PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - BA - Lesson 1:01: How To Seriously Upset A Group Of Premium Customers
Old 7th Feb 2010, 16:39
  #105 (permalink)  
Hartington
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 1,221
Received 9 Likes on 7 Posts
I've been trying to decide why I sometimes pay (from my own pocket) for something other than economy. It's mainly because (when travelling long haul) I arrive feeling much less like death warmed up the more I pay. Access to the lounge at the airport is an added bonus.

But I have to say that I've never experienced any real difference in treatment as I pass through the airport. But then I've never travelled on Virgin. Oh, I've experienced priority boarding which is a bit of a two edged sword sometimes as you sit there watching everyone else struggling past (not all business seats involve a left turn) and priority security (sometimes works), priority check in (not much in it these days with self service). But I've still schlepped the corridors, got on buses etc.

Should I expect a better airport experience? Yes. But then so should everyone.

Should I expect a better service, the more I pay? Ah, there's the real question. There is little doubt that the airport forms a part of my overall travel experience. So, am I buying a better aircraft experience or a better travel experience?

Well, if the airport won't play ball the airline can't do much. And, there are places where the airline doesn't really have an option. As an extreme example I'll quote Iguassu in Argentina where we boarded across the tarmac (no bus, no jetway) in the rain with the Aerolineas Argentinas staff shuttling umbrellas across the tarmac. The only thing they might have done was escort the premium pax instead of leaving us all to get on with it.

In the end the airport experience on a long haul flight is a small part of the total travel experience timewise. It is particularly true that on arrival we all suddenly become equal. Being at the front of the plane should mean being first off which should mean first in the queue for immigration but at many airports that simply means having first choice of which existing queue to join.

I believe that it's not so much about bussing and being pushed in with everyone else so much as availability of buses and jetways. I've had the experience too many times of being told that a gate is not available or we're on the gate but the crew aren't there to operate the jetway, buses are just another part of that problem.

So, do I expect a better airport experience for my extra money? Yes. But in the end I expect it for everyone.
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