Priority boarding on QF domestic - what is the story?

[trippin_the_rift]

Slightly OT but are Silver members able to use priority check-in lane along with business, Platinum and Gold and QC members?

Silver and Qantas Club do not have access to priority boarding for domestic travel.
You need to be Gold or higher or travelling in business class to use priority lane.

 

[Ansett]

Silver and Qantas Club do not have access to priority boarding for domestic travel.
You need to be Gold or higher or travelling in business class to use priority lane.

They were asking about CHECK IN not priority boarding

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

Only one staff member personising the queue eh?
Typical.
Same happened on my trip back from BNE - ADL a few weeks ago, departing BNE 15.30...
2 staff members, chatting, when then come boarding time, one toddles off somewhere, so only 1 staff member left personising the Y pleb side, she was stopping all true Y pax, but blipping J/WP1/WP/SG queue first... (not good).

Umm comparatively speaking I'd call that a success?!?

 

[medhead]

Umm comparatively speaking I'd call that a success?!?

Indeed. Priority queue first is a win with Qantas.

 

[Hvr]

Today I've flown MEL-SYD-BKK and frankly Qantas should abandon any pretense of even having a line marked priority.

For MEL-SYD the priority line was longer than the regular line, I gambled and stayed in the priority line and was eventually boarded ahead of a couple of people in the regular line. Why oh why Qantas do you board people from the regular line ahead of people in the priority line?

For the SYD-BKK line there was a problem with a pax and the priority line stopped but the regular line kept getting processed, This is when the regular line should be stopped and priority pax boarding continued ignoring the view that as per my comment above priority boarding should be done ahead of regular boarding rather than in conjunction with priority boarding.


Back to the priority line and the pax ahead of me walked over to the regular line (two steps) and the person looked up and started on the priority line.

Both flights were fine despite the MEL-SYD flight leaving >one hour late because of a valve problem in the oxygen flow to the first officer. No complaints, safety first, second etc.

Missed my time in the F lounge but no biggie. Got the coloured shape on my BP due to the late arrival into SYD and it was even faster than the Express pass usually is, interesting to see that the line dragons at Border control know what it means and push people through, great customer service.

For the record I am a WP and flew in J.

 

[katiebell]

Today I've flown MEL-SYD-BKK and frankly Qantas should abandon any pretense of even having a line marked priority.

For MEL-SYD the priority line was longer than the regular line, I gambled and stayed in the priority line and was eventually boarded ahead of a couple of people in the regular line. Why oh why Qantas do you board people from the regular line ahead of people in the priority line?

For the SYD-BKK line there was a problem with a pax and the priority line stopped but the regular line kept getting processed, This is when the regular line should be stopped and priority pax boarding continued ignoring the view that as per my comment above priority boarding should be done ahead of regular boarding rather than in conjunction with priority boarding.

I agree: I cannot understand why the PB queue does not have the option of boarding first (just like the traditional practice on long haul except at DXB where EK rules rule) or at any stage during boarding AND that it keeps boarding using the std queue scanner if there is a problem with a pax in the PB queue.

 

[monoccular]

Personing!! OMG. Took a few takes. You mean manning?? PC extremism.

 

[pagingjoan]

Personing!! OMG. Took a few takes. You mean manning?? PC extremism.

Staffing, perhaps?

 

[madrooster]

Got the coloured shape on my BP due to the late arrival into SYD and it was even faster than the Express pass usually is, interesting to see that the line dragons at Border control know what it means and push people through, great customer service.

Out of curiosity, what's this coloured shape?

 

[Hvr]

And by way of comparison to my previous post on this subject the JQ flight from BKK showed how to do PB. With everybody in the international boarding area (a closed room type of set up) the staff went around and invited parents with young children to board.

Then they held a sign for rows 1-3 (J class) made an announcement and it was very strictly enforced with at least one person turned away whilst I was boarding. They also had other signs with various row numbers so it was well planned.

As mentioned elsewhere in this thread there are numerous airlines around the world which do PB properly. Cannot the relevant Qantas personnel send and email to their fellow OneWorld counterparts and ask how to do PB?

 

[Christoo]

QF775 had one of the worst PB set ups of all time. The queue had broken out into three lines with one feeding the economy lane and TWO feeding the business line and it was full of random people. I don't understand why they can't broadcast reminders with their boarding announcements.
It feels like the gate staff resent priority boarding. I say that based on nothing but impressions, is it a staffing thing? Do they feel too overwhelmed and need an extra person at the gate?

 

[opusman]

As mentioned elsewhere in this thread there are numerous airlines around the world which do PB properly. Cannot the relevant Qantas personnel send and email to their fellow OneWorld counterparts and ask how to do PB?

This is something AA get right (and AS for that matter). Even with only one scanner, the person doing boarding will actually hold their hand up to stop the regular queue coming forward as soon as there is anybody at all in the priority queue, and the regular queue doesn't move again until the priority queue is empty.

QF seem to see it as two completely independent queues, like in a supermarket, and it's just luck of the draw which speed they move at.

 

[TomVexille]

AA have gotten it very right during our trip and UA does a good job at it as well.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

To do PB effectively you need two staff to board right from the start to ensure pax get into the correct lanes otherwise all pax will automatically line up in the lane where the sole staff member is standing whether it be the general side or the PB side.

It doesn't matter what PA's are made, if there is only one staff member at the gate people will not line up in a lane when there is no staff member at the front as they don't know they'll be called over. On flights that operate with only 4 F/A's therefore only one available to do boarding (CASA requirement states 3 cabin crew must remain on board at all times) then you need a dedicated ground staff member to be the other boarder plus another one to oversee the flight departure and be at the desk at the gate.

The person at the desk needs to be there to reprint boarding passes for people that have done OLCI but only have the boarding pass on ipads not a hard copy, to check people in who think they have when they haven't, print boarding passes for pax who checked in by phone but whose phone has either gone flat or they've lost or deleted the link sent to them and do not have their ff card with them (most don't carry it apparently) that could otherwise be used as a boardng pass.

I like the AA method where both F/A's board all zone 1 pax first, then zone 2 etc etc which gives premium pax the opportunity to board before any other groups then they can still board via the premium lane if they arrive after general boarding is underway.

 

[Buzzard]

On a flight last week I patiently and politely waited in the PB queue to be called up by the sole check in person. When she eventually indicated for to come up she told me I should have just pushed in

 

[CaviAck]

On a flight last week I patiently and politely waited in the PB queue to be called up by the sole check in person. When she eventually indicated for to come up she told me I should have just pushed in

At least it wasn't like in MEL when the FA processed the entire general line and then ignored me before I decided to walk up to a "oh, sorry didn't see you there" I was literally 2.5m away in the PB line...

 

[tm.smile]

Flew virgin on the weekend and they just often do it so well. BNE to SYD.

Over the PA passengers told to not move and to listen to all instructions as they come, telling them firmly they would only be able to board when their row was announced.

There were quite a few priority boarders and throughout the boarding, the gate staff kept calling for business/gold/plat and at one stage telling the general queue that had formed to move back and away from their queue, whereby they then processed priority pax from both lines. (Much to the annoyance to a bogan being pushed back, who shouted out what a joke it was).

All with the knowledge you'll get a good talking to and send away if you aren't eligible for PB

 

[blackcat20]

To do PB effectively you need two staff to board right from the start to ensure pax get into the correct lanes otherwise all pax will automatically line up in the lane where the sole staff member is standing whether it be the general side or the PB side.

It doesn't matter what PA's are made, if there is only one staff member at the gate people will not line up in a lane when there is no staff member at the front as they don't know they'll be called over. On flights that operate with only 4 F/A's therefore only one available to do boarding (CASA requirement states 3 cabin crew must remain on board at all times) then you need a dedicated ground staff member to be the other boarder plus another one to oversee the flight departure and be at the desk at the gate.

The person at the desk needs to be there to reprint boarding passes for people that have done OLCI but only have the boarding pass on ipads not a hard copy, to check people in who think they have when they haven't, print boarding passes for pax who checked in by phone but whose phone has either gone flat or they've lost or deleted the link sent to them and do not have their ff card with them (most don't carry it apparently) that could otherwise be used as a boardng pass.

I like the AA method where both F/A's board all zone 1 pax first, then zone 2 etc etc which gives premium pax the opportunity to board before any other groups then they can still board via the premium lane if they arrive after general boarding is underway.

All AA flights we've done in the last two weeks have one agent at the gate, standing on the main cabin side of boarding. If general boarding has started and someone arrives in the PB lane, general boarding is held back while the agent processes he PB customer. If they can do it with one agent then so can QF, they just aren't trying hard enough.

 

[kermatu]

Have had lots of experience with AA and some with EK and BA - agree they get it right. Clear announcements forewarning people of the order, passengers turned away if trying to board ahead of time or through wrong queue. People learn fast not to 'breach' the rules.

QF international seems better - maybe because queues are better signed or actually roped off, and passengers are more used to such things.

I suspect for QF domestic the staff don't want the hassle of turning people away etc. We Aussies are pretty amenable people so if they put a bit of effort for a few months into enforcement and better announcements it would work fine.

 

[blackcat20]

I suspect for QF domestic the staff don't want the hassle of turning people away etc. We Aussies are pretty amenable people so if they put a bit of effort for a few months into enforcement and better announcements it would work fine.

Thats been my thinking too. If they actually gave it a shot I reckon it would start to work.