Purpose of boarding card 'check' at aircraft door
 

This got me thinking on a recent flight.

What's the purpose of the CC checking pax's boarding passes at the aircraft door? I think most pax are intelligent enough to find their seat number and row without a vague arm gesture from the cabin crew upon boarding? Regardless of seat number/row, its the same gesture 'oh row 'x' down there and left' or 'oh row 'z' down there and right'.

They are checking the flight no/date to make sure that you are boarding the correct aircraft!

T250,

You may be accurate in the statement "most folks", but don't rule out the lack of intelligence on the remainder. That, or those who either are not paying attention or perhaps should just not be allowed out in public.

A number of years back (prior to 9/11) I witnessed someone get past the boarding process only to hear the announcement of the flight details onboard - just prior to door closing and push back.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to AAA Flight 123 from X to Y" and then seeing a passenger realizing that they were on the wrong aircraft because they were planning on going to Z, not Y.

Hasty collection of personal effects, up the aisle and out the door. :\

Yup, the boarding card is what you need to show to board the aircraft. All the checks before this are the extra checks to try and make sure problems don't occur at/in the aircraft.

I never understand why people think they should only have to show it once.

Given the number of people who have asked me for directions at airports while standing right in front of oversized signs, and the number of people who have asked if I could validate their parking ticket or help with their luggage at various hotels purely because I was wearing a uniform, I would say that there are a frightening number of people out there who need all the help they can get. Hence the need for boarding cards.

Darwin's ideas on evolution has been suspended for quite some time when it comes to humans.

The number of people who manage to make it onto the wrong aircraft is quite scary - not sure if it's the fault of the pax who can't manage to find the right plane, or the fault of the ground staff who aren't checking the cards properly. 50/50 I think!

I've never understood why people feel the need to question this: it's the procedure on every flight, has been for years. There are some real dim :mad: out there and they need to checked or guided every step of the way.

This thread has been done (to death) before. There is a search function.


Not on most of the flights I've been on (well over 500).

Maybe because that is all that is required by some airlines and they assume that it is the same for all. As a frequent flyer, one can readily observe some people try to show boarding passes to uninterested CC on boarding the aircraft of certain airlines.

Wrong. Not all airlines check the boarding pass at the aircraft door.

If it annoys people so much, then stick to flying with Lufty or Swiss where you only have to show it the once at the gate.

Agree with F3G. Personally for me one of the biggest frustrations of flying regularly is the lack of standardisation - even with the same airline (and it's not just the Boarding card issue either). At times it comes down to the individual and their mood of the day. So one day I board with BC in hand and get a disinterested F/A. The next day I board (same airline) not having my BC in hand and get the God-help-me look from the F/A who, this time, wants to check it. You just can't win, and the passenger is always wrong! :)

With the airlines where you are pre-seated, and which have premium cabins, it ensures that the SLF turn firstly in the right direction and then into the correct aisle.

However with the LoCo's it seems pointless other than to check that right SLF is on right cattle truck. Mistakes do happen specially when a/c are parked close to each other on the tarmac, and I was once bussed to the wrong a/c along with a dozen other pax.

Yesterday I asked an Easyjet FA on boarding why they check the boarding pass, she smiled and said : "Because we're supposed to ....".

They don't always even look properly, not long ago I did a day trip CPT - JNB - CPT and showed the northbound BP which I'd used in the morning, for the southbound flight, I only realised when I saw that 'my' seat was occupied what I'd done, but the FA hadn't realised.

If FAs didn't check the boarding cards, why have them welcome you at all? People could just get on any door like a train, sit down, and then during the flight an FA comes to punch a hole in your ticket.

Personally, I like checking boarding cards as it gives us an opportunity to interact with the pax, understand their nationalities, who they're traveling with, whether they're drunk or angry, and gives me a sense of who's on board to tailor the service accordingly. Stopping/slowing the running stampede from the bus/gate also helps calm the crowd as they enter a plane (not a soccer stadium).

Yes, and it saves headaches if you can direct the pax who's bound for Brussels instead of Berlin to the right plane before we've pushed back.

WE DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR SEAT NUMBER!!!!!!

It is a security procedure, all we are checking is the flight number and the date to ensure that you are supposed to be on this aircraft. WHY DO WE DO IT when the boarding staff should have already done so???? We do it because sometime in the past people have managed to slip through the system and as it was decided that the cabin crew are the first and last point of contact for anyone intending on entering an aircraft it is best we check again just in case!!!

No we only tell you which way to your seat just out of politeness!!!

I'm not sure that confused passengers comes purely down to stupidity. As a frequent flier it is easy to forget how frightening travelling maybe to some people who rarely leave their own house. If you spend a few moments in Heathrow or Schiphol to watch people desperately scanning the boards and searching for gates amongst the shops and hoping that the someone will guide them onto the plane which they may have just spent their life savings on to travel. Some will have emotional stresses, others will be tired.

But even as a frequent flier, we all have a preference of which airport to transfer through 'because its easier'. Thats a choice you make because your familiar with it and feel comfortable there (I personally prefer KLM via Schiphol as the UK and International flights are within the same terminal).

So what i'm saying is that, people boarding a wrong plane, or concerned about where they are going to sit because they don't understand the seats rows maybe just because this is a completely brand new or rare experience for them.

Some interesting replies, thank you.

Please don't shout! :ok:
Its laughable you call it a 'security procedure' when I have seen quite the opposite!! Take some of the Greek Island airports, from recent experience, after having my boarding pass checked at the gate inside the terminal, passengers were then directed (unescorted) down a walkway leading to the apron, passing by numerous open doors to airside baggage sort areas (no one supervising us or any airport staff). So it defeats the check all together, as a baggage handler/any airside apron staff could simply take my boarding pass and board the aircraft! and I could have disappeared off into the airport. :hmm: Please don't call it a security check!

So in theory, at airports where there is no direct air bridge connection, the last line in defence against incorrect passengers on a flight is in the terminal building at the boarding gate and that should be the case anyway I would have thought?

I'm mainly bringing the topic up due to what I've just mentioned.
I expect some passengers also feel an annoyance factor too, ie. why am I, having walked 50-100 metres being asked for my boarding pass again?

Well just because secure parts of the airport are not guarded or closed off, is not the crews fault now is it?

I am not CC, I am a Pilot, in our CAM (Cabin Attendant Manual), it quite clearly states that the checking of boarding passes is a security check, the last one. Also there is the case of Hand Luggage, Unruly passengers, Animals in the cabin.

No hold on, you know it all and therefore are not prepared to listen to anyone inside the industry who does this day in day out as you know better. Sorry to have bothered you Sir, would you like to tell me how to fly better?:ugh:

The final check is to ensure that PAX are onboard the correct aircraft.

I am a dispatcher, and twice i have been dispatching a flight where PAX have been on the wrong aircraft, simple mistake made at the gate when gate staff have been very busy. However, both times it was gate staff that discovered it when checking boarding cards after all PAX have passed through the gate, the cabin crew missed it too. :}

At the airline I work for, if you don't have a boarding card for the flight you are trying to board, you will not be allowed on the plane. If a passenger loses their boarding card between the gate and the aircraft, thier passport will be checked against the passenger manifest. I suspect all airlines use the same rules.

Gosh, I'm really surprised to see these answers. I can't remember the last time I've actually shown anyone my boarding pass as I enter the aircraft. I've always treated it like going to the symphony: once I'm in the main entrance and they've checked my ticket there, I have no reason to show my ticket to anyone after that to get to my seat. After all, my boarding pass has just been checked as I enter the jetway, so I see no reason why it needs to be checked again at the other end of the jetway as I get onto the aircraft. And in all these years, no attendant has ever asked to see my boarding pass. I usually just smile at them and say hello as I walk into the plane and go to my seat.

Probably because you are obviously such a unique little humble snowflake.

Mark in CA

Don't be surprised.

A lot of posters are UK based and form their view of the world from their location.

They are unaware that things work differently in other places.

That is a rather arrogant and assuming statement which is probably incorrect, or are you trying to provoke an issue?

L'aviatur

I wasn't trying to be arrogant, just explaining to Mark from CA why he saw the posts he saw. I'll edit my response and remove the word 'blissfully', as this probably gave the wrong impression.

What I was trying to say is that UK airlines must check the BP at the door, the regulations impose this.

These quotes appear to be from UK based posters, some of whom seem to be unaware that other countries operate in different ways - e.g. check the comment about 'every flight' below. Some make emphatic statements which are just wrong. Others state the regulatory reason for the check.

This is a view from outside the UK, where the regulations are different

It isn't exactly one of life's biggest inconveniences is it. Sometimes I get on a flt and they check the card and point which way to go - I know which way to go but they are familiar with people who have no clue and think that 61F is a left turn at the door and into the comfy seat with the pillows by the window at the front. Sometimes I get on and the cabin crew aren't bothered. I'm not mithered either way - as long as I get a big glass of wine I'll be a happy camper either way.

I couldn't agree more, the easiest thing to do is keep the BP to hand.

I'd like to butt in for a minute, if you don't mind..

Most incidents/accidents etc happen due to a chain of events. As far as I'm concerned, checking the boardin pass several times before you get on board might be inconvenient, but the more people check it, the less chance of being part of the chain of events. Humans make errors, therefore we double check things, not just boarding passes. Arming doors, check lists are a couple of things that springs to mind.

Gg

Ps. It is of course true about checking the boarding pass to make sure the right people are on board - as a security check. (Just to clarify)

Put it this way, i would still check boarding passes even if the company wouldn't ask us to.
The number of times i had to send pax back to the gate, it's unbelievable. And to the dispatcher posting saying "it wasn't gate staff's fault" well... i know it was their fault, you know it was their fault so save it pal... for someone who actually TRUSTS the gate staff.
We all know that majority of pax pack their brains with their check in bags... Hell, i do it, and i work in the industry!
Jeez, the number of times i was just walking through the terminal having returned from Boots happily holding my "Boots Meal Deal" bag, and been "approached" by BmiBaby pax demanding to know why their flight has been cancelled... I'm sorry sir, i really am, but i don't work for Bmi... You lot are all the same, 'effing this and 'effing that...

It doesn't work that way. In my base we have 7 company a/c. The "earlies" and "lates" go off at about the same time. Boarding through gates next to eachother.
I usually have 2 or 3 pax or couples going through say the Malaga gate when they're supposed to fly to Murcia. Hence why we check the boarding passes. And we heard it all before: "Oh i just put it away", "Oh she never gave me a boarding pass","Oh she took it away", "Oh for :mad: sake, why do you need it again?", "Oh you people are just ridiculous", "Oh i don't need a boarding pass, i'm So and So..."

So please, we kindly ask you to keep your boarding pass with you and show it when entering the aircraft. It's not exactly rocket science, is it?

:ok:

ATS

Not wishing to be controversial, but I live in a country where there is no requirement to check BPs at the door and with an active airport - very active in summer.

Yet, talking to my friends at the airport and in the airline ground support business, there are very few instances of pax boarding the wrong aircraft and these are identified by careful headcounts, which are SOP on the local airline.

I wonder why this happens so much in the UK?

Genuinely interested, not trying to provoke you.

At first glance, I'm wondering if the UK ground handling is less professional than the Maltese?

Am I not correct that it is a cabin crew SOP requirement of the UK CAA (and possiby others) but is not universal. Hence why you get asked for the card on Easyjet but not on Ryanair (and apparently, according to the above, not in the USA).

What pax find tedious is not the having to comply with rules, no real problem there, but it is the inconsistent (to them) approach, where on Flight 1 you don't have it ready at the door and are reprimanded for holding thngs up, then on Flight 2 you try to show it to the only crew member visible, working the galley by the door, and are reprimanded for interrupting them.

Could be mostly solved, where required, by a notice at the gate saying "You will need to show your boarding card again at the aircraft door". No, apparently such thinking is beyond airline management thinking.

It just comes natural, apparently.

WHBM

You are correct on both counts.

For frequent travellers, not such a big deal, as we tend to know who does and does not wish to see the BP and act accordingly.

The irritation for me (as FQTV) is the less frequent pax holding things up searching through coats and bags for the BP, although in many cases I can't really blame them because no one told them to keep the BP handy.

I note that Jetset lady commented, on another post, that she now reminds the gate staff to tell the pax to show the BP at the door - that is helpful.

"Notice at gate".
 

WHBM,
A good idea but with one major snag!
What are the chances of anyone actually reading and inwardly digesting such a notice? Very low I should think!!!
:}

F3G, to answer your earlier question:

My experience, world wide, working for different airlines, is that pax boarding the wrong aircraft happens often enough for it to be a worthwhile check, regardless of the SOPs of the particular airline or the security culture of the airport, or where it's located geographically.

A good example is Antigua where there may be two BA flights returning to LGW within an hour or so of eachother. The amount of times I've had pax from the later flight try to board the earlier flight is worrying. If this is not picked up at the door, and the pax actually travel, it's the crew who get reprimanded, not the groundstaff - who are outsourced anyway.

I've flown under a number of authorities - Canadian, Icelandic, British, Irish, Australian and they have all required BPs at the door. I've never known any different. As suggested earlier, a clear request during the boarding call does help but there's usually one or two that don't seem to hear it.

I would expect more than one or two. There's plenty of analysis available about the penetration of messages. If you start with "Flight 123 to London now ready for boarding at gate 45 ......" everyone is then getting up, assembling bags, marshalling their children, walking to the queue, etc - normal behaviour in this situation, and so the rest of any message will likely be lost. You have to put the messages one at a time, and when the pax are most likely to have their BC in their hand so they don't put it away again. Hence the prominent notice at the gate approach.

At many of the domestic gates at LHR T1, bmi have put up signs in the jetty and also make annoucements in the gate reminding people to keep their boarding cards out to show the cabin crew, yet still we get many passengers who have shoved it back in their bags / jackets. Also we ask to see a boarding pass as many of the jetties have access to the ramp which isn't visible from the aircraft or the gate. How do I know that you're not a cleaner, caterer, baggage handler that fancies a quick trip somewhere exciting?

It's SOP on BA. But even there, I've seen a guy (non- native English speaker with very poor English) end up on a Nice flight when he thought he was going Copenhagen! Of course, the CC were able to help him before it got to be a problem - they even had someone who spoke his language.

I've seen it a few times in the US with people rushing off at the alst minute because they were on the wrong flight - so checking has a useful purpose. I suspect it helps the CC identify the frequent travellers early on, too.

VS-LHRCSA

Thans for sharing your experience. I can' certainly understand the confusion arising from two closey scheduled flights to London!

Suprised and amused
 

I am a little suprised at the attitude some of the FC have about us self loaders, I know most pax leave their brains at home and act like two year olds as soon as they enter the airport. However to shout at people who have asked what seemed like a reasonable question begs of bad manners and arrogance - if we are that bad then do not work with us.;)
But I am glad to see that there are some reasoned responses on here:ok:

In saying that even as a vff 100 + flights a year - even I cock up, trying to catch Virgin Nigeria in Lagos back to LGW the staff at the door managed to notice I was about to board the Jo Burg flight and sent me packing. So there is a good reason for the checks and they do work. Do not take it out on the staff they are just doing their job.

I'm not sure I fully understand the problem with having to show one's boarding pass.
Does it take a lot of brain power to do so? How many calories are expended whilst lifting one's arm up to show CC the pass? How many additional hours does it cost by doing so? (You're probably stalled at the cabin door anyway, waiting for someone to finally get their 95lb. "carry on" bag hoisted into an overhead.)
:{:{:{