Qantas launches ‘group boarding’ on Sydney flights
Qantas is now boarding domestic flights by passenger groups: here’s what you need to know.
By David Flynn, June 25 2024
Qantas is extending its rollout of ‘group boarding’ to Sydney this week, and travellers will need to come to grips with a whole new way of waiting and then stepping on board their flight.
From today, Tuesday June 25, passengers on domestic Qantas Airbus A330 and Boeing 737 flights from Sydney will be assigned one of six designated boarding groups.
Each passenger’s boarding group will be displayed on their printed or digital boarding pass; group boarding will be extended to other airports and other aircraft types once passengers become more familiar” with the system.
Already in place at Qantas terminals in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and common at airports around the world – especially in the USA and across Europe – the adoption of group boarding is intended to both streamline the process of passengers and also help more flights depart on time.
“We know that punctuality and reliability is key to customer satisfaction and we're already seeing this in the feedback,” says Qantas Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer Catriona Larritt. “It's had a great start in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth and already there's indications it's helping our flights depart on time.”
Larritt also believes the streamlined approach encourages passengers “to relax at the gate until their boarding group is called.”
Early feedback on Qantas’ group boarding has been largely positive, with many passengers citing both the more orderly progression from gate to seat as well as the inability of low- or no-status travellers to jump the queue thanks to how the boarding pass scanners have been programmed.
Qantas has been trialling and refining its own group boarding system since late 2023: “we’re continuing to look for ways to respond to pain points and improve the travel experience for our customers,” explained Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson.
How Qantas group boarding works
Qantas’ long-standing domesic boarding system essentially saw two long snaking lines at the gate: there’s one lane for priority passengers (business class plus Gold and above frequent flyers) and another lane for, well, everybody else.
Under Qantas group boarding, passengers are allocated to one of six boarding groups which will be displayed on their boarding pass.
Those groups are determined by their cabin (business class is of course Group 1), frequent flyer status and where they are seated in the aircraft.
Boarding groups will be displayed on printed and digital boarding passes.
The six Qantas domestic boarding groups are as follows:
- Group 1 offers priority boarding for business class passengers and any top-tier frequent flyers holding Qantas Platinum, Platinum One or Oneworld Emerald status – along with invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge members, of course
- Group 2 offers priority boarding for Qantas Gold and Oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers
- Group 3 is for economy passengers seated in the rear quarter of the plane
- Group 4 is for economy passengers seated in the third quarter of the plane
- Group 5 is for economy passengers seated in the second quarter of the plane
- Group 6 is for economy passengers seated in the first quarter of the plane
(And before you ask: there’s no priority or special group for Silver frequent flyers or Qantas Club members.)
Qantas group boarding zones on a Boeing 737.
Apart from those passengers who enjoy priority boarding, this is your classic and very sensible ‘rear-to-front’ boarding system.
And while passengers eligible for Group 1 priority boarding will invited to board the plane first, they can of course walk up at any time (as many prefer to stay a little longer in the lounge before heading to the departure gate).
Some travellers with lounge access might prefer to stay in the lounge a little longer...
Note that Gold-grade frequent flyers are no longer in the ranks of the current Priority Boarding group, although they’ll still board ahead of almost everyone else in economy.
This will certainly thin out the early boarding ranks and will be especially useful on the east coast ‘triangle’, where it often seems like there are more people in the frequent flyer-laden premium boarding line than low-status and no-status passengers.
Qantas exec Svensson adds that from a passenger’s perspective, group boarding should reduce the time they need to spend in line at the boarding gate “and allows them to get settled more quickly” once on the plane.
Qantas says boarding groups will be strictly enforced.
Announcements will be made at the gate when it is time for each group to board, and the boarding pass scanner will only permit travellers to board once their group has been invited, so there’ll be no jumping the queue.
Group boarding is of course far from innovative – most North American and many European airlines already pre-sort passengers into groups based on their frequent flyer status or where they are seated – but as international travellers can attest, the system works well when it’s properly managed and policed at the gate.
03 Jun 2024
Total posts 1
If Airlines want Passengers to board quickly then they should police their own carry On Policy rather than allow passengers to bring everything including the kitchen sink on board looking for that elusive piece of overhead bin space. Not all Passengers do this I might add....
06 Feb 2013
Total posts 14
Except that every time someone is questioned about their luggage they argue and complain and say “But I always bring this luggage” and this conversation delays boarding. The policy wouldn’t need policing if people just complied with the rules.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Nov 2018
Total posts 103
Finally! What else to say….
I do want to know if family members booked together will be able to board together with me as a group 1 passenger, similar to seat selection?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Jun 2019
Total posts 5
Good question, when I travel with my wife and son do we all have to wait to board in our groups or can we all go when plats are called?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2013
Total posts 48
Good question! I suppose if you're seated next to each other in the same class, then yes I presume so. I imagine age (minors) will come into it as well.
But if it were solely based on your status (and your family doesn't have status) it would be interesting to see what happens in practice. The question would be does YOUR status entitle your family or booking members to status benefits in this way? Will be good to get some guidance.
Virgin Blue - Velocity Rewards
12 May 2011
Total posts 23
Probably depends on who made the booking. Surely boarding priority would be based on the travelling member with the highest status
05 Jul 2024
Total posts 1
Just got my first boarding pass with my son, and can confirm both in my boarding tier.
31 Mar 2014
Total posts 397
Quite happy that queue jumpers get denied by the scanner. Avoids staff having to police it.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Aug 2014
Total posts 168
I think this will be great. If it works and is policed properly. Also great move putting gold FF as a group by itself. The currwnt system doesn't work as Qantas regularly use 1 lane to board priority and 1 lane for regular pax at the same time instead of boarding priority through both lanes first.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 May 2017
Total posts 17
Flew out of Brisbane yesterday morning and saw this in effect. Didnt know it was that close to starting but quickly found this article which answered all my questions!
Very happy to see this change as something definitely needed to happen with the out of control lines. Love that the scanner doesn’t work if your group is not yet called as a way of policing it. Very sensible.
I assume it worked well. I was luckily flying in business so was included in the first group.
Missed this the first time I read the article but I do like this inclusion:
15 Oct 2022
Total posts 1
Does this mean those on last are going to find their overhead locker space 'colonised' by the time they get on?
26 Sep 2023
Total posts 32
I wonder about this as well, but at least on those golden triangle routes the front 5-8 rows of Economy are people who probably got status boarding anyway. There could be an interesting gamble for Silver on whether to get off the plane faster with a row 9, or know you'll have overhead in row 28.
(on a recent 8am SYD-MEL, the CSM had their iPad open and while waiting for the aisle to clear I saw there was something like 45 Gold FF, plus another 12 or so P and a good half dozen P1).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Aug 2014
Total posts 168
Does this mean those on last are going to find their overhead locker space 'colonised' by the time they get on?
Probably but that's no different to how it works now, on any airline worldwide.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Sep 2011
Total posts 9
I hope the lounge staff will be annnouncing boarding a bit earlier for Group 1 & 2 pax in the lounge. Currently they announce a flight is boarding and by the time you get to the gate they've already started boarding everyone else and you're stuck at the back of the airbridge and have no room for a bag in your overhead locker due to horders that take 3 bags on board.
15 Sep 2016
Total posts 7
Is this going to apply to Jetstar flights as well? Over here in (forgotten) WA Qantas no longer operate some flight routes, leaving these to Jetstar to operate. Jetstar is fine, but boarding is a bit of a shambles (and Jetstar has no supplied entertainment and a very strangely inefficient and time-consuming way of operating their very basic food and beverage service).
31 Mar 2014
Total posts 397
Last I checked, apart from a couple leisure routes Jetstar doesn't fly any exclusive routes taken over from Qantas. Certainly no capital cities or intra-WA routes are Jetstar only.
28 Apr 2021
Total posts 32
David a very well presented article that not only comprehensively outlined the 'nuts and bolts' on how the boarding system is designed to operate, but also it referred to those about to board the Aircraft as "Passengers" that in fact is the correct terminology.
However, the Qantas Domestic CEO threw in his bit in the article about the boarding process and said there is an aim to improve the travel experience for the customer. Does he mean the "Passenger"?
Little does he realize that a number of travelers might be on transit from another airline or in fact not purchased their ticket from Qantas!
One has to really wonder when the top brass in this beleaguered Airline will finally wake up and drop off the use this totally inappropriate word introduced well over 20 years ago by 'jimmy bow tie'. It known that quite a number of Cabin Crew Managers do not like the reference CSM and many regular "Passengers" detest being customers when on board.
Two points of interest are is that the those in the Flight deck when making an announcement avoid using that word and when there is an incident, how quickly in reporting the details, all of a sudden the reference "Passengers' is used by Qantas. Talk about 'double standards'.
Finally one most important issue commented on was the extra amount of carry on items that is continuing proving to be causing a delay in the filling up the space in the overhead lockers. Perhaps high on his agenda, the Qantas Domestic CEO should be to sort this problem out and have the situation policed at the point of check in and even prior to boarding.
19 Oct 2018
Total posts 7
I am all for it so long as it is policed right, to keep those impolite / inconsiderate PAX inline.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Sep 2017
Total posts 9
Pre-book a wheelchair, you'll board first, problem solved
Qantas
22 Oct 2012
Total posts 319
Wheelchair people board first, and disembark last. Enjoy!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Oct 2012
Total posts 134
Im not sure if its been covered by others , I'm wondering what happens if you miss your turn . Can one board still or will you need to wait till the end ?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2014
Total posts 319
Technically yes you can, but by then both lanes are full anyway as once the first 2 groups board it’s a free for all and the priority lane becomes redundant, so you just go to the back of the queue, and by the time they call your flight in the lounge that is what you are generally confronted with by the time you get to the gate.
03 May 2013
Total posts 680
I've had a few occasions since group boarding where golds stand at front of the queue only to have to stand aside when group 1 is called to board first.
26 May 2011
Total posts 19
Important thing to note - boarding is starting at 30 mins, not 20 mins. That us why it is working in terms of OTP.......even with the time consuming cabin bag stowage, it would have to be improving OTP.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Nov 2018
Total posts 117
Well, I just boarded QF133 MEL CHC. Priority boarding? Yes, but not proper groups. Had hoards of Golds board with J and P,P1. Why? Because they called Gold QFF and Sapphire OneWorld at the same time. If you’re in row 1 (B737-800), this is disastrous and disappointing. No space for your bag. (Bulkhead, so nothing under your seat).
Worse yet, a staff member went through the horrible boarding gate area and tagged bags to go under the seat in front. I told her more than once that I was in row 1 but she still insisted on tagging my bag as under the seat.
Boarding was atrocious. Late (for no reason) and certainly not an OTD.
Let’s get some communality Qantas. It’s not good enough. (Although still better than some).
And Melbourne Airport: the boarding gate 2 is atrocious! Filthy, cramped and poorly signed! You had YEARS of lockdowns to fix this!!!! Disgraceful
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