Reply to: Them new passport border machine things

[darmstadt]

The problem is when you book a BA flight and they partner with AA. You can't get priority boarding, in fact you can't check in through the app. You can't upgrade from the machines either.

We had several flights with AA and each time we had problems with seats and in one case, people where boarding and we still didnt have seats allocated to us.

Generally AA is a rip off, they wanted to charge 100 dollars for luggage being 1 pound over, despite both cases being under. The attendants are rude and unhelpful. The machines are poor and nearly everyone had issues with them.

Fair enough, I tend to book my flights on AA when already in the USA but they are a rip-off. We tend to fly first class which is pretty much equivalent to economy on a transatlantic flight. You do get booze and a hot meal and the seats are a bit larger but that's about it. The last flight we tried to get first class but was booked out apart from really early so got an economy with reserved seats and priority boarding which was only $20 less than first! I also have TSA pre-clearance which gets you on quicker, have you tried getting that in advance?

[woohoo]

I've flown AA internally in the USA quite a few times in the last few months and have never had any problems. Get Priority Boarding and it's all easy peasy. You pull up outside the airport and there's a luggage check-in there, just remember to tip the guys. When you go to board you just go to a different queue and go straight through. The last one I did was from Orlando to Washington where apparently it's sheer hell, took me 20 minutes from getting out of the Über to having a beer at the gate. Flight attendants were a bit scary though plus AA are a bit of a rip-off

The problem is when you book a BA flight and they partner with AA. You can't get priority boarding, in fact you can't check in through the app. You can't upgrade from the machines either.

We had several flights with AA and each time we had problems with seats and in one case, people where boarding and we still didnt have seats allocated to us.

Generally AA is a rip off, they wanted to charge 100 dollars for luggage being 1 pound over, despite both cases being under. The attendants are rude and unhelpful. The machines are poor and nearly everyone had issues with them.

[Zigenare]

Or we could just choose to go to the 80% of the world which isn't Europe...

Heaven forfend!

[darmstadt]

[Old Greg]

As long as they are compatible with the new British Passports. Are you getting one Scooty?

He'll still be holding up the queues with this.

[darmstadt]

I flew American Airlines (BA partner) in the US and it's a shambles. First off, just don't fly AA as a BA partner, just don't.

Anyway, we arrived at the airport early and had to wait until the staff arrived (fair enough), they then proceeded to turn on the check-in machines. 4 staff, 6 machines. Nearly everyone had issues with the check-in machines. At the end of it, a luggage sticker is printed off you are then supposed to attach this to your luggage.

Sounds easy right, well the on-screen instructions stay on screen for about 10 seconds then you are supposed to figure out how to attach this and not obscure the bar code. Anyway, we tried to figure it out and couldn't, so started watching other people figure it out. In the end a member of staff helped and a small crowd gathered round.

oh AA wanted to charge us 100 dollars for being 1lb over the weight limit. Despite both cases together being under the limit. Just a shambles.

I've flown AA internally in the USA quite a few times in the last few months and have never had any problems. Get Priority Boarding and it's all easy peasy. You pull up outside the airport and there's a luggage check-in there, just remember to tip the guys. When you go to board you just go to a different queue and go straight through. The last one I did was from Orlando to Washington where apparently it's sheer hell, took me 20 minutes from getting out of the Über to having a beer at the gate. Flight attendants were a bit scary though plus AA are a bit of a rip-off

[Mordac]

Of course it will be the other way around when you arrive in Europe

Or we could just choose to go to the 80% of the world which isn't Europe...

[Eirikur]

well they will be much better, they will be UK only

you can go in the 3 day long non uk queue while we are waved through with our blue passports.

Of course it will be the other way around when you arrive in Europe

[vetran]

Use them almost monthly on Heathrow T5 and flying through.
Looking at the non EU/Uk queues which take at least 2 to 3 hours I'm wondering how that will be after Brexit

well they will be much better, they will be UK only

you can go in the 3 day long non uk queue while we are waved through with our blue passports.

[vetran]

As long as they are compatible with the new British Passports. Are you getting one Scooty?

Hopefully not it will improve the UK for the rest of us.

[northernladuk]

*rant thread*
Flew into Edinburgh last night. What was a working system is now a complete up. First we're sat on the plane for near 40 minutes after parking at the gate cause no steps were available.

Aw poor baby.

Disembarking some while later three plane loads are met with a row of new passport self service machines. A human would have processed me three times faster is my guess. And I was not alone, a lot of frustrations amongst travellers. They must have spent a fortune, and for what? To put some people out of a job to save some pennies down the line?.

I'd strongly disagree with this. A person might yes... but how many people do they ever have on at one time. I don't think I've ever seen more than 5 or so, usually it's 2 or 3. From what I remember at Manchester, one terminal can only has 10 or so booths in total anyway. Last time I was went through there were something like 10 machines working. Slightly slower than a person but twice as many.

From what I've seen they also re-direct people through the people option where they can as well.

My only beef is the clueless idiots that try use them. That's your bottle neck. Same with security. How many signs do they have and people shouting the rules and some pillock goes though the detector with coins in their pocket or didn't take laptops out so their bag has to go through again.

I was sad to see the retinal scanner option disappear at Manchester. So few people bothered registering it was straight through even when the queue was down the ramp. Bloody brilliant it was.

[Eirikur]

and yet More thread pollution

Oh look there is the retard trolleypusher from Tesco's, oh no can't be him because that's actually a nice person

[BR14]

Use them almost monthly on Heathrow T5 and flying through.
Looking at the non EU/Uk queues which take at least 2 to 3 hours I'm wondering how that will be after Brexit

and yet More thread pollution

[Eirikur]

Use them almost monthly on Heathrow T5 and flying through.
Looking at the non EU/Uk queues which take at least 2 to 3 hours I'm wondering how that will be after Brexit

[Mordac]

ID is a problem at all levels of importance, just trying to find a National trust card among all the other cards in yer wallet is a pain. When I get to be world dictator you will all be micro chipped at birth, things will be much easier.

Why, how many other fun organisations do you belong to Xog?