There are all sorts of jobs you might not expect in the airline industry. Since airlines have different lines for coach passengers and business class passengers, at many airports it’s someone’s job to make sure people are standing in the right line. Put another way, someone has to mind the velvet rope for priority check-in.
One such person shared an interaction they had with two passengers in their 30s traveling together.
Passenger: Hi! So we were planning on buying a Business Class ticket but at the end we didn’t. Can we still use the Business line to check-in?
Staff:Sorry, I’m not sure I understood. Are you flying Business today or maybe have requested an upgrade?
Passenger: “No, we are flying Economy……but we wanted to fly Business but we didn’t at the end”.
Staff: Keeps looking at them in disbelief and tell them “Well, sorry, if you are flying Economy you will have to line up in the Economy line to check-in”
Passenger: “Are you serious?” What if we buy a Business ticket right now?”
Staff: “Ticket sales closes 3 hours before the flight but if you manage to buy the ticket you can use the Business line to check-in”.
Passenger: “Ok, so can we line up on the Business line while we buy the ticket?”
Staff: “No. If you manage to buy a ticket come back to me and then you can use the Business line”
Passenger: “But look at how many people are waiting at the Economy line!”
Staff: “270 to be precise, reason why the other 30 who paid a huge amount of money to fly Business appreciate us keeping this line exclusively for them”
Passengers: [Proceed to the Economy line visibly annoyed without saying a word.]
Post by @tales_from_earthView on Threads
Priority check-in lines are generally for people traveling in a premium class of service. At some airlines this can even mean premium economy. It’s also for an airline’s frequent flyers who hold eligible status. And it can even be for a credit card customer.
The person minding the line, though, generally has no idea whether you’re eligible or not. They’ll ask you if you’re eligible, and if you say yes you can wait in line.
Probably once you make it to the front of the line you’ll be helped. By the time the agent at the desk knows what your status is, they’re already helping you. The problem with trying to fake this, though, is that if you get turned away then you’ve wasted time and are further back in the economy check-in line than if you hadn’t tried this.
Still, I’ve very rarely seen people kicked out of premium check-in lines, and I don’t think it’s because no one ever tries. With some foreign carriers, though, it’s likely to be a different story.
Years ago a reader suggested flashing an expired elite status card to use elite security but I generally don’t see TSA actually care who uses that line to begin with.
And Million Mile Secrets (now owned by the same parent corporation as The Points Guy) suggested faking an entitlement to priority security lines, too.
In the US, I’ve been able to go through the airport elite status line just by showing a card – sometimes a regular frequent flyer card which I got for free just by signing up for a program – to the agent manning the shorter elite lines!…
Sometimes it is just a regular frequent flyer card for an obscure foreign airline which you can get for free, sometimes I show my Southwest Companion Pass card and get access to the shorter lines for Southwest business ticket holders and A-List members, and sometimes I show my American Airlines gold card and get access to the United (or other airline) elite lane!
He suggested signing up for Asiana’s frequent flyer program, because the basic level on joining the program is Silver. You can say you’re a silver member, and it’s true! Except they haven’t sent out membership cards to non-status members in well over a decade.
Shorter lines for check-in with luggage are one of my favorite status perks, which is why I keep OneWorld status at sufficent levels to get access to those lines anywhere in the world. It has saved me numerous hours, and sometimes even gotten me on the flight in-time. Boarding is less important, as I’m usually not in a seat that doesn’t have reserved overhead space, but those check-in desks, especially at foreign airport – priceless. And it then gets me to the lounge in time that I also use my status for.
As for those who write travel columns that tell people how to “hack” the line – may the airlines put you on the Permaban list. Ryanair for life for you.
Wow. The MMS post was from 2012.
Ticket sales don’t close until the flight does…
I have had Air France staff at Paris demand to see my boarding pass to allow me to go to the business check-in lane. Of course my response was if I had my boarding pass, I wouldn’t be needing to see the agent to get a boarding pass
I wish at counter check-in for a flight you got a number so you didn’t queue up until it was almost your time to be checked in. It would keep the lines shorter and you could be more comfortable waiting in a seat without shuffling your luggage forward every few seconds. Some banks, some companies and some agencies such as the DMV successfully use such systems.
I would have read the exchange if it was posted on X. Don’t have thread account and will not be getting one
@jns so when your member gets called then you get to lug everything up? That would slow the process down so much. Have you seen the amount of luggage that gets carried in certain airports due to the availability of goods?
TSA cares if you are Pre-Check or not. I’ve recently seen many people sent to the non-Pre line who aren’t Pre.
Great story. I think you mitigated the effect with the list of weasel tactics at the end.
Some airports are tougher than others as yo what is required to enter the elite check-in lanes. At most airports, if they ask you at all whether you are qualified, they will accept an answer of “yes” without proof. That as never been the case for Delta at JFK, even going back when they were still using Terminal 2. The first time I was asked for proof there, I was taken aback because I had already emptied. my pockets in preparation for security (except for ID) and didn’t yet have a boarding pass. Finally the agent noticed that I had a Diamond.Medsllion bag tag and let me through. These days when checking in there, I keep my cell phone handy!
The human race gets dumber by the moment. And more disgusting. The check in business line is for those that have a business class ticket and want to check in. As far as TSA Pre, yes if you’re not PRE you will be sent packing. I’ve seen this numerous times where there’s no one checking BPs to enter the Pre Check Lane but someone with Pre Check by honest mistake or intention enters the lane. I’ve even seen people swear they’re going to miss their flight if forced back to the regular line but TSA will not budge.
@FNT Delta … +1 . Excellent riposte .
Some people can’t read and don’t care… Unfortunately lot of them are kn the US and rabid with system abuse..
One example is AA website: “You can book a flight up to 2 hours before departure on aa.com or the American app. If the flight leaves in less than 2 hours, please go to the ticket counter at the airport.”
Imagine everyone did what their supposed to. Got on the line they belong in. Shock horror the staff could focus on doing their job. Wouldn’t it be nice if people just for once stopped trying to scam.
@KT, I disagree with your analysis. It is not much different than boarding in groups. One to ten get in line. When they are almost all at check in counters, 11 through 20 get in line. When they are almost all at check in counters, 21 through 30 get in line. Wash, rinse and repeat. If you miss your number, you join the next group. Heck, they could even get people shopping more instead of shuffling in line.
Gotta live those hacks at the end for Stolen Status line-jumping. The funniest part is when you miss your flight altogether because Nigerian airport security didn’t appreciate your entitled Western bullshit. That is hilarious to watch. Body cavity searches in the Middle East for the smart mouth oh so clever traveller.
Tbh I just call the station manager roughly 10 mins out & announce down the line.
“Sweep for the unwashed so I’m not at risk of having to breathe the same air. Do it NOW”!
Post 9/11 things are unbearably more exhausting. If the staff don’t do their reason for being there in the first place I find myself having to waste time with law enforcement simply for using my carry-on travel electric cattle prod to encourage the lower classes to flee back to whatever dark hole they emerged. I ask you. I’ve had the decency & for thought to no longer shoot the buggers or even let off a warning shot or two above any lingerers skulls. The staff failed in their duties so why on earth do I have to give up champers consumption in the lounge because 50k volts hasn’t quite left the weird smelling chap throwing himself around on the floor.
We all accept the world moves on over time but I maintain air travel was far more pleasant & less taxing back when we kept the house staff billeted in the attic or cellar & asking for a day off so as to give birth let alone fly anywhere was firmly agreed to be grounds to flog them for insolence
I KNOW I shouldn’t have to. But to safe for any readers with veins trying to burst through their temples —- STOP typing. Read again. Do so with a large dose of sarcasm in mind and realise everything above was always not meant to be taken seriously
@George N Roney; no Americans have not got dumber, they hit peak dumbness some time back. What they have got though, is more unjustifiably entitled, and shockingly bolder as the tale of this story illustrates.
Speaking of dumbness, should the Orange One get elected somehow in 2 weeks time, you will see heightened levels of percieved entitlement and dumbness never before seen.
Turkeys voting for Thanksgiving springs to mind.
One of the most cherished aspects of my super dooper diamond encrusted kryptonite status is not having to wait in long lines. Amongst other reasons, my back can’t handle standing too long.
I am forever grateful to those airline and airport staff who police these elite lines. I’ve paid a lot of money to the airlines over the years, and have more than earned this most valuable perk.
It’s a shame there are unscrupulous people out there, but, sigh… that’s an unfortunate aspect of the human race
In most foreign airports I’ve flown out of, you can talk your way into line but you won’t get serviced at the counter. They will just direct you back to economy. Ironically, when the biz line empties, they call over economy passengers, so you would have gotten faster service from the beginning by simply going to the economy line to begin with.
“Airlines should rethink boarding and overhead storage. It’s too frustrating, and it takes way too much time.
I have two ideas that address both issues and could save an enormous amount of time, aggravation, frustration, and anger.
Instead of boarding passengers in groups or randomly, those seated in the back should board first, as filling the plane from back to front makes more sense when boarding through the front door. First class passengers could still board first if they choose, but starting with the back rows helps eliminate congestion in the aisle.
Imagine if we deplaned the way we board—from back to front. It would be chaotic and ridiculous, just as ridiculous as the current boarding process. Boarding from the front forces passengers in row five to block everyone behind them while they store their bags, making rows six through 34 wait. If row 34 boarded first, no one would be in their way, and they wouldn’t be in anyone else’s way either.
Time is money, and this would save an enormous amount of time, reducing anxiety, stress, frustration, and anger—leading to a more pleasant flying experience.
For overhead storage, all carry-ons should be made to the same exact specifications to fit into a dedicated compartment above each seat. Each compartment should be numbered exactly like the seats are, and just like a seatbelt, the carry-on bag should click securely into place. The compartment should have an open container, not a drop-down door, and be designed to match the seat number, guaranteeing every passenger a space for their bag. If a bag doesn’t click in securely, it would have to be checked. This system would eliminate the anxiety of whether there’s space for your carry-on and keep bags secure—it would be a thing of the past.
If these changes were implemented, the time-saving benefits would be immense.
MAGA© Make airlines great again… lol.”
Don’t complain, VOTE as Obama said famously..keep the Orange one out for good.
I am hesitant to fly because I have a disability and am afraid of confrontation if I am in a special boarding line. I want to travel.
I’m sorry but I’m going to be the devil’s advocate here.
As a 95% international traveler, I’m sick and tired of the lazy US airlines not enforcing any sort of orderliness to Economy boarding. Why are people standing up when their section hasn’t been called? 100s of them! Why IN THE UNHOLY **** are there 100 people still in line and the garbage staff calls “Group B”?
If you have even just HALF a brain, you wait until the line is 0 to 5 people maximum before calling Group B. But they REFUSE TO DO THEIR JOBS. So yes I would harass them by asking fake questions & trolling because they earned it.
I hate USA flying. The utter nonsense (anarchy) that has been normalized is unacceptable. In other countries, the staff are awesome:
1. They yell at people to sit down. They say “what group are you? please take a seat.”
2. This one blew my mind. You could be in a coffee shop with headphones on missing your flight. If they can, they will literally come find you! If you are a “missing person” who checked in but didn’t appear at the gate. Happened in the Philippines and also in 1 other country in just the past year.
These are the same class of people who call for a wheelchair, put on fake military uniforms, etc. just so they can board the aircraft sooner. Pathetic losers! Note that some airlines now state in the boarding announcements, “…and military personnel showing a current military ID may board now.”
I never saw people doing these scams in Europe.
Only in America.
Education. Education. Education.
Why does everyone think there special and law’s and rules don’t apply to them? That is what is wrong with our country today YOUR NOT SPECIAL nor EXCEPTIONS to the RULES!!
People should not read this column. Back in September I flew for the first time in over 20 years. I had YouTube’d every “expert” on flying and read this column and other similar posts. I was ready for angry selfish passengers, less than accommodating flight attendants, screaming children, horrible TSA agents – a horrible nightmare overall. The reality couldn’t have been further from that. We breezed through TSA at both O’Hare and LAX and met some of to the nicest people on both flights. Of course we don’t fly as often as some of you seem to, but for people who are afraid to fly because of the horror stories presented online all I can say is, keep it in perspective. There are thousands and thousands of flights that experience none of this, and it would be a shame for you to miss out based on select examples of bad behavior. Peace to all.
Wow! As a Canadian I’m horrified but not surprised that a “professional” travel writer would write an article on ways to cheat. It’s a reflection on your society or lack of that anyone would think this ok.
I don’t bother with any shenanigans regarding boarding, although I have flown as a wheelchair passenger a few times due to a deep vein thrombosis.
Hardly ever, if ever, have I not have been able to put baggage overhead if I needed to. It might happen once in a blue moon. Usually all it takes is to realign package so everybody’s fits in.
This blog has got a bit obsessed with the topic.