Priority boarding on QF domestic - what is the story?

[Danger]

Wait, am I understanding this right?

The staff have been told not to open the priority boarding lane for QF flights on 737 aircraft?

I feel another footnote to the website coming on!

 

[LiamR]

I know people have already said "DJ manage fine with one F/A", however do they also have a second pair of hands in the form of ground staff (hard to tell the diff as they all wear the same uniform) or is there only a sole DJ F/A at the gate with no assistance from ground staff?

Is that my queue to chime in?

0 FAs on Virgin do boarding. It's all ground staff.

OOL have two staff scanning BPs
SYD and other major airports have one staff scanning BPs with usually a few other staff standing at the service desk so the ground crew scanning BPs can direct pax to them should there be a problem.

Keep in mind Virgin usually board via L1 and L2 doors so you don't get the bottleneck you tend to get if you have two staff scanning BPs and one door.*

*That is until Mr clueless pax in row 5 boards via the rear door and clogs up the whole cabin.

to be honest red roo... there are probably a half dozen members on this site who have travelled extensively (serfty mentions AA priority access, others can describe how it is done on CX/KA) who could provide a workable solution in about 10 minutes. not only to this but to many other issues. sometimes it might be worth tapping into those resources

+1 to that.

I'm more than happy to go up to BNE, or take a trip to Sydney to explain how it can be done correctly. Another Australian Airline has been doing that lately

 

[LiamR]

Exactly. Tell them to go down to the Virgin terminal and watch how it's done with one staff member on every single flight! (I know Liam said it was a mess yesterday but I've got to say that is very rare - I've seen PB work almost perfectly on every VA flight I've taken except for one since it was introduced - even in Adelaide with no lines they actually made a call in the lounge early enough to give us time to priority board first before the general call!)


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

+1 to everything you've said there. Although, I can't imagine Qantas would be willing to go visit the Virgin terminal.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Boarded a 737-400 today that did have PB. Not policed though - dude infront was bronze in economy.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Wait, am I understanding this right?

The staff have been told not to open the priority boarding lane for QF flights on 737 aircraft?

Not 737-800's, only on 737-400's to/from any destination (except CBR) when only one F/A's comes up to board eg MEL/ADL, BNE/MEL etc.

Sounds like DJ are more generous with the amount of staff they have on duty at the boarding gates ie they don't make do with one like QF which may be manageable until you have to deal with multiple oversize cabin baggage knocked back at the gate & fail to board pax.

You can't chase two rabbits!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

sometimes I think the ONLY aspect qantas wants to be 'world's-best' is their labour relations and getting new work contracts in place. in that field they seem to be able to move pretty quickly and decisively. they seem to be able to study best practice around the world and how other airlines handle things without too much delay.

shame they can't apply the same vigor to the rest of the issues they face...

 

[dfcatch]

Hi all,

It’s great to hear that some of you have been able to enjoy access to our new domestic premium boarding lanes, now available in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Thanks for all your feedback - as you can appreciate, departure gate layouts vary across and within each port, so please bear with us as we continue to fine tune and bed down the new boarding procedure.

At this stage we are working through the right solution for our Boeing 737-400 aircraft and hope to have it in place as soon as possible. We apologise for any confusion this may have caused and I should have an update for you soon.

Cheers,
Red Roo

IMHO you really need two F/A's these days as if there is someone with an oversize bag too big for carry on they need to get ground staff to come & deal with it which sometimes involves making a phone call if they're not right at the gate (eg BNE Domestic terminal satellite gates 16-21) otherwise boarding will come to a screetching halt.

The reason for more people taking extra hand luggage to begin with is PS & QP members only being allowed one free bag to checkin which was effective 01 June 2011.

Red Roo - thanks for engaging and taking on the feedback.

BUT - as others have noted - it's not difficult, it's not rocket science, and DJ and AA manage perfectly fine with 1 boarding agent on single door aircraft performing Priority Boarding.

I mean really - it sounds like the government........ Maybe you need to setup a committee to look at it, commission some expensive market research company, perhaps get an academic to write a White Paper or two on it......

I don't mean to be rude - but as has been noted - this can be solved in 10 minutes by the right executive issuing the appropriate memo. It's not necessary to reinvent the wheel here - copy AA - they've been doing it right for years.


Ozbeachbabe - as always, your input is priceless. But I must beg to differ with you on this one.

Your point regarding a second staff member to deal with problems is a good point - but it is irrelevant in regards to Priority Boarding.

Even with no PB, a single lane being managed by a single agent - still comes to a halt in the event of the problems you outline. It matters not whether that agent is managing one or two lines.

And yes - as a non-airline person - I couldn't care less whether the Qantas uniformed person is an FA, Ground Staff, Lounge Attendant or otherwise. I just see them as the Gate Agent (my term).

And as far as excess baggage goes - under the old (old) system - where NB could take 1 x 32kg bag....... do you think the cabin baggage problems existed then too (I know you have said that most people got away with 2 checked bags).

IMHO - cabin baggage excesses became a problem when airlines started charging for checked baggage. My experience with AA before and after baggage charges certainly matches my opinion.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

IMHO - cabin baggage excesses became a problem when airlines started charging for checked baggage. My experience with AA before and after baggage charges certainly matches my opinion.

True, however cabin baggage has also increased due to what used to be allowed as checked luggage now costing $30.00. Under the weight system multiple pieces were allowed up to 23 kg (NB & no status) or 33 kg (PS & QP).

What used to be allowed up until 31 May eg 1x13 kg tool bag & 1x10kg suitcase of clothes suddenly cost $30.00 the next day so you'd hear on numerous occasions "I've been flying QF for 20 years with the same amount of luggage and this is the first time in my life I've had to pay excess baggage."

So the end result is the tool bag gets checked in & the other bag gets taken on board as carry on. It's not unusual for the last pax to step on board an aircraft & it will still be at least 5 minutes before everyone has found a place for all their carry on & the a/c door can be closed. This often results in delays which go down to the cabin crew when it should go down to corporate policy.

You've only got to look at what happens in the US to see where Australia's heading. I flew AS SFO/SEA on the 737-800 where boarding started at 45 minutes prior to departure however it was still late departing due to no room in the cabin for peoples' carry on luggage resulting in these bags having to go 'valet' where they take it at the gate or a/c door by ground staff & put underneath.

 

[dfcatch]

Agree with everything you just said

It just reinforces that some of us value Priority Boarding for this very reason.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Regardless of whether you use it or not, the Priority boarding should *be available* if its a stated priviliage of airline status.

 

[simongr]

Regardless of whether you use it or not, the Priority boarding should *be available* if its a stated priviliage of airline status.

I heartily endorse this - maybe we should raise it with them...

 

[straitman]

Virgin did a great job with one person managing both lines in MEL today.

It was the idiots who could not work out whether to use the front or back doors that buggered the system up:!:

 

[nonpop]

Pardon my ignorance, but do SGs also get access to PB Dom & Int ?
I have a fear that one day I may fall back from the lofty heights of WP and will need to know 'the rules'.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Pardon my ignorance, but do SGs also get access to PB Dom & Int ?
I have a fear that one day I may fall back from the lofty heights of WP and will need to know 'the rules'.

nope - its only a Platinum 1 and platinum benefit (and biz class + CL)

International get SG priority boarding.

 

[Timba-Jet]

Judging by recent post, we are starting to loose patience.

Agree with the sentiment. If QF are finding if do hard to get it right just clone what VA or AA do.

 

[samiam]

Better patience than bowls.

 

[dfcatch]

EPIC Priority Boarding fail in BNE tonight for my CNS flight.

Despite:

1/ 2 scanners and 2 gate agents.

2/ Boarding announcement inviting Business, Platinum, Gold, Emerald and Sapphire to board at anytime, followed by all the scrum immediately filling and boarding both lanes.

Photos taken and emails for Red Roo and Customer Care will be sent later.

 

[straitman]

EPIC Priority Boarding fail in BNE tonight for my CNS flight.

Despite:

1/ 2 scanners and 2 gate agents.

2/ Boarding announcement inviting Business, Platinum, Gold, Emerald and Sapphire to board at anytime, followed by all the scrum immediately filling and boarding both lanes.

Photos taken and emails for Red Roo and Customer Care will be sent later.

Conversely it worked perfectly at gate 22 this morning for my 0955 flight to MEL.

 

[dfcatch]

Conversely it worked perfectly at gate 22 this morning for my 0955 flight to MEL.

Exactly why there is no excuse for this inconsistency!

This was gate 21.

 

[crum]

QF553 tonight in BNE @ gate 22 before dfcatch's flight (btw who I managed to meet in the BNE J lounge)...priority boarding worked a charm. The masses lined up in the left hand lane and the PB lane was clear. Went with my family through the PB lane with no hassles whatsoever. They had two gate agents scanning the BPs with the person on the priority lane also scanning the BPs of those in the left lane. When we arrived in the PB lane she immediately switched her attention to us and got us through. Wonder why there was such an inconsistency between gates?