British Airways make low-paying passengers board last
British Airways is introducing a new boarding scheme, and its announcement has already proved divisive among customers.
The new scheme will split passengers into five groups based on how much they paid for their tickets, and the less you pay for your flight, the longer you will have to wait.
As reported by The Independent, highest priority will go to BA Executive Club Gold members, and First Class passengers who are part of Club Europe.
Silver members and Club World passengers get second priority, while Bronze members and people on World Traveller Plus are in the third category.
Economy class passengers will be included in the fourth category, and hand-luggage-only passengers will be boarded last. Passengers with young children or mobility issues will still be able to board ahead of everyone else.
A spokesperson for British Airways has said that the process will "further improve the customer journey by creating a number of groups to speed up the process.
"This method has been used by airlines around the world for a number of years, including by our partners American Airlines, Iberia and Qatar."
Not everyone agrees with the scheme, however. Plenty of people have said that it will only shame the poor and not actually speed up the process:
No real logic to this. Why not load the back first. Then you won't have people blocking the aisles. No loyalty for hand luggage passengers who support a quick turnaround
British Airways to board passengers in cheap seats last - https://t.co/XN2f9mHxqR- Andy Gough (@AndyGough1966) November 20, 2017