boarding is to get the gate agents to actually do their job properly. It ain't that difficult, and I think that might even be what they are paid a salary to do.

So . . . what is KL waiting for?

Johan

I do that too, but the difference is that my stuff easily fits. I realize that it is a lot easier for me to travel light than for many others, but after all these years of flying I'm still astounded by the amount of (hand) luggage people travel with.

One of the nice things back in the Golden Age of air travel was that passengers took very little hand luggage with them on board.

Ah . . . those were the days!

Johan

I second this. My experience is that if you're there when boarding starts you generally get priority but it quickly tuns into a free-for-all shortly after the first wave of elites. The current system would be fine if it was strictly implemented. It is usually managed correctly at check-in, why not at the gate?

Why can't we have both?
Non status passengers have to board according to seat row, while elite passengers are free to board through a seperate line whenever they want to.

Plenty of airlines work it this way, I find it great as boarding by seat row speeds up the boarding process, having a few elite passengers boarding earlier doesn't cause much congestion.

Would also be a good idea to implement some system to stop non elite passengers using the elite zone at the gates, I find these often full up by non elite passengers, perhaps a barrier where you have to scan your boarding pass, this zone should then lead direct to the seperate boarding line.

+2 - just do it the way DL does for quite some time now (Elites board first, after general boarding has started, there is a dedicated SkyPriority lane). Works perfectly for me.

In my opinion there is a significant difference between certain gates (at AMS for example):

• C-gates, where security is not done at gate. Most gates have a dedicated line for SkyPriority. Failure to implement is due to gate agent (start SP line same time as regular line, do not check who is in line etc);
• Non-Schenen D-gates, security at the gate makes SkyPriority difficult to enforce as you have to cut in line. Once in holding pen, it if normally free for all;
• Long-haul gates normally have a dedicated line before the holding pen. Once boarding is started it is normally free for all (i.e. failure to implement due to gate agent) (not applicable for this discussion, but worth noting).

Therefore the solution would depend on the gate:

• C-gates:
  Ensure the gate agent checks who is in the SP line, ensure SP line boards before rest and once SP has finished boarding keep the line free in case elites arrive later (and not board non SP passengers through the SP line);
• D-gates (non-Schengen):
  Ensure that the security agents are aware that the SP passengers can cut in line and do boarding pass checks before entering the aircraft from the holding pen.

That said, the biggest advantage of priority boarding is that you are certain to have space for your hand-luggage. If I do not have any hand-luggage I personally am not too bothered by standing in line.