Qantas to Introduce Group Boarding and Bag Tracking

[Danger]

Not sure how boarding groups solve the problem. The problem is enforcing whatever policy in place.

Yes, well said. I think Qantas went down this path with the billboard-size priority boarding signs. The issue is enforcement. Will it continue to be?

I got Group 1 on AA LAX-ATL and ATL-LAX in Y for my flights earlier this month (am QF WP).
Concierge Key was Group 0. I think Military were called before Group 1 in both instances.

Ohhh, so military was boarding group 0.5? So American. I wonder what group Concierge Key five-star generals are? Group -1?

 

[RooFlyer]

From the Oz on-line

An overhaul of the Qantas app will also see baggage tracking technology added, to help give passengers’ peace of mind that their luggage is travelling with them on their journey.

The tech will be linked to barcodes on checked luggage, and will send notifications to passengers at various points throughout the trip, including before takeoff, during transit and on arrival.

Seems reasonable, and straightforward.

But in those 'rare' cases where bags don't make it, will there still be no-one answering the phone in the lost baggage area? What do you do with the info the app will give you that your bags haven't arrived where you are?

 

[dk4]

I can't imagine Qantas will want to do 9 boarding groups

I doubt there will be too many either - a lot of QF precious metals like to board last, not first.

And remember 2 things when comparing to AA; 1) Status & Class doesn't get locals lounge access on most AA domestic flights. 2) AA free upgrades are processed at the gate, not in the lounge, (as are standbys) so precious metals will want to hang around the gate to grab them.

 

[Himeno]

OT, but Simpler and Fairer Mk 2?

Maybe relating to the oneworld alliance wide points upgrades they have been trying to roll out?

 

[Jean Prouvaire]

Well at least they only said "expand", not "simplify"

We should all be grateful they didn't say "enhance".

 

[pretentious git]

From todays Qantas investor day:
"Qantas will also amend its boarding process from October in an attempt to improve on-time performance and better recognise members of its frequent flyer program. The changes will see Qantas passengers board in groups based on their frequent flyer status and where they’re seated. The group is also considering changes to the gate layout to reduce the time passengers spend queuing and lessen congestion."

 

[Princess Fiona]

I got Group 1 on AA LAX-ATL and ATL-LAX in Y for my flights earlier this month (am QF WP).
Concierge Key was Group 0. I think Military were called before Group 1 in both instances.

Edit to add - I believe I've always gotten Group 1 on AA domestic since becoming QF WP, whether in Y or F.

I don’t fly AA in coach very often but when I have done I’m in group 2.
Only group 1 when in Domestic First.

I’d say your experience is quite unusual.

 

[SYD]

Bag tracking has been a feature of the AA app for years. Obviously particularly important / useful when hubbing across America but still always nice to know your bag(s) was loaded.

 

[SeatBackForward]

But in those 'rare' cases where bags don't make it, will there still be no-one answering the phone in the lost baggage area? What do you do with the info the app will give you that your bags haven't arrived where you are?

The crucial thing is that the app will track where your bag actually is, or at least where it was last tracked. So for instance, if you know it hasn't gone anywhere, there's a good chance it might go on the next flight. If it's gone to an altogether different destination, you may be able to figure out how long it might take to get to you, rather than not knowing at all.

Bag tracking has been a feature of the AA app for years. Obviously particularly important / useful when hubbing across America but still always nice to know your bag(s) was loaded.

Last year I checked in two bags at SEA for SEA>ORD>IAD flights. One bag followed me on my flights, the other went from SEA to PHX for some reason. But knowing this, and speaking to the ground crew at IAD, I knew my bag would arrive later the same day. And knowing which flight that would be meant I could go to the airport and claim it myself (which is still an inconvenience) rather than waiting for it to be delivered to me.

 

[Himeno]

Some years ago, I had a LHR-DXB-LHR flight, with a day stop in Dubai. The plan was to put my bags into storage at DXB for the day before heading on to Asia via LHR. (oneworld explorer ticket)

When I arrived in DXB, I found out that BA had failed to load the bags and they were coming up with a plan to forward the bags to me via other airlines at my next longish stopover (which would have made me be without the bags for 4 days).
After they did that, I worked out that BA had loaded them onto the aircraft that I'd be flying back to LHR on. So upon return to the airport, arranged to get back into the baggage collection area to pick up the bags and then walked them over to check in to be placed back on the same aircraft.

If they had baggage tracking, they would have been able to work that out before I left for the city in the morning and not needed to spend 30 minutes trying to work out where to have the bags catch up to me.

 

[SeatBackForward]

And just in case there's no confusion, the tracking that will be provided is unlikely to be like air tags - being able to identify a bag at any position. It simply tracks key points of the process. When the bag is checked in, then the bag is loaded, then unloaded and then onto carousel etc. It's not "real-time" tracking as we might see with Uber etc.

 

[UP4014]

What about they just put the bags on the correct flight? Fix the root cause of the problem, I know a outlandish suggestion to spend on the service provided itself, not an IT app to change the optics.

 

[jpp42]

I flew AA recently (domestic First) with my partner and although we were Group 1, it was impossible to actually board anywhere near the start. When we arrived at the gate at the scheduled boarding time, there was a rugby-style scrum of passengers of all and sundry groups lined up blocking access to anyone who dared come close. Although the gate agent was only scanning people with the correct boarding group, and called out, "anyone else for group 1," it was impossible to move forward without executing a few tackles first. We didn't manage to board until group 3. I think this is mostly driven by the strong desire of most US domestic passengers to find overhead bag space and avoid the dreaded gate-check, which the airlines aid and abet with their overpriced bag fees (on most fares). Definitely a few lessons for Qantas to learn here (and let's hope it's not that bag fees are a great idea).

And yes on AA, OWE in Main Cabin is definitely group 2, I think the person above must be mistaken. It's assigned automatically and printed on the boarding pass, not at the discretion of someone.

 

[doublecatered]

There just needs to be more ground staff on a regular basis to facilitate the baggage/boarding policy.
There’s usually just one f/a and one ground staff doing the whole thing… and from what I can see, priority boarding is probably one of the last things they’re worrying about. If there were more staff to enforce this and all on the same page, then something might be achieved.

 

[SeatBackForward]

What about they just put the bags on the correct flight? Fix the root cause of the problem, I know a outlandish suggestion to spend on the service provided itself, not an IT app to change the optics.

I doubt there's any intention to misplace bags, but given all the gears in motion, its not unsurprising that a small number of bags go - any logistical operation will be the same.

 

[jakeseven7]

I can't imagine Qantas will want to do 9 boarding groups. I suspect it'll be either [CL/P1, Emerald/Dom J, Sapphire, Economy] or maybe like the Japanese carriers where Economy is split into rear of plane (boards first) and front of plane.

This makes sense to me but will depend if rear stairs are being used no?

Maybe even more discrete?

For a 737:

- [Special assistance per normal]
1) CL (Unannounced) / P1 / P / Business
2) Gold
3) Group 3 (row determined)
4) Group 4 (row determined)

 

[serfty]

I flew economy main cabin earlier this month on seven AA flights.

As a Qantas WP I always had Group 2 on the BP with boarding as per the chart in post 1007 herein.

 

[moa999]

But how does PB work when you stay in the lounge until the last call.
We thankfully don't have the same overbooking or kitchen sink carry-on that they do in the US.

 

[SeatBackForward]

The group is also considering changes to the gate layout to reduce the time passengers spend queuing and lessen congestion

I assume this will only be through the use of moveable barriers and signage. I doubt this will involve any actual re-modelling of seating, walkways and walls around the gates.

One suggestion I would have is to not have queues in parallel with one another. When there are two adjacent queues, most people will just join whichever looks the shortest. If you have the two queue's facing each other, then its far more obvious that there are in fact two seperate lines for a reason.

But I don't understand the "reduce time passengers spend queuing" are they enhancing the whole concept of queues out of existence?

 

[smckay]

Boarding by status makes much more sense. Would be easy for QF; J/P1/WP then SG, then the rest.
The US boarding system is so much more refined than the scrum we have now.

I’ve always been Group 2 in the US.