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Qantas is trialling new boarding procedures in an effort to ease congestion at gates and on board planes.
The group boarding procedure trials will see Qantas passengers board aircraft based on where they are seated, with group numbers printed on boarding passes, while premium customers will retain their own dedicated boarding lane.
The Flying Kangaroo says new gate infrastructure, signage and announcements will also be tested, with the ultimate aim of reducing the time spent lining up before boarding and getting customers to their seats more quickly once they are on board.
“Group boarding procedures are commonly used in Europe and the US, and Qantas has conducted a number of successful trials with staff in recent weeks,” the airline said.
“Customers will be contacted in advance if their flight is involved in a trial and will be invited to participate in a survey following boarding, which will combine with input from frontline employees to fine tune the new process.
“Trials will roll out on flights from Brisbane over the next two weeks followed by other major airports and a wider implementation in October 2023.”
The trial comes as BITRE data showed the national carrier was Australia’s most on-time major domestic airline in June 2023.
