Policy on boarding as deadhead crew?

[obrock]

Is there any written policy of the airlines, when deashead crews in uniform shall do boarding, before or after the normal pax?
I recently experienced such a crew entering the plane first as soon as boarding for business class pax was announced.
That left quite a bad impression on some full fare paying pax.
How do airlines deal with that? Would it be just an informal guidance or is there any directive?
The airline concerned was LH.

[gearlever]

Well, this looks like a serious problem....

[sonicbum]

That left quite a bad impression on some full fare paying pax.


There are also at least a couple of guys seating in front of the business or first class rows who even board well before the business pax. Unbelievable I know.

[sonicbum]

That left quite a bad impression on some full fare paying pax.


Just out of curiosity but why would that "leave quite a bad impression on some full fare paying pax ?"

[Amadis of Gaul]

I'm also curious as to how many of said "full-fare" paying pax the OP actually polled. Further, was the sentiment different among those pax who received any sort of a discount or were they also somewhat less than thrilled?

[parabellum]

When positioning in uniform we never waited for the pax boarding call. From Ops to the gate via security, collect boarding pass at the gate and proceed direct to aircraft, introduce ourselves to the IFS and cabin crew in F and/or J specifically and others should we cross paths.

Staff seats were allocated after all fare paying pax had been accommodated according to their seat request. Company kept a record of most popular seats in both premium cabins and these seats would only be available for staff after all revenue pax had boarded, if these seats were still vacant. We knew to keep well out of the way of cleaners and CC preparing the cabin.

Very surprised that, in LH, the crew paxing were still at the gate at the time pax boarding commenced. Hanging around at the gate holding area, in uniform, leads to being asked dozens of questions ranging from the timings of onward connecting flights way down the route to the choices they could expect on the in-flight menu!

[wiggy]

If the deadheading crew boarded when their section of the cabin was called, and didn't trample children and old women underfoot I don't see the problem.

On a wider point plenty of crew where I work "commute" to/from work in uniform , and often on full commercial tickets...some are even "loyalty" card holders but they would be indistinguisable from a deadheading crewmember..should they should hang back from boarding to prevent leaving a "bad impression"?

[Piltdown Man]

LH crew are generally some of the most polite, considerate and professional crews you are likely to bump into. They will normally stick to any guidelines issued by their company. But I have heard some passengers get upset by things like this. These people are the same ones who are upset everything around them when they get to airports. But does it really matter? First, last, in the middle? The flight is not going to leave without them.

My preference is to board last. That saves my from the "Shouldn't you be sitting at the front?" comments from the natural commendians and funny men who generally follow me on when I board first.

[PierreH]

May not be the right place for me to post but as someone who has held the top tier FF status on a few airlines over the last 20 years (and is typically first to board) then I would be quite happy for crew in uniform to board before me whether they are commuters or on duty. There are plenty of other things in life to worry about. My observation from standing in line over the years is that the sense of entitlement about stuff like this is from people who don't fly that frequently or who display multiple FF luggage tags attached to their carry on bags (the psychology behind that is a mystery to me). Most of the full fare/high revenue pax I know just want the minimum of fuss and know that we are part of a bigger system that needs to move staff around to make it work. No big deal.

[obrock]

Well...the intention of my original post was not to ask for your personal opinions and experiences.
It was:
Is anyone aware if airlines have (written) guidance for their employees regarding this subject?
Until now no one of the replies was able to say yes or no... .
Instead professionals (?) took things personal (... why then?).

To the high tier passenger:
Of course everyone gets on board before flying, but if there is already an entry order, it should be made clear, who keeps for the whole thing running. Even if one has no pax tier at all, he/she should be treated as a paying (!) guest.

[Piltdown Man]

Specific answer: We have no written policy so we are expected to behave as passengers and do as instructed by gate staff.

[wiggy]

We do have written general instructions and that tie in with what PM has written: regardless of type of travel (Duty, leisure, in uniform, out of uniform), the rules are simply to follow instructions given by gate staff. So if the gate staff need to board by seat row, cabin etc then we do so. We don't wait until last unless told to - which might be the case if on standby travel.

[jayteeto]

I think that I might understand the "bad feeling" comment from the pax. If you travel as pax regularly, especially with the loco's who don't pre allocate seating, first on get the best seats. This mentality is still out there.
"The crew are getting on first to steal the best seats!! Barstewards!!"

We know it's wrong, but it's out there

[Amadis of Gaul]

Well...the intention of my original post was not to ask for your personal opinions and experiences.
It was:
Is anyone aware if airlines have (written) guidance for their employees regarding this subject?
Until now no one of the replies was able to say yes or no... .
Instead professionals (?) took things personal (... why then?).



Well...you didn't make your "intention" very clear. Instead, you shared a "personal experience" and a supposed "opinion" of the "full-fare-payers".

Neither did you necessarily "specify" any such guidance being written, but I suppose that was implied.

People took it personally probably due to a rather poorly-concealed "how dare these peons board first?" tone of your post.

You could, of course, claim that that precisely was NOT the "intention" of your post, but that's how it came off.

[CaptainMongo]

What does the contract state between LH and VC regarding boarding of DH pilots?

Our contract is quite clear, deadheading pilots in uniform may board the aircraft at any time once the required compliment of flight attendants are on the aircraft. One of the reasons for that is to ensure there is enough overhead space for the pilots belongings and required flight equipment.

Of course we could board last, not have space for out gear, gate check it, pick it up at baggage claim at the destination and delay the follow on flight by :45 to an hour, but that most likely would leave a bad impression with the full fare passengers (and the 140+ other passengers) on that flight...

[megan]

I recently experienced such a crew entering the plane first as soon as boarding for business class pax was announced.
That left quite a bad impression on some full fare paying pax.An impression no doubt of the entitled, status conscious, precious little princes and princesses who seem to abound these days. Who cares who boards first? Everyone has a seat allocation, does it really matter who gets to their seat first? We could have a race on the drop of a flag by gate staff, that would work well. Perhaps with a prize to the last to board, as recognition of their politeness, after you sir/madam.

The people in seats 0A and 0B board first. How dare the hired help.