Elite first! From next Tuesday, travellers travelling with British Airways on particular routes may experience a change. The company is testing a new boarding procedure that allows its most premium passengers to board the plane first. The typical waiting times and the number of passengers won’t likely be significantly impacted by the new structure.
British Airways To Allow Most Premium Passengers
British Airways will introduce Group 0 under the new boarding structure, which will be made up of invite-only Premier members and Gold Guest List (GGL) members, also known as the airline’s most premium passengers. The GGL is the highest status tier in the frequent flyer membership program.
These passengers will be given priority boarding due to the creation of Group 0. Although it is important to note that this experiment will only include the following three routes, from London Heathrow and London Gatwick to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and from Heathrow to Boston Logan International Airport. It will also include the return sectors.
There are probably just a handful of GGL or Premier members on each aircraft, given how exclusive these designations are. Because of this, it’s unlikely that letting them board first will shorten the line for the other passengers. (As per Simple Flying)
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Priority Groups For Long-Haul Flights
There are three priority groups for long-haul flights on British Airways, with Group 1 being first-class travellers, Executive Club Gold members, and Oneworld Emerald members. Group 2 is made up of travellers travelling in business class, Executive Club Silver members, and Oneworld Sapphire members.
Group 3, which consists of Oneworld Ruby members, Executive Club Bronze members, and premium economy class customers, comes next.
Following that, regular groups of passengers travelling in economy class (Groups 4 through 9) begin. The classifications for short-haul flights are largely the same, with the exception of business class passengers, who are placed in Group 1 rather than Group 2 (because there is no short-haul first class). The boarding passes have these group numbers on them to indicate the different priorities. (as per Simple Flying)
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