BA's new boarding policy - I don't understand why people are upset?

Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2011
Posts
5,468
Location
Yorkshire and proud of it!
I'd care less if the airlines actually enforced their carry-on luggage rules rather than allowing people to swan past with twice the allowed luggage per person.

Anyway, the goal of stuff like this is to make cash by competing with other airlines on purchase ticket prices and then upselling people to the next category for that little bit more. You'll be able to pay £10 or whatever when you get your boarding pass for "Early Boarding" or however they choose to style it. The purpose of the bottom tier is to act as a stick to get people to buy the tier above that for extra money. Someone will be getting a nice bonus for this.
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
29 Jan 2008
Posts
58,899
You'll be able to pay £10 or whatever when you get your boarding pass for "Early Boarding" or however they choose to style it. The purpose of the bottom tier is to act as a stick to get people to buy the tier above that for extra money. Someone will be getting a nice bonus for this.

Are you sure that is an option? Surely you'd just buy the regular economy ticket. More likely it is just to compete with the budget airlines where people usually just take carry on etc... there are plenty of passengers who don't need hold luggage and are price sensitive, if BA can price these special budget seats competitively enough to compete with easyJet and Ryan air (albeit without causing their usual passengers who check in luggage to then pay the cheaper rate) then they're perhaps onto a winner
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jan 2008
Posts
5,193
Location
Nowhere
however the lounge might well be some distance from the gate and having to mill around at the gate/join the queue or sit and watch the queue from some uncomfortable airport seat/bench before boarding last probably isn't as preferable as boarding first without a queue and sitting in the big comfortable 1st class or business class seat

Wow.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
5 Dec 2003
Posts
20,997
Location
Just to the left of my PC
I'd care less if the airlines actually enforced their carry-on luggage rules rather than allowing people to swan past with twice the allowed luggage per person. [..]

A vulture was flying a long way and decided to take a plane rather than doing the exhausting flight themself. They took two dead birds with them for dinner, but they were prevented from boarding the plane with them because the airline's rules stated only one carrion per passenger.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
74,024
Location
Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
Btw, I got on a BA flight yesterday and they still bundle the World Traveller and World Traveller Plus together just the same. They always call the Firsf Class then Business Class First and then I did also notice families got to skip the queue but everyone else got on at the end, no different and didn’t really care.
 
Caporegime
OP
Joined
29 Jan 2008
Posts
58,899
Btw, I got on a BA flight yesterday and they still bundle the World Traveller and World Traveller Plus together just the same. They always call the Firsf Class then Business Class First and then I did also notice families got to skip the queue but everyone else got on at the end, no different and didn’t really care.

this new policy doesn't apply until later in December
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Oct 2004
Posts
18,300
Location
Birmingham
This is disgusting and no different to when black people had to travel at the back of the bus! I hope Ofjet come down on BA like a ton of bricks for this outrageous practice.

I agree, it's no different at all, except for being fundamentally different, such as the fact anyone can simply pay more if they're that desperate to show their peers how rich they are, pretty sure black people weren't able to pay more to become white (Michael Jackson being the obvious exception here)... i assume given how obvious this is, that this is a troll post.

To be honest, if I didn't have hold baggage I'd be perfectly happy sitting till the end, while watching the mugs getting on first, smug in the knowledge they'd probably paid at least 3-4 times more than me for the same flight.

So depending on how insecure you are in your own financial position, you can either see it as a way to "put the peasants in their place" or as a way to show who has more money than sense.

Alternatively you could just do what 99% of people will do and think no more of something that is purely a business decision and will have absolutely 0 impact on your life
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,273
Having bowel disease I WANT to be the last on the plane! The last thing I want is to be stuck in a seat NOT being able to get to the toilet.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
35,487
I’m 6’1” and the last long haul flight I went on (cattle class) - was certainly bearable for 9 hours. No idea why people pay mega for different classes...

I was on a Ryanair flight yesterday and they did that really annoying thing of telling people that their hand luggage was going in the hold. I get that people massively abuse hand luggage allowances but it is a really annoying thing to happen - once they broke my handluggage - eurgh.
 
Soldato
Joined
8 Mar 2005
Posts
3,609
Location
London, UK
I thought BA had already been doing group boarding for years. I'm sure every transatlantic flight on every carrier I've been with was via group boarding. Boarding by group seems logical to me and I only ever take carry-on which can be slid under the seat.
 
Associate
Joined
29 Oct 2017
Posts
361
As long you get on the plane and it takes off in time, the boarding order doesn't really matter. Unless you need to go to the loo. :p
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2014
Posts
5,758
Location
Midlands
Only problem I have is when flying with very expensive camera equipment, that’s not insured if it goes into the hold, so I usually try to get on first to guarantee overhead space.

Aside from that the new method of boarding seems fine, I’ll just pay the cash to get in quickly with my equipment, provided they’re not asking silly money
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
74,024
Location
Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
lol "Basic Economy". As if flying wasn't already enough of an utterly miserable experience.

It's a means to an end for a lot of people.

I can't deny it is nice if you can have a nicer meal or space to lie flat and have a nap. Of course, like yesterday the price to upgrade to Business Class was £700 which on a long haul flight ins't that bad but then again, I am now over it and £700 more in my pocket.

Besides, my seat was the front role in the segment just behind Business (I was in PE) and I had no one in front of me and both seats next to me empty, I could stretch my legs straight with an empty seat for my crap for the next 12 hours using the spare tray table for my drinks, kinda had more space than if I had paid for business class.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2011
Posts
5,468
Location
Yorkshire and proud of it!
A vulture was flying a long way and decided to take a plane rather than doing the exhausting flight themself. They took two dead birds with them for dinner, but they were prevented from boarding the plane with them because the airline's rules stated only one carrion per passenger.

I blame the jet lag :p

Right, that's it. You two are travelling in the luggage hold. Here's your complimentary woolly hats and oxygen tank. Raymond Lin I expect this of, but Angillion - I am so disappointed. :p
 
Back
Top Bottom