BA f lyers to board in order of ticket price

PASSENGERS will soon be boarding British Airways planes according to how much they paid for their flights.

From next month, those who pay the lowest fares will have to wait at the departure gate and board after everyone else.

The carrier will introduce a ‘group boarding’ system on all of its flights from December 12.

When passengers check in they will be assigned a group number between one and five which will be printed on their boarding pass.

The lower the number, the earlier the passenger will be allowed to board.

Number one will be assigned to first-class passengers on long-haul flights and short-haul travellers on BA’s business class, Club europe, as well as gold members of the BA executive Club.

Next will be business-class Club World passengers on long-haul flights, and silver members of the executive Club.

Group three will be passengers in World Traveller Plus, which is BA’s premium economy, as well as bronze members. economy passengers will be in group four.

The indignity of boarding the plane last will be given to those travelling on the cheapest, handbaggageonly fares. Passengers with mobility issues or who are travelling with young children will still be able to board ahead of everyone else.

Passengers reacted with anger and bemusement on social media, and accused BA of ‘losing the plot’. Some described the prospect of being in group five as doing the ‘walk of shame’.

earlier this year it emerged that BA was on the verge of having its rating cut from four to three stars, out of five, by research firm Skytrax.

This would put Britain’s flagship carrier on a par with Ryanair and Uzbekistan Airways, and comes after a string of controversies.

A spokesman for BA said: ‘Next month we are looking at introducing new boarding procedures to further improve the customer journey.’