Priority Boarding led to threats of violence to me from another passenger

[Austman]

I was flying NAN-SYD yesterday in J-class on a Qantas ticket (QF392), operated by Air Pacific (FJ911).

This 09:00 service eventually left at 16:38. But I was informed of the delay (then estimated to be 14:20 departure) by a Qantas SMS the day before.

Most J-class passengers were in the Air Pacific lounge when boarding was announced. I was down the far end of the lounge, so some of the lounge passengers beat me to the gate area, which is an escalator ride upstairs.

It was a pretty full 747 and the gate area was a bit of a mess - with quite long lines. I was in row 1 and wanted to get on board fairly quickly because I knew there were no overhead lockers at row 1. I saw some of the other lounge passengers on the far right hand side of the gate area where there was a sign stating that this lane was a Priority Lane for Tabua Club and Business Class. I made my way over there (the other pax were already through by this time) and told the person I was cutting in front of that I was using the Business Class Priority Lane as per the sign.

A moment later I was tapped on the shoulder by a man behind me, who was holding a child. He announced that he wanted to 'deck' me and was only not going to do so because he was holding the child. He was upset that I had jumped into the line in front of him. I pointed to the sign (now right beside me) and showed him my Business Class BP. He repeat his threat to use violence against me several more times and insisted he had more priority than me (because of the child). At this point a lady, who I assumed was his partner, then accused me of pushing in front of her too, without saying anything. She also claimed to be pregnant.

I told the man to stop making violent threats or I would report him and he might not be flying. A minute later I was at the gate and did exactly that. The man then suddenly changed his attitude and claimed that he had never made any threats of violence at all. The lady backed him up. The Gate Agent asked what I wanted to do and I decided to leave it - the flight was late enough already and everyone was having a bit of a bad travel day.

On board, all the other passengers in row 1 were already seated. I discussed the incident with them and then considered that the man might cause me further problems in Sydney. So I decided to chat to the Air Pacific Airport Services Manager on board. We did a tour of the aircraft but I couldn't see the man or the lady. It was a bit hard to do as passengers were still boarding.

The Air Pacific Airport Services Manager suggested I report the incident in an email.

It was a first for me - I use Priority Boarding, which is a publicised and even a sign-posted benefit, only to have violent threats made against me! Even if I wasn't entitled to cut in, threatening to 'deck' another passenger is a bit much.

Air Pacific could also police the Priority Lane better - there was no-one doing that.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Holy Toledo that's out of control particularly as you showed him your business class boarding pass as well as showing him the sign that indicated the lane you were using was for business class. I hope you do make a complaint asap to the Police because threats of violence are just not acceptable whether at an airport or not.

FJ could always find out from the passenger list how many couples were travelling with children or infants so they would be able to shortlist possible offenders then narrow it down further as Fijian names are quite distinctive & could be omitted from the list. I am assuming that they were an Australian family.

There would have been video surveillance at SYD Intl which would capture footage of all passengers disembarking the aircraft NAN/SYD flight but I'm not sure when making a complaint whether AFP or whoever owns the video rights would allow you to access that for the purpose of identifying the culprit.

The airline would know what seat numbers everyone was sitting in so logically the family who had seats closest to the front would be more likely to be disembarking first so it would be reasonable to assume the first family sighted in surveillance footage would have been the ones who had the most forward seats.

 

[reductionist]

Sorry to say it, but this was a great read.

I'm glad to hear that it didn't escalate into anything further.

What a knob.

 

[browski]

It is always worth remembering that Status is illusionary. You can have all the cards, rules and signs you like, but essentially you are pushing ahead of someone else. Of course, he is annoyed.
Can you imagine in court, if you used as a defence, "I pushed in because I have Priority Boarding status!" Everyone would think you were a tool.

It is the same as Economy passengers being made to wait behind the Business Class curtain whilst the J passengers disembark. This is observed as a courtesy to the airline by the economy passengers, but anybody outside of that bubble would just walk through the curtains and ignore the hostesses - it is not exactly a safety issue.

 

[drewbles]

It is always worth remembering that Status is illusionary. You can have all the cards, rules and signs you like, but essentially you are pushing ahead of someone else. Of course, he is annoyed.
Can you imagine in court, if you used as a defence, "I pushed in because I have Priority Boarding status!" Everyone would think you were a tool.

It is the same as Economy passengers being made to wait behind the Business Class curtain whilst the J passengers disembark. There is observed as a courtesy to the airline by the economy passengers, but anybody outside of that bubble would just walk through the curtains and ignore the hostesses - it is not exactly a safety issue.

I'd hardly say the OP pushed anywhere. He was looking for the Priority Boarding sign/lane/queue, and found it be obstructed. Looks like he just wanted to go to a place he was entitled to go to, which was being blocked by people who were ineligible to use said place, and were blocking its entrance.

I've seen many a scoff and a 'damn you' look as i've breezed past long queues for Priority AAccess, but that takes the cake.

This is not status, this is a purchased entitlement. When flying J, part of the ticket conditions entitles you to use the J boarding facilities. Simple really.

 

[Pushka]

It is always worth remembering that Status is illusionary. You can have all the cards, rules and signs you like, but essentially you are pushing ahead of someone else. Of course, he is annoyed.
Can you imagine in court, if you used as a defence, "I pushed in because I have Priority Boarding status!" Everyone would think you were a tool.

It is the same as Economy passengers being made to wait behind the Business Class curtain whilst the J passengers disembark. This is observed as a courtesy to the airline by the economy passengers, but anybody outside of that bubble would just walk through the curtains and ignore the hostesses - it is not exactly a safety issue.

The original poster does not have to defend himself (if this had gone to court) because he didn't do anything wrong. He wouldn't be on trial, he does not have to offer any explanation for what he did. He didn't push in, he was simply using the correct entry point for his particular ticket. It isn't a courtesy at all, it is stated on the Ticket Purchase. The other guy was the one making threats and so it is up to him to "defend" what he did.

And if economy people are pushing past the FA who is standing there, then it most certainly is a safety issue.

 

[kpc]

I had a similar problem (but not as confrontational) at Nan, travelling J class on FJ. I was asked by security (after having my J BP inspected) to jump to the head of the Q for the solitary Xray machine. I was rather hesitant and reluctant but was urged again by security. I then reluctantly did so and then had great difficulty getting into the Q again just ahead of the Xray machine; When I finally did, I was yelled at by a pax behind, and rudely told to get back to the end of the Q. The tone was very threatening, and I just shot back that I was asked to do so by secuirty as I was travelling J class, and if he had a problem with it, he could discuss it with the security officer!! Didn't make a pleasant start to the journey....

 

[Austman]

It is always worth remembering that Status is illusionary. You can have all the cards, rules and signs you like, but essentially you are pushing ahead of someone else.

True. But if I read the sign right, the boarding lane was only for Tabua Club/Business Class passengers. There were separate lanes at check-in, security and migration too. They seemed to work better there.

It was all the non Tabua Club/Business Class passengers who were in the wrong lane that caused the problem. And there was no-one there to police it. I should not have had to push in. But with just 2 or 3 gate agents working, there's really no other option - passengers would pick any lane.

Threatening violence is never going to be a good defence either.

 

[tuapekastar]

It was a pretty full 747 and the gate area was a bit of a mess - with quite long lines. I was in row 1 and wanted to get on board fairly quickly because I knew there were no overhead lockers at row 1. I saw some of the other lounge passengers on the far right hand side of the gate area where there was a sign stating that this lane was a Priority Lane for Tabua Club and Business Class. I made my way over there (the other pax were already through by this time) and told the person I was cutting in front of that I was using the Business Class Priority Lane as per the sign.

I'm quite sure you were doing the right thing but who were you 'cutting in front of', and why did you need to if there was a separate lane? Was he/she in the wrong lane, or did the lanes just merge into one at a single GA's station, forcing you to cut into the front of the Y line? Just trying to understand the situation.

 

[Austman]

I'm quite sure you were doing the right thing but who were you 'cutting in front of', and why did you need to if there was a separate lane? Was he/she in the wrong lane, or did the lanes just merge into one at a single GA's station, forcing you to cut into the front of the Y line? Just trying to understand the situation.

There were 2 or 3 Gate Agents working with 2 or 3 long lines. On the right hand side of the 'mess' there was the sign that said 'Priority Lane for Tabua Club and Tabua (Business) Class' or words similar. I saw other pax from the business lounge use it, by cutting in, so I followed their example. The lane was full of Y-class passengers.

 

[Pushka]

After that length of delay I guess people just wanted to get on board and get it over with. No need for violent threats at all, well, perhaps a little grumble until you showed them your BP, but after that they should have just left it alone.

 

[tuapekastar]

There were 2 or 3 Gate Agents working with 2 or 3 long lines. On the right hand side of the 'mess' there was the sign that said 'Priority Lane for Tabua Club and Tabua (Business) Class' or words similar. I saw other pax from the business lounge use it, by cutting in, so I followed their example. The lane was full of Y-class passengers.

Ah, gotcha! Sounds like the twerp threatening you was in the wrong lane anyway...airlines really do need to work out how to police priority boarding lanes without tying up too many resources doing it. After all, if they are offering it, they should do it properly and take it seriously.

 

[Austman]

Am a bit confused about the "pushing in" bit.
Why did the OP have to "push in" - was the angry man in the Priority Boarding line at the gate? And if so, how did the OP know that the man was not a priority pax?

Yes - he and about 50 others were in the priority lane. And of course he and the 50 others could have all been Tabua Club/Business Class passengers. But considering there was a 6.5 hour flight delay and no-one I could see in the line had been in the Tabua lounge (there were about 25 people there), I was fairly sure that no-one in the line was eligible. Anyway I announced I was cutting in because I was in Business Class and no-one said they were too! And the man concerned was not Tabua Club/Business Class.

 

[busissi]

It's quite usual to have difficulty in trying to get into the Priority queue. It's ok if there is a group from the lounge but for those who can no longer sprint the distance it can be quite intimidating trying to get into the correct line, BP or not. I've paid the extra fare simply because I want to be looked after. It's not a 'courtesy' letting Business out of the aircraft before economy it's a right.

 

[rockyroad]

Yes - he and about 50 others were in the priority lane. And of course he and the 50 others could have all been Tabua Club/Business Class passengers. But considering there was a 6.5 hour flight delay and no-one I could see in the line had been in the Tabua lounge (there were about 25 people there), I was fairly sure that no-one in the line was eligible. Anyway I announced I was cutting in because I was in Business Class and no-one said they were too! And the man concerned was not Tabua Club/Business Class.

You said the guy was holding a young child and his wife was pregnant? I have no issues with them getting on the aircraft before me as they normally do have first boarding rights. When I travelled with young ankle bitter children and / or a pregnant wife, we always boarded first.

 

[medhead]

Well I guess you need "the look" to pull this off. But you could have tried "ok put the child down then." Little risk the guy would call your bluff since he has already used his child excuse for being a whimp.

 

[VHOEJ]

Thanks for sharing your story - it is amazing the behaviour from some people at the boarding gates. But the bigger issue is the lack of staff policing things.

 

[Pushka]

People traveling with children board first, but in the general boarding queue. They do not line up in the Business class queue to get on board quickly. Mind you, most of the passengers would have children from Fiji. And I gathered the woman was not obviously pregnant if the OP had to be told she was. Poor kids, nothing like abusive threatening parents.

 

[simongr]

It is always worth remembering that Status is illusionary. You can have all the cards, rules and signs you like, but essentially you are pushing ahead of someone else. Of course, he is annoyed.
Can you imagine in court, if you used as a defence, "I pushed in because I have Priority Boarding status!" Everyone would think you were a tool.

It is the same as Economy passengers being made to wait behind the Business Class curtain whilst the J passengers disembark. This is observed as a courtesy to the airline by the economy passengers, but anybody outside of that bubble would just walk through the curtains and ignore the hostesses - it is not exactly a safety issue.

What absolute and total cough. The airlines provide specific benefits for both status and class of travel. By your rationale people should be allowed to sit where they like despite the fare paid.

I would be more than happy to stand up in court and say "I pushed in but the ****wit punched me - who is in the wrong here?" If people looked at me for being a tool for pushing in but didn't look at him then I would question whether I want to be part of their society.

I actually find your comment quite disgraceful and I am stunned that someone who posts usually intelligent posts (with which I generally disagree but am not offended by) would post in defence of thuggery.

You said the guy was holding a young child and his wife was pregnant? I have no issues with them getting on the aircraft before me as they normally do have first boarding rights. When I travelled with young ankle bitter children and / or a pregnant wife, we always boarded first.

Actually they are allowed to board early ahead of everyone else generally (in fact before J/F pax on occasion) rather than use priority queues. If it was so important to him he should have actually boarded early and maybe berated the 50+ people who decided to ignore the boarding calls.

Thanks for sharing your story - it is amazing the behaviour from some people at the boarding gates. But the bigger issue is the lack of staff policing things.

This! 100% this! I don't want to have to be abused for the airlines inability to provide the benefits that they promise!

Frankly I wish you had been able to pursue this further - people who threaten physical abuse are little different to people who commit physical abuse and should be punished accordingly (i.e. commensurate to their actual act rather than saying they should be punished as if they had actually committed physical abuse - just to head off the pedants).

 

[muppet]

Hi everyone

Firstly, physical threats are TOTALLY unacceptable and the pax should have been denied boarding. People like that are absolute scum and believe that they can get their way with threats. Makes me sick.

However, secondly, we are promised many a thing by airlines. Many of which are never delivered. One is priority boarding. It's rarely delivered on QF domestic and in your case, and from others suggestion outside of this post, by FJ. I would never go to the front of the queue on a CBR to MEL flight, despite the alleged benefit, because I think it's rude and at the end of the day, it ain't that big of a deal.

To the OP, I definately believe you were entitled to board ahead of, and at your conveinience. However, I think once an airline has not delivered a benefit of this nature (one that creates a class distinction and puts you above someone) it's best to take that up with the airline rather than the other pax.

Not everyone get's the arrangement because they'd never be in the position, and I personally don't expect them to know my benefits. That's the airline's responsibility. If they haven't done it.... it gets hairy if you do.

That said. I'm really sorry that it happened, and I in NO way excuse the threats and you are not responsible for those treats in any way and I expect pax like that to be removed.