After a successful trial, Qantas will progressively roll out a new Group Boarding process for domestic flights at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth airports to facilitate better on-time departures from 3 June 2024.
Already familiar to frequent flyers in the US, UK and Europe, Qantas’ new Group Boarding procedure will be deployed on domestic flights operated by the airline’s larger Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 aircraft.
For the uninitiated, Group Boarding means passengers will board in smaller groups rather than queueing at the gate and waiting to board at the same time.
Qantas customers are allocated to one of six boarding groups, which is displayed on their boarding pass.
As per the US system, groups are determined by cabin, Frequent Flyer status and seat position in the aircraft, which may mean luggage storage could be full by the time final passengers board.
Signage and announcements at the gate will let passengers know when it’s their group’s turn to board.
Qantas Group Boarding rollout
Group Boarding commenced at Brisbane Airport on 3 June followed by Perth from 10 June, Melbourne from 17 June and then Sydney Airport from 25 June.
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said Group Boarding was the most significant change to the airline’s boarding processes in a decade.
“We’re continuing to look for ways to respond to pain points and improve the travel experience for our customers,” he said.
“Group Boarding is designed to minimise the time our customers spend waiting to board and allows them to get settled more quickly.
“We know how important on-time departure is to our customers, so this process is also about doing everything possible to ensure we depart on time.”
In BITRE’s most recent on-time performance report, for on-time departures, Qantas lagged behind Virgin Australia at 79.1 per cent compared to 82.6 per cent.
For more info, head to qantas.com
