Author Topic: Airport queue skip  (Read 7412 times)

smithy

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Airport queue skip
« on: June 07, 2013, 01:59:55 AM »
At Manchester Airport in the UK, you can pay £50 ($78) to skip the queue for baggage check-in and security.
This will give you much more time to spend money on lattes and "duty-free" while you wait for all the other travellers to board the plane  :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336769/Manchester-Airport-plans-charge-FIFTY-POUNDS-just-help-guide-passengers-right-gate.html

Christof

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2013, 03:51:58 AM »
What a cheap airport!!! ;-) In London Heathrow one pays £1500 for the same service (http://www.heathrowvip.com).

lisahi

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2013, 11:05:40 AM »
I'm willing to bet that very few people actually take advantage of that offer (although I'm sure some anti-mustacian folks do). Just as most people sitting in first class didn't pay first class rates. Most of the folks you see skipping the line and sitting in first class are frequent flyers or hold an airline credit card that allows them preferential treatment.

Jamesqf

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2013, 11:20:10 AM »
I sure would take advantage of it, if I ever flew commercial.  Avoiding all that aggravation would be cheap at the price.  Indeed, that aggravation is a big part of the reason I won't fly any more: it just isn't worth it.

NumberJohnny5

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2013, 03:10:08 PM »
Family of four, in transit at an international airport and just want to know where the heck to go...might be worth it the first time. I think some of the airports deliberately confuse you.

sonofczar

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #5 on: June 12, 2013, 08:18:09 AM »
But you need to wait for the rest of the passengers anyway right?  I don't see the point if you are paying good money to just be stuck waiting in a different spot.

Christof

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2013, 10:09:15 AM »
I don't see the point if you are paying good money to just be stuck waiting in a different spot.

The point isn't waiting, it's confidence. If you do something for the first time and don't really know how to do it, you can either live with uncertainty and hope that everything will turn out OK, or you can pay someone who is an expert and takes responsibility. The principle is the same whether we talk about home repairs, financial investments or getting to the aircraft.

Jamesqf

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2013, 01:15:46 PM »
But you need to wait for the rest of the passengers anyway right?  I don't see the point if you are paying good money to just be stuck waiting in a different spot.

But if you don't have to go through the long lines, you could get to the airport later.

Then there's just the idea of paying for comfort.  If I have to wait, I would rather do it in a comfortable chair in a quiet lounge, than standing in a long line.  And why does the person behind you always seem to believe that crowding uncomfortably close to you will make the line move faster?

NumberJohnny5

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #8 on: June 12, 2013, 03:59:12 PM »
But you need to wait for the rest of the passengers anyway right?  I don't see the point if you are paying good money to just be stuck waiting in a different spot.

It's good for up to four people. If it were per-person, I'd (probably) never consider it for a family of four.

huadpe

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #9 on: June 12, 2013, 10:10:20 PM »
I do use some line-skipping stuff, though certainly not at that cost.  The main thing I have is a Nexus card, for frequent travelers between the US and Canada.  It lets you use a special lane at land border crossings, and an automated kiosk for airport customs.  Given how long land border crossing waits can be (hour+ is not uncommon) this is a very big time savings.  The program cost $50 for 5 years (up to 10...the card lasts until your passport expiration) plus a half a day to visit for an interview.  If you cross once or twice a year it's probably not worthwhile, but since I go up maybe 10-12 times a year, its a really big time savings.

Oh, and if you're flying domestically, you can use the TSA precheck lanes which are otherwise for elite frequent fliers.

pom

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #10 on: June 17, 2013, 09:06:19 AM »
I fly a lot and never understood the waiting in line. You can wait until 95% of the people are boarded sitting comfy in the lobby; then when you see the line thinning you get up and board.

The only difference is that

- you pay £50 to skip the line to board and then sit down or,
- you sit down then wait until there is no line and board.

And at the end, everyone arrives at the same time.

plainjane

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2013, 10:27:50 AM »
I fly a lot and never understood the waiting in line. You can wait until 95% of the people are boarded sitting comfy in the lobby; then when you see the line thinning you get up and board.

The only difference is that

- you pay £50 to skip the line to board and then sit down or,
- you sit down then wait until there is no line and board.

And at the end, everyone arrives at the same time.

One other difference if you are flying with carry-on: if you wait, you risk not having space up above to put your over-night bag.  I don't pay extra to jump the queue, but I am going to get into line quickly so I don't end up being the person who has to gate check, or lose some of my legroom because the only place for my bag to go is under the seat in front of me (recent experience on a 4 hour flight).

Christof

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2013, 11:42:31 AM »
I fly a lot and never understood the waiting in line. You can wait until 95% of the people are boarded sitting comfy in the lobby; then when you see the line thinning you get up and board.

That's the boarding queue at the gate. The paid service lets you skip baggage drop, security and immigration queues. Immigration is more important in the UK then in France, since the UK is not part of the Schengen area, so with the exception of a few domestic flights, most flights require a passport check and corresponding long queues in the morning and evening.

Gerard

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2013, 07:53:39 AM »
The main thing I have is a Nexus card, for frequent travelers between the US and Canada. 

The Nexus card might be the best $50 "splurge" ever. In the morning at Pearson (Toronto), it can be the difference between making your flight/connection and missing it. Plus, you don't have to deal with US Customs officers, who are often not the nicest people in the world. And, as huadpe says, it also gets you into many priority security lines. 

wrt another discussion in this thread, getting through security faster doesn't get you more time at the duty-free. If you're a frequent flyer, it gets you more time in your airline's lounge, sitting in a comfy chair with free food and liquor and wi-fi.

oldtoyota

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2013, 07:17:12 AM »
At Manchester Airport in the UK, you can pay £50 ($78) to skip the queue for baggage check-in and security.
This will give you much more time to spend money on lattes and "duty-free" while you wait for all the other travellers to board the plane  :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336769/Manchester-Airport-plans-charge-FIFTY-POUNDS-just-help-guide-passengers-right-gate.html

Let me get this right. China, the US, and maybe Britain spy on their own citizens. Despite the spying, people have to pay extra not to wait in a security line? It seems like there should already be a free option to skip the line since the majority of people are not terrorists. Then, just use the extra screening time on the people discovered--via email and phone records and all the other records being collected--and search those people.




Zamboni

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Re: Airport queue skip
« Reply #15 on: June 25, 2013, 08:35:41 AM »
I've flown four times in the past two weeks.  Only once did I have to wait in a security line at all.  The other times I just walked right up to the ID screening person and then put my stuff on the conveyor belt as fast as I could get my shoes off.  I realize this is just absurdly lucky, but boy it would have burned my shorts if I had PAID to skip the non-existent lines!