Feel bad using Premier line?
 

I might need my flame suit for this one... ;)

A couple days ago I'm checking in at the airport (SJC) for a morning flight. Couldn't do the Easy Chicken thing due to a messed up PNR, so had to go to the counter.

Only one person working the counter, maybe 6 people in line in the line for gate lice (general members), none in the Premier line. I had enough time, so I just got in behind the gate lice, because with only one person checking people in, it just seemed kind of rude to jump in ahead of the others, and besides, they might have had a flight leaving pretty quickly.

Of course, after doing that, maybe three other people went to the Premier line, one after another, and straight to the counter. Our line didn't move an inch for quite some time. :td:

In my humble opinion, if there's only one agent at the counter, I don't think it's appropriate to be taking only Premiers and letting the others sit and rot, not even having a real clue as to why they're sitting and rotting (since most gate lice don't know what a Premier is in the first place, only that there appear to be people cutting in front of them). At the very least, the agent should have asked those of us in the gate lice line if any of us had planes leaving shortly, and offered to take them ahead of the premiers (assuming they weren't in the same boat).

I know I should be ranting at UA for not having more agents, but let's assume that, for reasons beyond their control, at that moment one was all that was available. Were things handled the best-way possible?

Thanks-

PS: The best thing about experiences like this is that it reminds me how things might be perceived in my own business at times. Being on the other side of the counter is often an interesting and reflective experience.

I don't really agree--while I have nothing against GMs, I think we should be able to rely on them to take care of themselves.

We were GMs for a long time, and we had almost gotten stuck behind a too long check-in line at LAX many times, but we got ourselves out of it just fine.

I say enjoy the benefits! Everyone gets where they're going... :)

By the way, did the agent say anything about you not being in the Premier line?

I would have gone to the premier line. I think the issue is that the airport was simply understaffed.

As a 1K, 1P, 2P, and now some other type of "P" I've heard about -- we all spend more than our fair share waiting in line to deal with UA. Call me cold-hearted, but I have no qualms about getting service before any GM.

Sometimes we sneak into the regular line. ;) In more than one airport, if it's not terribly busy, the regular line is moving faster since people in the premier line are making special arrangements, buying tickets, checking seats, checking piles of baggage, etc.

In answer to your original question, while I try to be sensitive to the feelings of others, I don't hesitate to use any available premier line if it's going to get me to the counter in the shortest possible time.

I've been at a gazillion airports over the years where, if the GM line is long & no one in Elite line, they'll take folk from the GM line. But they also will put those on hold if an Elite member walks up.

Hey count yourself lucky - you could be flying out of LAX where they merged F, 1K, 1P, 2P, *Gold, *Silver all into one line - which means GM may actually be shorter! LAX sucks for check-in now.

Cheers.

You are such a humble, lowly 2P Mike Jacoubowsky :D

I understand what you're saying though. Although I really can't remember the last time I checked-in other than using Mr. Chicken or online. It's just too bad when there seems to be not enough UA staff on the counters.

It's an earned privledge to pass the general passengers. Only in IAD did I actually see the premier lines move slower then the public lines.

lol.. not all GM are gate lice... and heck, recently it seems like mostly my puce colored counterparts that are getting in the way.

What's this check-in line I'm hearing about? :cool:

its this game where you wait for a long time to talk to an actual person, all the while asking yourself why you're playing in the first place.

Wow. Gotta say I'm slightly surprised by the responses. If there had been someone already in the Premier line, I don't think I would have felt badly getting behind them, but as it was empty, it just seemed like I was going to stand out in a way that didn't make me feel particularly comfortable.

Had I been in a rush, sure, I would have gone to the Premier line. But I wasn't, and I was also concerned that my transaction might take a bit of time. Plus, had I been in the Premier line, I may have felt obliged to do something that most certainly would have brought down the wrath of nearly everyone here... I would have... get ready for this... I would have actually asked the gate lice if any of them had a plane that was leaving soon and let them jump in line ahead of me. Now that, I'm sure, would result in revocation of all rights & privileges, even those of the lowly 2P.

The way I see it, and obviously my thinking must be totally wrong, is that what difference does it make if I spend an extra 10 minutes in line, or 10 minutes at the gate? It's not as if SJC is anything special, particularly the ancient Terminal C.

Looks like there are reasons I am, and will remain, a lowly 2P. And, truth be told, I feel not-so-bad about it. But I do respect what others have gone through to earn their status, and I don't begrudge them that they feel it's appropriate to take advantage of faster check-in because it's something they've earned from too many miles trapped is a steel tube moving through the air in a manner that... well, sometimes you really don't want to think about the physics that allow a plane to stay in the air. ;)

Life has treated me well, and I don't keep score. And yet... and yet... well, I gotta admit that I'm awfully happy to have earned that silly lowly 2P card, so obviously I'm not without my pride or pleasures.

I think the whole purpose of the 1K line at IAD is just to see how many of us are such status snobs that we'll stand conspicuously at far left end of Saarinen's masterpiece, backlit by a massive set of plate glass windows, waiting for 30 minutes while inevitably some felonious government contractor at the front of the line takes up more than his share of time trying rebook his next complicated PRN to Shreveport (via Altoona via Flint), while meanwhile the Mr Chicken and the 1P/2P lines, though long, move at a steady clip.

Guess it doesn't matter much, though, we all get backed up at the security check, and the joke is on all of us for not using DCA...

Does anyone feel guilty sitting in first watching everyone go back back back back to the seats at the back of the plane?

Not on a 757. Heck, with just one door, sometimes a whole lot more Y pax file out before many of those in F make it to the door.

But even in that situation, if a plane is running late, the FA will often make a request that those who need to get to a connecting flight be given priority getting off the plane.