Priority boarding on QF domestic - what is the story?

[OverrideServlet]

I think asking for a separate queue is a little rich though as it will slow the boarding process down and I would rather have the aircraft board quickly than a few egos stroked.

I kind of understand this point of view.

The thing is that other airlines can do it (well), and there seems to be few reasons other than either a) laziness, or b) poor implementation; behind why QF can't do it well too.

I don't think it's necessarily about ego - it's just about having the expectation that QF should deliver on the benefits they promise.

 

[Ontime]

If all Platinums simply walked to the front of the line and insisted on receiving the benefits published then Qantas would take action. Unrealistic I know and many members would feel embarrassed doing this but it must happen at times.

Anyone seen this

 

[simongr]

There are separate lines for int'l so I am not sure what the problem is for domestic. Also on pretty much every flight I am on there are two crew and essentially two lanes already.

 

[OverrideServlet]

If all Platinums simply walked to the front of the line and insisted on receiving the benefits published then Qantas would take action. Unrealistic I know and many members would feel embarrassed doing this but it must happen at times.

Anyone seen this

Don't know how I feel about this. I don't think the onus should be on the customer to implement a policy/procedure promised by a business, particularly an airline.

 

[BVT]

If all Platinums simply walked to the front of the line and insisted on receiving the benefits published then Qantas would take action. Unrealistic I know and many members would feel embarrassed doing this but it must happen at times.

Anyone seen this

"My friend" regularly does this when travelling *class and there is no priority boarding queue!

 

[ozmille]

The cabin crew won't let Y's use the J class overhead lockers so there is always space.

Noticed yesterday that some whY pax were putting their hand luggage in J and nobody said anything.

 

[OverrideServlet]

Noticed yesterday that some whY pax were putting their hand luggage in J and nobody said anything.

I can't express how much this aggravates me.

 

[Groundfeeder]

I general consensus is if QF is going to publish priority as a benefit, it should be done properly.

Did anyone mention how (published) priority baggage has been working all these years?:evil:

 

[TonyHancock]

Did anyone mention how (published) priority baggage has been working all these years?:evil:

I've made it work for me! I no longer check baggage!!!!!! Another example of the customer helping to implement a published benefit.

 

[pshepvic]

So while it may well be inconsistent there is priority boarding for domestic flights for those that want it. I think asking for a separate queue is a little rich though as it will slow the boarding process down and I would rather have the aircraft board quickly than a few egos stroked.

It doesn't slow the process down in the US. The Priority AAccess lanes that AA use have worked perfectly every time I've used them.

When they call boarding, they do a priority call first, then a general call once the initial priority rush is finished. But if you get there later you can still use the Priority AAccess lane, and they will pause boarding on the regular queue and scan your BP. It doesn't slow anything down.

The other good thing that AA do on a lot of flights is call by the seating zone, so that pax at the back of the a/c are boarded first, through to the front, which definitely reduces conjestion on board.

 

[Stephen65]

I can't say I have ever encountered the situation of being in say the last row of J and finding some Y hand luggage up there but if I did I would draw it to the cabin crew's attention. I don't recall every being unable to find overhead locker space within a reasonable distance of a J seat. Priority baggage also seems to work pretty well for me.

Qantas should certainly do a first call when boarding for priority passengers and special cases like the elderly or women with babies. However, whether its practical to then keep open two separate queues, one for priority boarding customers who turn up after the first call and one for everyone else, is a different question especially if you only have one or two staff doing the boarding. Also to me its one thing to be allowed to called to board first, but quite another to turn up during boarding and walk to the front of a huge Y queue that is being processed and ask to be allowed to board ahead of them. Maybe its the ingrained Australian respect for queues or egalitarianism but I would feel a little uncomfortable about exercising this right.

 

[TonyHancock]

It doesn't slow the process down in the US. The Priority AAccess lanes that AA use have worked perfectly every time I've used them.

I found it worked pretty well on my last two US trips. I saw AA gate staff enforce it too.

 

[ozmille]

Qantas should certainly do a first call when boarding for priority passengers and special cases like the elderly or women with babies. However, whether its practical to then keep open two separate queues, one for priority boarding customers who turn up after the first call and one for everyone else, is a different question especially if you only have one or two staff doing the boarding. Also to me its one thing to be allowed to called to board first, but quite another to turn up during boarding and walk to the front of a huge Y queue that is being processed and ask to be allowed to board ahead of them. Maybe its the ingrained Australian respect for queues or egalitarianism but I would feel a little uncomfortable about exercising this right.

When flying DJ priority boarding works just fine. They do a call and as Gold I just walk to the front of the queue and that is it. On QF it does not work at all.

 

[Jobu]

Shortly QF will some how be watching this more closely, the carry-on baggage and excess carry-on baggage.

Yes please do this, but please please look to relax the 7kg weight limit per piece if you can, at least consider a higher weight limit for better travel class and/or higher FF status. 10kg would be much more convenient.

An empty rollaboard can easily way 5kg and I find some staff (in particular contractor staff) are sometimes "ruthless" about enforcing this weight limit in some airports. I have had to, more than once, check in my 8kg suit bag and transfer 1kg from my 8kg laptop back to my suit bag), which is fair enough given the current rules, but rather inconvenient.

Cheers

 

[Jobu]

No sign of a priority boarding lane and a few pissed looking J passengers trying to decide whether they should just walk up to the front of the line.

Have to admit I've seen many pax just bypass the line and cut in front when there has been no priority boarding, but I just find this quite embarrassing and could never do it.

One thing I will say is that Qantas boarding is generally very fast compared to other airlines.

 

[dajop]

One thing I will say is that Qantas boarding is generally very fast compared to other airlines.

I think this is an important observation. How long does a typical QF 737 take to board these days (from start to finish)? In the LOTFAP it seems that even 130 seat planes take a good 25 mins to board, due to the kitchen sink factor.

 

[OverrideServlet]

In the LOTFAP it seems that even 130 seat planes take a good 25 mins to board, due to the kitchen sink factor.

This is an important observation.

The sometimes excessive boarding times in the US have little to do with priority boarding and a lot to do with passengers mucking around with cabin baggage.

My last few flights on American Airlines were full and the FAs strictly enforced weight and size restrictions for cabin baggage. This sped up boarding quite a bit.

 

[DC3]

I found it worked pretty well on my last two US trips. I saw AA gate staff enforce it too.

Agreed. AA do this very well. Also, 2 lines slows nothing down at all from what I've seen. Qantas hasn't come to grips with this yet.

 

[dajop]

Agreed. AA do this very well. Also, 2 lines slows nothing down at all from what I've seen. Qantas hasn't come to grips with this yet.

When I last travelled AA, midway during boarding I too walked up to the priority queue and skipped the queue of about 10-15 people to the right. It made me feel all good and fuzzy, and superficially it worked well.

But if you're not it in the first boarding group, really the hold up is not at the BP scanners at all, its in the airbridge, and it still took at least 10 mins to board from the point my BP was scanned. I may have saved a few minutes of standing in the plane waiting for someone to fit a square peg into a round hole (vs sitting in cramped seat!). This is not uncommon, so I usually find that in the US I check luggage (unless have tight connections) and travel with minimal carry on then board after everyone else (like I do in AUS, SIN and most other places ..).

So in general I find priority boarding works exceptionally well when there are two airbridges, with only one, it works well to start boarding but after that it seems to be of marginal value. Especially, like on a lot of QF peak services half the flight has some sort of status anyway! DJ probably is OK as they have a much lower proportion of Golds!

 

[JohnK]

I don't think it's necessarily about ego - it's just about having the expectation that QF should deliver on the benefits they promise.

I know it is a QF benefit but I am thinkng if implemented to satisfy a few then it will totally screw things for the majority including me who has it as a benefit but does not need it.

And yes I am being selfish again.

There are separate lines for int'l so I am not sure what the problem is for domestic. Also on pretty much every flight I am on there are two crew and essentially two lanes already.

Some people are not satisfied with priority boarding called first for 2-3 minutes but they want to have priority boarding throughout the boarding process. In SYD and BNE this would almost be impossible unless you had 2 aerobridges at every gate to cater for the 2 lines.

So unless there are drastic changes in equipment I would rather the current system where flights attempt to get away on time. Try boarding a 767 or A330 with 220 passengers on board and only 30 of them access to priority boarding. It makes no sense to have a dedicated priority queue. If they have a dedicated prority queue then it will take longer to board so boarding would be called earlier which means that check-in also closes earlier. I do not want either of these options.

If the aerobridge is backed up to the gate how does priority boarding work? Push through everyone? As more people want to have carry-on only the more the aerobridges back up.

It doesn't slow the process down in the US. The Priority AAccess lanes that AA use have worked perfectly every time I've used them.

Doesn't the boarding process take longer in the USA?