How many status vs non-status flyers per flight

[harvyk]

This is a follow on from a discussion I had with a colleague of mine this morning. On an average flight, how many people are likely to have status on average?
I realize that certain times and routes are more likely than others to have status pax.

The way I see it is there are two sides to this argument, the first is only a very small number of pax actually have status, however by definition of having status these people are more likely than most to be flying.

For the purposes of this discussion, I would consider status to be anything which gives a perk beyond what an average person off the street can normally get (flying Y), where that perk was earned as a result of flying. So things like QP membership would not count, but PS (as it is earned from flying) would.

Thoughts?

Also not just limited to QF either, although obviously if the airline doesn't have an FF program or doesn't offer perks it doesn't count.

 

[Mattg]

Interesting question.

I realise that this is a sample of one, but this was posted by a member a while back in this thread:

I took a look at this summary on a flight from ADL to MEL this afternoon which i found very interesting

VIP. 00
WP1 00
CL. 02
WP. 12
SG. 32
PS. Lots
NB. even more

 

[TomVexille]

I think it really depends on what the flight it and when.

Last year talking to the CSM on a Sunday night BNE-MEL flight, he said that it was normally a very top (status) heavy flight but due to the Monday public holiday there were "only" a couple CL/WP1s, and 17 WPs on the 737 that day.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

I think it really depends on what the flight it and when.

Last year talking to the CSM on a Sunday night BNE-MEL flight, he said that it was normally a very top (status) heavy flight but due to the Monday public holiday there were "only" a couple CL/WP1s, and 17 WPs on the 737 that day.

I too can concure with this.
Very dependant on route and time accordingly to Various CSM's I've spoken with.

I've happen to have been the only WP ( no P1's or CL) on a near full 747 before ( QF64 in early December 2014), whilst on a Friday evening MEL > SYD my status is very much "middle of the road", with plenty of other WP, P1's and CL onboard.

 

[dfcatch]

Total "how long is a piece of string" question

I can say that I've often been (if not almost always) the only P1 on a CNS<=>SYD/BNE/MEL flight; and often the only or one of only 2 or 3 WPs.

I can also say that on the A380 flights LAX<=>SYD/MEL I've often been one of only a cpl of P1s on a flight.

But the F and J cabins usually have a decent number of WPs in the mix - but often it's not as many as you may assume.

As a sample of one manifest on QF32 LHR-SYD a few years ago.... the mix in the F cabin alone was :

- 2 x CL
- 4 x WP
- 3 x SG
- 5 x nothing (mix of OW status / non-status)

 

[harvyk]

Total "how long is a piece of string" question

I most certainly realize that.
Where this question can about from, I was having a discussion with a colleague of mine about how his choice of seat selection was sucking. He is a non-status'd flyer and his upcoming trip is the first OS one he has went on in about 10 years. I was trying to explain to him that airlines reserve their best seats for their status'd pax. He however refused to believe that there where actually that many status pax on any one flight.

I'm was taking the guess that on any given flight, 50% of pax would have some sort of status, either directly or via an alliance, and on some of the popular business routes that number could go up to 70 or 80%, I was as much as anything else curious as to what other peoples guesses might have been.

I have to admit, until I joined AFF myself I never realized how often some people fly. I used to be on a car forum, and one of the members there had frequent business trips to Thailand (prob averaging about once every couple of months) and everyone on that forum couldn't believe how often this guy would fly, and yet over here on AFF he would probably be an average number of flights flyer. So I can understand how someone whom has done 1 international trip in 10 years could be under the assumption that the vast majority on the plane are just like him, the "1 big trip" type flyers.

 

[TomVexille]

Especially once you add in alliance partners 50% isn't completely unreasonable

 

[medhead]

Bit different for domestic and international flights, as domestic have some definite peak hour flights. My regular Monday morning flight has many familiar faces. I think I was once told there were 18 Platinum on the flight (before P1 was invented). I know there is at least 1 CL on the flight, plus another new regular was recently congratulated on getting CL. But there are at least 7 others who I always see, including one who has worked up from gold during this year. I'd say there are easily 50% status on that flight.

 

[Quickstatus]

Ex QF CSM told me last year her record was 5CL, 13WP1, and 52WP on a SYDMEL Monday am.

She said she doesn't care about counting SG as it does not make the grade...

I do think that airlines should not forget the non status passengers as they do make up the bulk of many flights and give consistently good service to all their passengers Status or not.

A flyer who flies once every x years is invaluable. The airline has one chance only to impress as their next flight may be years away.. No amount of CL/WP1/WP will sustain an airline if the other passengers vote with their wallet and go elsewhere. The airline knows this I'm sure

 

[Mattg]

Come to think of it, I've been on flights from CBR to SYD where pretty much everyone on the flight has come from one of the 3 QF lounges.

 

[Denali]

A year or so ago I was on a AKL>SYD flight and a manifest was in the galley. I only had a quick look (as it was sitting there to be seen) and it looked like 60-80 pax had status with various airlines.

I did notice a lot of people at premium checkin - enough to notice and comment on the numbers.

 

[Quickstatus]

Jan 2026 LAX QF94 checkin :
F lane was 10 deep. No one in J lane...

There is another statused passenger and that is an AFF add on.

A WP pax will generally lose out to an WP+AFF pax.

WP1 and CL are in another class that even an AFF addon cannot surpass.

 

[dk4]

A flyer who flies once every x years is invaluable. The airline has one chance only to impress as their next flight may be years away.. No amount of CL/WP1/WP will sustain an airline if the other passengers vote with their wallet and go elsewhere. The airline knows this I'm sure

While I agree with your sentiment about future planning, I would say "that a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush", and most focus should probably be on who is buying/flying right now. (But I am sure that QF has a fairly sophisticated understanding of the life cycle of their customer base.)

Plus, I am a fan of the 80/20 rule, (80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers). So, given general variations across industries, I think it would behove "mature" businesses to keep their eyes most focused on who is delivering maximum dollars to their bottom line in real time.

Come to think of it, I've been on flights from CBR to SYD where pretty much everyone on the flight has come from one of the 3 QF lounges.

I remember watching when boarding was called, soon after the new J lounge was opened in the old QF terminal at CBR, the look of shock on the handful of people sitting at the gate - as great hoards came streaming out from 3 different directions descending onto the gate. Back in the days when the lounges took up more air-side space than the general waiting area.

 

[moa999]

Ex QF CSM told me last year her record was 5CL, 13WP1, and 52WP on a SYDMEL Monday am.

Ouch... 70 pax..
EVen assuming 12 in J.
Thats 58 in Y or almost 10 rows...

To think a Plat could be in Row 15, and its not even a last minute seat allocation

 

[Lowjhg]

Jan 2026 LAX QF94 checkin :
F lane was 10 deep. No one in J lane...

There is another statused passenger and that is an AFF add on.

A WP pax will generally lose out to an WP+AFF pax.

WP1 and CL are in another class that even an AFF addon cannot surpass.

There's an AFF add-on?

 

[Quickstatus]

There's an AFF add-on?

you have one!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Also not just limited to QF either, although obviously if the airline doesn't have an FF program or doesn't offer perks it doesn't count.

Not uncommon on CX/KA flights to have maybe 20-30% (or more) of pax with some sort of FF benefit such as priority boarding.

 

[Quickstatus]

The assumption with priority boarding is that few are priority and most are the great unwashed. With some flights showing significant PB eligibilities, it can be easy to misconstrue a long PB line as a failure to enforce the lane eligibility especially with an en-masse arrival at the gate from the lounges.

 

[JohnK]

Ex QF CSM told me last year her record was 5CL, 13WP1, and 52WP on a SYDMEL Monday am.

She said she doesn't care about counting SG as it does not make the grade...

I remember around 9-10 years ago as a Gold I was the highest status passenger on a SYD-HBA flight. How times have changed.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The assumption with priority boarding is that few are priority and most are the great unwashed. With some flights showing significant PB eligibilities, it can be easy to misconstrue a long PB line as a failure to enforce the lane eligibility especially with an en-masse arrival at the gate from the lounges.

CX manages this pretty well - they do a passport check while waiting for the gate to open. Those not eligible for PB get set to the appropriate queue.