[LuganoPirate]

Most buses have 3 sets of automatic doors on each side and they can be opened and closed independently. Why not have the front of the bus roped off for premium pax then on arrival at the aircraft open them first then open the other doors?

[Globetrotter]

easyjet seem to have it sussed….we just did a round trip, and on the return it was a bus transfer. Speedy borders were on the first bus, with parents with children etc in one third of the bus, roped off. arriving at the aircraft, speedy borders were off the bus first, and once all on the aircraft steps, parents with children were allowed off the bus. it was quite some time before the second bus arrived at the aircraft.

[capetonianm]

I am afraid EZY are far from having it sussed. At some airports they usually do as Globetrotter says, and it works well. At some of the outstations it’s down to the policy of the handling agents who usually go for the cheapest solution which is to embark the priority boarding pax first, if they can make it through the scrum of ignorant and selfish people who crowd round, blocking the access. Everyone ends up on the same bus and then all the doors are opened at once, creating another scrum to board the aircraft.

I have seen people move from one roped off compartment on the bus to another, in order to get off first.

What then happens is the same selfish oafs (oaves?) who muscled their way on first stow their cabin bags at the front, denying use of the overhead bins to people who have paid extra for those seats, and move down to take their seats at the back of the aircraft. This creates havoc on embarcation and disembarcation and the cabin crew busy themselves with other duties in order to avoid dealing with the problem.

As an easyJet+ cardholder, a privilege for which we pay £400/year, I feel very strongly about this and have written to them several times and they always say that they will ‘review procedures’ with the ground agents, and offer me a voucher for £50, which is fine but does not solve the problem or alleviate the unpleasantness at the airport.

It is down to the herd mentality and ignorance of people who seem to be incapable of understanding : “Speedy Boarding and Priority Passengers only please.”

EZY is by far my favourite s/h carrier and until a couple of years ago I was flying 70-100 sectors a year with them, it’s less now, maybe 30-50, and I hold them in very high regard for a number of reasons, but the boarding process leaves a lot to be desired.

[GreenScot]

Re BA buses and segregation of passengers – I just came off a BA flight from IAD this morning and we were parked on a remote stand at T5 B gates and waiting for us as we arrived were a whole pile of buses including separate ones for First and Club World passengers although the First bus did have some of us CW riff-raff as those of us in the forward CW cabin on the 787 we flew in on had to exit first to let them off.

I have never seen that before and I assume it is only on long haul at Heathrow but all in all it meant I was at passport control much quicker than taking the train. That and we boarded directly from one of the Mobile Lounge people movers on departure at IAD made for a different departure and arrival experience. 🙂

[Swissdiver]

[quote quote=898783]Most buses have 3 sets of automatic doors on each side and they can be opened and closed independently. Why not have the front of the bus roped off for premium pax then on arrival at the aircraft open them first then open the other doors?[/quote]

This is what QR and EK (and probably EY) do in GVA (well they actually use the rear door). It works provided you have an employee filtering.

[bluemooner]

[quote quote=898783]Most buses have 3 sets of automatic doors on each side and they can be opened and closed independently. Why not have the front of the bus roped off for premium pax then on arrival at the aircraft open them first then open the other doors?[/quote]

Given that getting to and from the aircraft is not the function of the airline, but the airport authority, does the airport have a responsibility for giving priority to first and business passengers? These passengers have paid more for better seats on the aircraft. Have they paid more for a better airport experience?

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=898989]Have they paid more for a better airport experience?[/quote]

I believe they have. There are dedicated check in desks, fast track security, lounges and priority boarding. So I think they do pay the airport more for a better experience for their premium passengers.

[bluemooner]

Have they paid more for a better airport experience?

I believe they have. There are dedicated check in desks, fast track security, lounges and priority boarding. So I think they do pay the airport more for a better experience for their premium passengers.[/quote]

I would have thought that the airline provides the dedicated check in desks, lounges and the priority boarding services and probably pays for the fast track security.
There are no priority services for passport checks or other airport services – so the transfer bus seems to fall into this latter category

[BugAdvisor]

Does a ticket in Business or First mean a better airport experience on arrival?

Yes, I believe it does currently and here are some examples:
When buses meet BA aircraft at LHR, the first bus is for Business passengers only. I assume BA must pay for the extra bus.
Many airports have a fast track passport line. I assume that the airlines pay for this.
Business and status traveller bags are tagged with priority. This rarely means that those bags arrive on the reclaim belt first, but I assume that the airline pays something for that ‘service’.

[canucklad]

The discussion about paying for a better airport experience is an interesting one.
Selfishly when I (few and far between these days) fly business I enjoy the benefits of separate check-in, fast track and obviously the lounges. The boarding of an aircraft doesn’t impact me, because as I’ve already said I try to board last.

Importantly , and it’s to LP’s point of view. I actually think that the creation of these elite spaces for premium passengers are on the whole damaging everybody’s travelling experiences.
Increasing stress levels, which consequently creates a rise in peoples bad /unacceptable/rude behaviour.

Some examples …..and IMO

Fast track security , simply shouldn’t exist . the airport authorities need to get the queues sorted for everyone. Edinburgh last Sunday night was a complete joke!!
And on more than a few occasions I’ve actually witnessed the Fast track line take longer than the normal queue. And with priceless irony, people belligerently staying in the queue as if they want their elitist status to be recognized by the rest of us plebs.
Priority Boarding for Premium passengers I understand, however I’d bet my last penny, the root cause of this stress point is airlines total inability to have a consistent industry standard policy to carryon luggage. This also applies to total lack of critical thinking on hand baggage policy.
Premium Check-In I also understand, however it depends on how well the airline manage handling agents productivity. It makes no sense to me, for an agent to obsessively sit there bored out of her mind at the Premium check-in ,whilst her colleagues are sweating out a queue of 40 or more. Even worse when you get 2 agents allocated to a cabin that’s a 10th of the size of Y , but has on occasion 50% of the handling agents space.

In this day and age it’s tough to manage security, tough to control the hordes of now affordable LCC nouveau riche flyers and yet I can’t help feel that the airlines and airports are deliberately creating chaos and stress to maximise their revenue streams with those who are willing to do so.

And remember, most business passengers aren’t paying for their carriage, whilst an average family heading off to Australia to visit relatives have probably had to make sacrifices over a couple of years so they can afford , a not cheap, holiday of a lifetime. So airlines should respect and treat them accordingly, and not currently as an afterthought!!

[LuganoPirate]

Sometimes, though rare, the fast track at MXP is longer than a sometimes empty normal line. If that’s the case I go for it. For em the importnace is the elast amount of time spent in a queue.

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