Priority boarding on QF domestic - what is the story?

[ozbeachbabe]

Now if only I could make Velocity Gold again, so I could take advantage of said PB

If you can get a status match to EY Gold (or any other VA partner airline) then you are eligible to use the VA PB lane.

 

[BadgerBoi]

fail last night on QF549

We approached the line half way through boarding, a couple in the general line saw that they could get through faster in priority so they ducked under the rope to join the short line just ahead of us. Then from behind us "excuse me, I'm with them, we are several"as one of their friends shoves past us - I respond with "well, so are we" which was met with a sheepish grin, then another "I have to be with them, I've got the boarding passes", eventually this group turned into six people. It wasn't possible to physically block any of them as they passed so we just had to suck it up.

Much confusion and farting around with boarding passes as they reached the agent, who greeted them merrily with a sort of "no problems, take your time" look and much happy banter, and I last observed them merrily barging their way down the aisle towards the back of the plane.

(others from the general line took the hint from this lot and started ducking into the PB line following us)

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

If you can get a status match to EY Gold (or any other VA partner airline) then you are eligible to use the VA PB lane.

My EY status match just came through - all in all only took about a week, and the only notification I got was a statement saying I'm Gold

 

[ozbeachbabe]

My EY status match just came through - all in all only took about a week, and the only notification I got was a statement saying I'm Gold

IIRC the kits take about 8 weeks to arrive.

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

IIRC the kits take about 8 weeks to arrive.

About in line with my TK status match

 

[chooms]

Canberra is not one of the ports where QF purports to offer priority boarding.

Flew out of CBR this morning... noticed this little sign on the left side scanner (both sides were in use).

Just a single file line up in between the two scanners... no PB whatsoever.

 

[QF WP]

No use having it there -it's too late to change lines by that stage. Plus most would have access to the Bus/Plat lane anyway

 

[vertisol]

Problem in Canberra is they use the handheld scanner on the left lane so you must have a printed boarding pass, not just your FF card apparently.

 

[wingspan]

No use having it there -it's too late to change lines by that stage. Plus most would have access to the Bus/Plat lane anyway

I think this has been mentioned often throughout this thread but given that you'd need access to the J lounge or CL to access Bus/Plat lane in CBR, most people do not actually have this. While there are several (although I still wouldn't say an inordinate number of) CBR pax with access to QC, there are not that many who would be eligible to use the Bus/Plat lane.

 

[QF WP]

I think this has been mentioned often throughout this thread but given that you'd need access to the J lounge or CL to access Bus/Plat lane in CBR, most people do not actually have this. While there are several (although I still wouldn't say an inordinate number of) CBR pax with access to QC, there are not that many who would be eligible to use the Bus/Plat lane.

I'd have thoughts that all the Politicians, various bureaucrats, numerous defence force and their service industry execs, plus lobbyists and normal business folk would have made a large proportion (certainly greater than 50%) of most early AM (and after 5pm) departures - certainly back to the exit rows.

So I can report accurately, I think I'll try out CBR's Premium boarding next week (as I have a day trip booked) so I can report my personal findings...it's been a while since I've been there and I have some points to use for an upgrade

 

[chooms]

Problem in Canberra is they use the handheld scanner on the left lane so you must have a printed boarding pass, not just your FF card apparently.

Correct. I handed my card to the left hand portable scanner and was asked to move to the right hand fixed scanner (with printer attached).

 

[mrpooky]

On my regular BNE <-> PER flights PB seems to have been working much better over the past six months than in the couple of years before that. I've still never seen anyone turned away, but the lane is at least mostly empty most of the time, even when the normal boarding lane is long and snakey.

It's still mostly SGs in Y that shouldn't be using PB, but do anyway, and the FAs at the scanners keep on letting 'em through.

mrpooky.

 

[Kefci2000]

Almost always works well in Sydney where most do the right thing.

Although my mate who is only SG always uses the priority line and has never been warned let alone turned away!

 

[Lowjhg]

QF35 6th September - whY pax formed a wrong queue on the other side, causing an intersection into the premium queue. On hindsight, the actual whY queue was very very short.

 

[defurax]

QF35 6th September - whY pax formed a wrong queue on the other side, causing an intersection into the premium queue. On hindsight, the actual whY queue was very very short.

I hope we won't need to start a thread about failure of PB for international flights! This is the only PB QF seems to get right

 

[Lowjhg]

I hope we won't need to start a thread about failure of PB for international flights! This is the only PB QF seems to get right

thats whY I posted it here instead!

 

[Mr_Orange]

I hope we won't need to start a thread about failure of PB for international flights! This is the only PB QF seems to get right

That is possibly because more pax are entitled to PB on QFi. SG and above plus PE and above as opposed to WP and above and J for QFd.

 

[DrA]

On my regular BNE <-> PER flights PB seems to have been working much better over the past six months than in the couple of years before that. I've still never seen anyone turned away, but the lane is at least mostly empty most of the time, even when the normal boarding lane is long and snakey.

It's still mostly SGs in Y that shouldn't be using PB, but do anyway, and the FAs at the scanners keep on letting 'em through.

mrpooky.

I honestly don't know what it is about me that seems to scream "not a WP/J flyer", but I've lost count of the number of times I've lined up for PB in PER and had other pax tell me that I should be lined up on the other side of the divider.

 

[nonpop]

8th Sept 14 QF863 OOL > SYD

Worked perfectly. Long general Y line as I exited QF club with 2 mins to boarding. The PB line had 1 pax in it.
I felt like a rock star

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I honestly don't know what it is about me that seems to scream "not a WP/J flyer", but I've lost count of the number of times I've lined up for PB in PER and had other pax tell me that I should be lined up on the other side of the divider.

How do you respond to them?