Qantas to Introduce Group Boarding and Bag Tracking

[tdimdad]

However, once the new system is fully rolled out unless you are on a PNR booked by MrsDrRon then you wont be able to board together if you do not qualify for the same boarding group on your own.

Would the check-in, lounge or service desk be able to override this by assigning the NB a new boarding group and reprinting the BP for them?

 

[tdimdad]

Why not one pnr for the segments flying together, positioning flight on separate pnr?

IME linking allows seat selection next to status pax on the flight the status pax is on. Never designed to give boarding privileges to people on separate positioning flights.

Still think this expectation is unrealistic.

Let's imagine another real-life scenario: separated / divorced parents. Child living in Adelaide, a parent in Melbourne. Those two go on a holiday to Cairns. The child is old enough to sit on the plane alone when escorted to the gate and sent off by an adult and then met at the arrival gate by another adult.

The ticket for the child ADL-MEL-BNE-CNS return is the most affordable option, while the parent gets their MEL-BNE-CNS return. It would be unreasonable to expect the child to wait alone at the gate lounge for their group if the parent would like to use their priority boarding benefit ("Mum boards in group 1, please wait here until group 6 is called. Hopefully it won't take long...").

Of course, the parent can wait until group 6 and that's the approach you'd be suggesting, right? Id rather see the child be able to board with their parent with a higher group, even when on separate bookings. The question is what's the most seamless and reliable way to arrange it?

 

[Quickstatus]

Of course, the parent can wait until group 6 and that's the approach you'd be suggesting, right

In this case one person boards with the other person - the question is which group.

In this case I would say either board in your own group or wait for the passenger with the higher number group. - Group 1 pax waits to board at Group 6 with the other passenger.

 

[Lynda2475]

Of course, the parent can wait until group 6 and that's the approach you'd be suggesting, right?

Yep.

Unless a small baby or toddler who needs to be settled in car seat - people with children do not need to be given priority boarding. IME they tend to be biggest offenders of exceeding carry-on and want to get on first to steal more bin space than entitled to. So many times i see teenagers come forward to board early when says anyone with kids, that is just taking the p!$$

 

[dairyfloss]

Yep.

Unless a small baby or toddler who needs to be settled in car seat - people with children do not need to be given priority boarding. IME they tend to be biggest offenders of exceeding carry-on and want to get on first to steal more bin space than entitled to. So many times i see teenagers come forward to board early when says anyone with kids, that is just taking the p!$$

Yeah - if the kid can grow a better 80s mo' than his dad, he no longer needs that special assistance

 

[tdimdad]

So, WP families on a single PNR are more privileged than WP families on multiple PNR's (for whatever reason). How did we get here?

I agree with the observation of many families with kids taking half of their earthly possessions as carry-on. But I'd hazard a guess that they'd be mostly non-FF's / NB's / PS's. You'd expect better from (most) WP's, especially from those who've earned their status the hard way. As least, we should be able to...

 

[Cognac]

The group boarding FAQ https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/travel-advice/boarding-trial/group-boarding-faq.html states that you'll be notified about group boarding by email or SMS the day before the flight, that there'll be announcements, signage and updates to your boarding pass.

You could tattoo "YOU'RE IN BOARDING GROUP 4" on people's left arm and "DON'T BOARD UNTIL YOUR GROUP IS CALLED" on their right, and these people will still try to board with group 1 because... people.

Yeah, some people will never be happy unless we arrive at Immaculate Boarding: All Group 1s are magically teleported into their seat with their carry-on stored for them, and then they can sit and watch everybody else as they have to use their feet!!! to walk to their seat.

This new process is designed to be an improvement for the order that people are lining up on the bridge to get on the plane. By all accounts, it appears to be working. Those two pax that got rejected were always going to try and jump the queue, Qantas just now has a more rigid process for telling them "No". Contrary to Quickstatus assertion, that is not a failure of the trial.

 

[Seat0B]

Few would have a printed boarding pass as they are near impossible to get on domestic legs these days, what does it look like on the mobile boarding pass? Any clearer?

Here are my electronic BPs from 2 recent flights ( 1 from BNE, and 1 from MEL). In both instances, priority group boarding was used and it worked kind of OK. I was surprised by the length of the line for people in Group 1. As you can see though, the boarding group was not indicated on my BP.

I'm a WP. Mr Seat 0A was with me on both flights as a LTG and it did not show on his BP either. One flight was in Y and the other in J. We were on the same PNR for both these trips so there was no issue in him boarding with me. It may be an issue in the future when I travel for work and he comes with me, but on a fully separate ticket. I would still want him to board with me.

 

[JessicaTam]

I'm not talking about when I'm not travelling with them at all. Like I mentioned in my post, we travel together frequently. This means one of us will to go the other's home port first then fly onwards from there. And in this situation, it's not possible to be on the same PNR.

Thankfully it seems QF have recognised these kinds of scenarios with mentions of linking bookings being a way around this.

Correct. The staff member said they can override the process, but prefer it if pax link their bookings. Then the higher status is shared.

 

[Seat0B]

So when boarding group 1, you queue in the premium lane. Are both scanners used for that lane?

In my experience recently at both BNE and MEL, the answer to that is no. They had the priority lane go through as they called the groups. meanwhile, the non-priority lane was being scanned for back rows that were to enter via stairs at both locations. Those people were ushered through to a separate holding point once they were scanned, presumably so they could all be herded/directed to the door for the walk to the stairs. There was a LOT of confusion going on, exactly as you suggested @RooFlyer

Putting up clear signs and clear design of BPs which would best assist pax in understanding the new system will be done later, because it’s good to confirm pax will be confused otherwise.

 

[Seat0B]

If family members want to ensure boarding together, book together.

It is not always possible to book together when travelling together. For example, as I mentioned above, if work is paying for my trip it will always be a separate booking for Mr Seat 0A. Also, when I use my Amex credit for a trip, I usually get him a classic award seat. Two separate bookings, but definitely travelling together. I think it should be permitted to board together for a limited number of travelling companions. Maybe just +1.

 

[Seat0B]

Why not one pnr for the segments flying together, positioning flight on separate pnr?

Well, you might have to pay extra FF points for the positioning leg that would otherwise be included for the person making the longer trip.

The fare for a separate positioning flight (paid) is usually a lot more expensive. For example, our family often travel to Japan together. We fly in from CBR-SYD. Some fly from BNE-SYD. And then we fly together SYD-HND. I don;t care how they board the flight that I'm not on (the BNE-SYD flight). But I do want to board together once we meet up in SYD.

If your positioning flights are on a separate PNR, then you wear the risks of any missed connections, which is especially important when connecting for international flights. So it's much safer to have PNRs to cover end to end flights.

Honestly, there are a lot of different reasons why family members cannot all be on the same PNR, even though they are genuinely travelling together. I agree that it should not be a free for all, but I do think that +1 at least should be allowed to board with you. After all, ypu are allowed +1 or even +2 into a lounge (piggy backing off your higher status), so why not for boarding?

 

[pauly7]

The group boarding FAQ https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/travel-advice/boarding-trial/group-boarding-faq.html states that you'll be notified about group boarding by email or SMS the day before the flight, that there'll be announcements, signage and updates to your boarding pass.

You could tattoo "YOU'RE IN BOARDING GROUP 4" on people's left arm and "DON'T BOARD UNTIL YOUR GROUP IS CALLED" on their right, and these people will still try to board with group 1 because... people.

In the US when flying AA, I almost always see people trying it on, boarding ahead of their time. It’s not just Australians

 

[dairyfloss]

I’m the main status holder in our family, and often I will fly revenue, while the family flies on awards. I can see this will be a challenge unless calling up to link bookings the whole time. It would be great if QF would allow you to self-link PNRs. Just submit online, the primary contact for the other PNR has to confirm OK via text or email, and done! Wishful thinking I guess…

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Lynda2475]

Well QF could (like some other airlines do for award purposes) allow you to pre-nominate in your profile your linked family members. Then if they are on the same flight as you it could auto-link. But I do feel there needs to be a cap, and aligning it with lounge guest eligibility makes sense (and limiting to partner/parent/sibling/child no 3rd cousins twice removed)

If you want more than the +1/2 (depending on status), then they must be on the same PNR. Otherwise link by predefining the relationship in your profile.

 

[anat0l]

In the US when flying AA, I almost always see people trying it on, boarding ahead of their time. It’s not just Australians

That's mildly surprising. AA have fairly well established boarding by group protocols. The definitions of the groups have shuffled over years, but the system is there.

What is more problematic in the USA is gate lice, which sometimes gets in the way of those who are boarding now (or soon) who try lining up.

 

[andytheturtle]

I would appreciate having a real-time signage to indicate which group is currently boarding.

This would be especially helpful because the overhead PA announcements are often difficult to decipher. If you happen to miss the announcement, maybe because you've just walked from the lounge, the next announcement might already be for the next group.

For many members here, this might not be a concern since they can simply join the priority queue based on their travel class or status. However, queuing up for the Y can be quite stressful, mainly due to the competition for limited overhead bin space!

I'm curious if anyone has come across airports or airlines that use such real-time signage?
I've seen agents carrying handwritten signs as they walk down the queue to remind people who should be lining up.

 

[Lynda2475]

I'm curious if anyone has come across airports or airlines that use such real-time signage?

Not that Ive noticed, taken a number of AA flights recently and boarding each group was by announcement only.

 

[jakeseven7]

Correct. The staff member said they can override the process, but prefer it if pax link their bookings. Then the higher status is shared.

So a background ‘link’ would work? Would be interesting to test.

 

[Lynda2475]

If gate agents are continually overriding the assigned boarding groups that defeats the purpose of having them.