I just tweeted Qantas and they just said...
"Hi Liam, at this stage we only offer this service for international flights however if anything changes we will let you know!"
What
exactly did you ask them?
Why do I care? Because as a WP, "Boarding at Convenience" is one of my stated benefits. I normally board with an extra jacket, laptop bag and rollie that need to be placed in the overhead bin as I sit in exit row sets. If I do not get on early, then there may be no overhead bin space for my carry on due to QF failing to deliver on my stated benefit.
Remember, it's priority boarding listed as a benefit, not board at convenience, on the QF site.
I don't understand all the complaints here. Qantas Platinmum members are invited to join the boarding queue at any time they like during the boarding process. They can choose to join the queue before boarding has commenced and stand in line waiting, or they can join they queue as soon as boarding commences rather than waiting for their row to be called, or they can wait until the end when there is no queue.
So when the boarind is being managed by rows, the Platinum members don't need to wait until their row is called and can join the end of the boarding line at any time they choose. In my view, boarding at your convenience does not mean jumping the queue, but joining the queue at the time that suits you.
Firstly, as above, the stated QF benefit is priority boarding. Although that's conveniently not defined, I'm firmly of the view that board at convenience, as I've outlined before and do so again below, is not priority boarding.
Surely loyalty programs are about rewarding customers, making whatever it is the business offers easier, more convenient and less of a hassle. Leaving the lounge 30 minutes before a flight commences just so you can be at the front of the queue for a flight isn't rewarding. Priority boarding is a stated benefit and it's not being implemented. Furthermore, boarding by rows is, in my experience, very rare on QF domestic flights. And regardless, even if it was the norm, the benefit of 'priority boarding' surely lends itself to a call being made for those passengers who are entitled to the priority,
before anyone else. Saying 'passengers in rows 15 to 30 and Platinum Frequent Flyers may board now' is inviting half the plane to board, at the same time. If QF is boarding by rows then surely the announcement should be something along the lines of 'We will shortly commence boarding by rows. At this time, those with needs etc. . . . We also invite our Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum members to board at their convenience'.
(Note that 'at their convenience' is fine in this case,
provided Platinums are given the opportunity to board with priority (ie. first). Something like 'QFx is now ready for boarding. Please have your boarding pass . . . Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinums may board at their leisure' is not priority and merely pays lip service to the benefit.)
I'm sure you are right. Well spotted and well explained. The separate boarding lane they we've all been banging on about for the whole thread is obviously valued by at least some elites else this thread wouldn't be as long as it is.
More than that, though, it's about a published benefit not being provided. The anytime access for Platinums was less about the benefit itself than it was about the erosion of a clear delineation between Platinum and Gold. Similarly, priority boarding is very much about a business stating it will give its customers something that it ultimately doesn't.
